github-pr-workflow

name	github-pr-workflow
description	GitHub PR lifecycle: branch, commit, open, CI, merge. Use when this capability is needed.

GitHub Pull Request Workflow

Complete guide for managing the PR lifecycle. Each section shows the gh way first, then the git + curl fallback for machines without gh.

Prerequisites

• Authenticated with GitHub (see github-auth skill)
• Inside a git repository with a GitHub remote

Quick Auth Detection

# Determine which method to use throughout this workflow
if command -v gh &>/dev/null && gh auth status &>/dev/null; then
  AUTH="gh"
else
  AUTH="git"
  # Ensure we have a token for API calls
  if [ -z "$GITHUB_TOKEN" ]; then
    if [ -f ~/.hermes/.env ] && grep -q "^GITHUB_TOKEN=" ~/.hermes/.env; then
      GITHUB_TOKEN=$(grep "^GITHUB_TOKEN=" ~/.hermes/.env | head -1 | cut -d= -f2 | tr -d '\n\r')
    elif grep -q "github.com" ~/.git-credentials 2>/dev/null; then
      GITHUB_TOKEN=$(grep "github.com" ~/.git-credentials 2>/dev/null | head -1 | sed 's|https://[^:]*:\([^@]*\)@.*|\1|')
    fi
  fi
fi
echo "Using: $AUTH"

Extracting Owner/Repo from the Git Remote

Many curl commands need owner/repo. Extract it from the git remote:

# Works for both HTTPS and SSH remote URLs
REMOTE_URL=$(git remote get-url origin)
OWNER_REPO=$(echo "$REMOTE_URL" | sed -E 's|.*github\.com[:/]||; s|\.git$||')
OWNER=$(echo "$OWNER_REPO" | cut -d/ -f1)
REPO=$(echo "$OWNER_REPO" | cut -d/ -f2)
echo "Owner: $OWNER, Repo: $REPO"

---

1. Branch Creation

This part is pure git — identical either way:

# Make sure you're up to date
git fetch origin
git checkout main && git pull origin main

# Create and switch to a new branch
git checkout -b feat/add-user-authentication

Branch naming conventions:

• feat/description — new features
• fix/description — bug fixes
• refactor/description — code restructuring
• docs/description — documentation
• ci/description — CI/CD changes

2. Making Commits

Use the agent's file tools (write_file, patch) to make changes, then commit:

# Stage specific files
git add src/auth.py src/models/user.py tests/test_auth.py

# Commit with a conventional commit message
git commit -m "feat: add JWT-based user authentication

- Add login/register endpoints
- Add User model with password hashing
- Add auth middleware for protected routes
- Add unit tests for auth flow"

Commit message format (Conventional Commits):

type(scope): short description

Longer explanation if needed. Wrap at 72 characters.

Types: feat, fix, refactor, docs, test, ci, chore, perf

3. Pushing and Creating a PR

Push the Branch (same either way)

git push -u origin HEAD

Force-update prohibition for shared branches

Do not rewrite remote history on shared branches (especially main, release branches, or any branch other people may consume). This includes:

• git push --force
• git push --force-with-lease
• amended commits already pushed to a shared branch
• rebase/squash followed by a forced update

Only perform a force update when the user explicitly requests a force update in the same message and states the target remote and branch. If a pushed commit needs correction and the user did not explicitly authorize a force update, create a normal follow-up commit instead of amending and force-pushing. Dangerous-command approval is not enough by itself; the user instruction must authorize the force update.

Before any push, inspect the current branch and remotes instead of assuming origin is the correct destination:

git branch --show-current
git remote -v
git log --oneline -1

Use this especially when:

• the repo has more than one writable remote
• origin points to upstream, while a different remote points to the writable fork/private repo
• the project intentionally allows direct pushes to main without a PR

If a push to origin fails with permission errors such as:

remote: Permission to <upstream-owner>/<repo>.git denied to <user>.
fatal: unable to access 'https://github.com/<upstream-owner>/<repo>.git/': The requested URL returned error: 403

then do not retry blindly. Diagnose the destination first:

git remote -v
git branch -vv
git rev-parse HEAD

Interpretation:

• origin may be the read-only upstream project
• a separate remote such as private or fork may be the actual writable destination
• the current branch may still be tracking origin/main even when the user wants the commit pushed elsewhere

Preferred recovery:

# Push explicitly to the writable remote
git push <remote> HEAD:main

# Example
git push private HEAD:main

When reporting status back to the user, include:

• the local commit SHA
• which remote rejected the push
• which alternate remote(s) exist
• whether the branch is ahead of origin/main only locally

For direct-to-main repositories, prefer an explicit push target so you do not accidentally update the wrong remote or branch:

git push <remote> HEAD:main

Example:

git push private HEAD:main

Only use the explicit direct-to-main form when the repo workflow really allows it; otherwise follow the normal branch + PR flow below.

