lisa-git-submit-pr

name	lisa-git-submit-pr
description	This skill should be used when pushing changes and creating or updating a pull request. It verifies the branch state, pushes to remote, creates or updates a PR with a comprehensive description, optionally coordinates the resulting Pull Request into the configured GitHub ProjectV2, and enables auto-merge.
allowed-tools	["Bash","Skill","mcp__github__create_pull_request","mcp__github__get_pull_request","mcp__github__update_pull_request"]

Submit Pull Request Workflow

Push current branch and create or update a pull request. Optional hint: $ARGUMENTS

Recognized optional hints:

• work_item_ref=<ref> — source tracker item for native development linkage. Examples: CodySwannGT/lisa#614, https://github.com/CodySwannGT/lisa/issues/614, ENG-123, PROJ-456.
• target_branch=<branch> or base=<branch> — intended PR base branch.
• tracker_provider=<github|linear|jira|none> — explicit provider when the ref shape is ambiguous.
• pr_url=<url> — live pull request URL, only needed when updating tracker backlinks from an existing PR context.
• auto_merge=<true|false> — whether the PR should merge automatically. Default true (existing behavior for every current caller). With auto_merge=false, skip step 5 entirely (never run gh pr merge --auto) and pass auto_merge=false through to the drive-pr-to-merge delegation in step 6 so the PR is driven to a clean, green, OPEN state and then left awaiting a human.

Workflow

Check current state

!git status !git log --oneline -10

Apply these requirements

1. Branch Check: Verify not on dev, staging, or main (cannot create PR from protected branches)
2. Commit Check: Ensure all changes are committed before pushing
3. Push: Push current branch to remote with -u flag and the following environment variable - GIT_SSH_COMMAND="ssh -o ServerAliveInterval=30 -o ServerAliveCountMax=5"
4. PR Management:
   • Check for existing PR on this branch
   • If exists: Update description with latest changes
   • If not: Create PR with comprehensive description (not a draft)
   • Include native development linkage for the source work item when work_item_ref can be inferred from $ARGUMENTS, the current branch name, an existing PR body, or the issue/ticket context passed by the caller.
   • After the PR exists, ensure the source work item has a backlink to the PR: invoke lisa-tracker-sync with the work item, milestone pr-ready, the live pr_url, and tracker_provider when known. This makes ticket -> PR linkage mandatory, not just a best-effort milestone comment.
   • After the PR exists, re-resolve the live Pull Request node id and, when github.projects.v2 is enabled, invoke lisa-github-project-v2 with operation: ensure-item and content_node_id: <pull-request-node-id> so linked pull requests join the configured shared Project without replacing the PR as the durable review/merge surface.
5. Auto-merge (only when auto_merge=true, the default — with auto_merge=false skip this step entirely): Choose merge strategy by PR type:
   • Promotion PRs (env → env, e.g. dev → staging): use gh pr merge --auto --merge (never squash). Squashing flattens the constituent chore(release): X.Y.Z [skip ci] commits into one commit titled with the PR title, stripping the [skip ci] markers and breaking the release workflow's promotion-detection regex — the destination branch then double-bumps its version. --merge keeps each chore(release) commit (and its [skip ci] marker) intact under a clean merge commit subject the workflow can recognize.

Native Development Linkage

Add provider-appropriate linkage to the PR title and/or body without changing the status lifecycle:

• GitHub Issues:
  • If work_item_ref is a GitHub issue URL, org/repo#<n>, or #<n>, add a dedicated issue reference line to the PR body.
  • Always use a non-closing reference such as Refs #<n>, so the merge cannot close the issue before the post-merge deploy, remote verification, health check, and terminal done label.
  • A non-closing reference does not populate the issue's Development / linked pull requests surface, and no non-closing form does. That surface is the closing-reference mechanism: a closing keyword populates the PR's closingIssuesReferences, while Refs yields only a CrossReferencedEvent. Measured on this repository — a Refs-only PR reports closingIssuesReferences: 0; a Closes PR reports 1. So the ticket-side backlink cannot be delegated to GitHub: the managed [lisa-pr-link] comment written by node scripts/lisa-work-item.mjs backlink — the one producer, which lisa-github-sync and the other vendor sync skills call rather than reimplement — is the required backlink under this rule, not a fallback for when native linkage happens to be absent. Two-way linkage (lisa-implement step 7a) depends on that comment, and so does the Work-Item Traceability check wherever the project declares workItem.verify: "full" — there, a PR carrying a correct Refs line still fails the check without it. Post it either way: under the default trailer level the check does not read the tracker, but the two-way linkage a human follows is still worth having, and a project can raise its level at any time.
  • For cross-repo issue refs, use the fully qualified non-closing form, for example Refs CodySwannGT/lisa#614.
• Linear:
  • Ensure the Linear issue identifier appears in the branch name when the branch is created upstream by lisa-implement.
  • Include the identifier as a non-closing attach token in the PR title or body, for example Linear: ENG-123 or Refs ENG-123, so Linear's GitHub integration can attach the PR without completing the Issue.
  • Do not emit a Linear magic word (Closes/Fixes/) in the PR title, body, or commit message unless the target branch is the terminal/production branch — the repository default branch or the configured production branch from (resolved via ). Unlike GitHub, whose auto-close is scoped to the default branch, Linear's integration completes a linked Issue on merge to , so a magic word on a non-terminal env merge (for example into or ) auto-closes the Issue prematurely and front-runs the env-keyed label ladder. This is the "Terminal native closure" invariant (native closure only at the production terminal ) — cite it, do not restate.

When updating an existing PR, preserve any existing linkage line unless the new work_item_ref is more specific. Do not duplicate equivalent references.

Work Item Backlink

After creating or updating the PR, always make the reverse link durable on the source work item when work_item_ref is available:

1. Resolve the live PR URL with gh pr view <pr-number> --json url --jq .url.

2. Run the backlink command. It is the executable form of this requirement — it writes the managed [lisa-pr-link] comment on the work item, or updates the one already there, for every tracker Lisa supports:

   node scripts/lisa-work-item.mjs backlink --ref <work_item_ref> --pr-url <url>
   

   It is idempotent, so run it on every push rather than deciding whether it is needed. It refuses loudly for a tracker it cannot write, and never silently no-ops. Do not hand-post the comment, and do not describe the posting procedure anywhere: the same file that writes it is the file that checks it, which is what keeps producer and consumer from drifting.

3. Invoke lisa-tracker-sync with the original work item ref, milestone pr-ready, pr_url=<url>, and tracker_provider=<provider> when known. That is the progress-note and status side; it is not what satisfies the traceability check.

4. When the PR later merges, invoke lisa-tracker-sync again with milestone pr-merged, the same pr_url, and the merge SHA when available.

Why step 2 exists — do not "simplify" it away as redundant with the Refs line. Under the non-closing rule above, GitHub never creates a native development link at all: that surface is the closing-reference mechanism, so no non-closing form can populate it. A PR carrying a perfectly correct Refs line still fails the required Work-Item Traceability check without the comment. The managed comment is the ticket-side half of the link, not a fallback for when native linkage happens to be absent.

Do not report PR submission as fully synced while the PR body references the ticket but the ticket has neither a verified native PR link nor the managed backlink comment.

GitHub ProjectV2 Coordination

After PR creation or update, resolve the live Pull Request node id:

gh pr view <pr-number> --json id,url --jq '{ id, url }'

When github.projects.v2 is enabled, delegate membership to lisa-github-project-v2:

operation: ensure-item
content_node_id: <pull-request-node-id>

Branch on the shared utility outcome exactly as GitHub Issue writers do:

• outcome: disabled — no Project configured; continue normally.
• outcome: added or outcome: reused — PR membership is now present; continue normally.
• outcome: warning with required: false — preserve the exact Project error, keep the underlying PR creation/update as the durable success, and continue the normal auto-merge/watch flow.
• outcome: blocked with required: true — surface the exact Project failure and treat the submit flow as blocked even if the PR already exists, so operators can fix Project access/config before reporting full success.

Never inline separate gh api graphql ProjectV2 mutations here. All Pull Request membership coordination goes through lisa-github-project-v2 so linked-PR flows and Issue writers stay in parity.