Verify push actually advanced the intended remote

A successful shell exit from git push is not enough. Read the push output and verify the target state before continuing to downstream side effects such as restart/deploy.

Required checks when a commit/push is expected:

git status --short --branch
git log --oneline -1
git diff --stat HEAD~1 HEAD  # if you just committed

Interpretation:

• Output like oldsha..newsha HEAD -> main means the remote branch advanced.
• Output like Everything up-to-date is only acceptable when no new commit was expected. If the user expected a new change to be pushed, treat this as a stop signal: find where the change was made, whether it is outside the git repo, whether it was staged/committed, or whether you are in the wrong repository.
• Do not run downstream side effects (restart, deploy, release, notify) after an unexpected Everything up-to-date; first resolve the missing commit/push.
• When a user later asks why push did not happen or asks to fix the push, only complete the missing commit/push work. Do not repeat already-completed side effects from the earlier command chain unless the user explicitly requests them again.

For Hermes skills specifically, note that installed skills under ~/.hermes/skills/ are not the same as tracked repo skills under /Users/dev/.hermes/hermes-agent/skills/. If a skill edit should be committed/pushed, ensure the corresponding tracked file in the repo has the diff before committing.

No force updates unless explicitly requested

Do not rewrite remote branch history as a cleanup shortcut. Forbidden unless the user explicitly requests a force update in the same message and states the target branch/remote:

git push --force
git push --force-with-lease
git push <remote> +HEAD:<branch>

If you already pushed a bad commit and need to correct it, create and push a normal follow-up fix commit. Do not commit --amend + force-push shared branches. If history rewriting is genuinely necessary, explain the exact remote/branch/SHA impact and wait for an explicit force-push instruction.

Create the PR

With gh:

gh pr create \
  --title "feat: add JWT-based user authentication" \
  --body "## Summary
- Adds login and register API endpoints
- JWT token generation and validation

## Test Plan
- [ ] Unit tests pass

Closes #42"

Options: --draft, --reviewer user1,user2, --label "enhancement", --base develop

With git + curl:

BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)

curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/pulls \
  -d "{
    \"title\": \"feat: add JWT-based user authentication\",
    \"body\": \"## Summary\nAdds login and register API endpoints.\n\nCloses #42\",
    \"head\": \"$BRANCH\",
    \"base\": \"main\"
  }"

The response JSON includes the PR number — save it for later commands.

To create as a draft, add "draft": true to the JSON body.

4. Monitoring CI Status

Check CI Status

With gh:

# One-shot check
gh pr checks

# Watch until all checks finish (polls every 10s)
gh pr checks --watch

With git + curl:

# Get the latest commit SHA on the current branch
SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD)

# Query the combined status
curl -s \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/commits/$SHA/status \
  | python3 -c "
import sys, json
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
print(f\"Overall: {data['state']}\")
for s in data.get('statuses', []):
    print(f\"  {s['context']}: {s['state']} - {s.get('description', '')}\")"

# Also check GitHub Actions check runs (separate endpoint)
curl -s \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/commits/$SHA/check-runs \
  | python3 -c "
import sys, json
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
for cr in data.get('check_runs', []):
    print(f\"  {cr['name']}: {cr['status']} / {cr['conclusion'] or 'pending'}\")"

Poll Until Complete (git + curl)

# Simple polling loop — check every 30 seconds, up to 10 minutes
SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
for i in $(seq 1 20); do
  STATUS=$(curl -s \
    -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
    https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/commits/$SHA/status \
    | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['state'])")
  echo "Check $i: $STATUS"
  if [ "$STATUS" = "success" ] || [ "$STATUS" = "failure" ] || [ "$STATUS" = "error" ]; then
    break
  fi
  sleep 30
done

5. Auto-Fixing CI Failures

When CI fails, diagnose and fix. This loop works with either auth method.

Step 1: Get Failure Details

With gh:

# List recent workflow runs on this branch
gh run list --branch $(git branch --show-current) --limit 5

# View failed logs
gh run view <RUN_ID> --log-failed

With git + curl:

BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)

# List workflow runs on this branch
curl -s \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/actions/runs?branch=$BRANCH&per_page=5" \
  | python3 -c "
import sys, json
runs = json.load(sys.stdin)['workflow_runs']
for r in runs:
    print(f\"Run {r['id']}: {r['name']} - {r['conclusion'] or r['status']}\")"

# Get failed job logs (download as zip, extract, read)
RUN_ID=<run_id>
curl -s -L \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/actions/runs/$RUN_ID/logs \
  -o /tmp/ci-logs.zip
cd /tmp && unzip -o ci-logs.zip -d ci-logs && cat ci-logs/*.txt

Step 2: Fix and Push

After identifying the issue, use file tools (patch, write_file) to fix it:

git add <fixed_files>
git commit -m "fix: resolve CI failure in <check_name>"
git push

Step 3: Verify

Re-check CI status using the commands from Section 4 above.

Auto-Fix Loop Pattern

When asked to auto-fix CI, follow this loop:

1. Check CI status → identify failures
2. Read failure logs → understand the error
3. Use read_file + patch/write_file → fix the code
4. git add . && git commit -m "fix: ..." && git push
5. Wait for CI → re-check status
6. Repeat if still failing (up to 3 attempts, then ask the user)

6. Merging

With gh:

# Squash merge + delete branch (cleanest for feature branches)
gh pr merge --squash --delete-branch

# Enable auto-merge (merges when all checks pass)
gh pr merge --auto --squash --delete-branch

With git + curl:

PR_NUMBER=<number>

# Merge the PR via API (squash)
curl -s -X PUT \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/pulls/$PR_NUMBER/merge \
  -d "{
    \"merge_method\": \"squash\",
    \"commit_title\": \"feat: add user authentication (#$PR_NUMBER)\"
  }"

# Delete the remote branch after merge
BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)
git push origin --delete $BRANCH

# Switch back to main locally
git checkout main && git pull origin main
git branch -d $BRANCH

Merge methods: "merge" (merge commit), "squash", "rebase"

Enable Auto-Merge (curl)

# Auto-merge requires the repo to have it enabled in settings.
# This uses the GraphQL API since REST doesn't support auto-merge.
PR_NODE_ID=$(curl -s \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/pulls/$PR_NUMBER \
  | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['node_id'])")

curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/graphql \
  -d "{\"query\": \"mutation { enablePullRequestAutoMerge(input: {pullRequestId: \\\"$PR_NODE_ID\\\", mergeMethod: SQUASH}) { clientMutationId } }\"}"

7. Complete Workflow Example

# 1. Start from clean main
git checkout main && git pull origin main

# 2. Branch
git checkout -b fix/login-redirect-bug

# 3. (Agent makes code changes with file tools)

# 4. Commit
git add src/auth/login.py tests/test_login.py
git commit -m "fix: correct redirect URL after login

Preserves the ?next= parameter instead of always redirecting to /dashboard."

# 5. Push
git push -u origin HEAD

# 6. Create PR (picks gh or curl based on what's available)
# ... (see Section 3)

# 7. Monitor CI (see Section 4)

# 8. Merge when green (see Section 6)

Useful PR Commands Reference

Action	gh	git + curl
List my PRs	gh pr list --author @me	curl -s -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" "https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/pulls?state=open"
View PR diff	gh pr diff	git diff main...HEAD (local) or curl -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.diff" ...
Add comment	gh pr comment N --body "..."	curl -X POST .../issues/N/comments -d '{"body":"..."}'
Request review	gh pr edit N --add-reviewer user	curl -X POST .../pulls/N/requested_reviewers -d '{"reviewers":["user"]}'
Close PR	gh pr close N	curl -X PATCH .../pulls/N -d '{"state":"closed"}'
Check out someone's PR	gh pr checkout N	git fetch origin pull/N/head:pr-N && git checkout pr-N

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Source: aiden-lightning/hermes-agent — distributed by TomeVault.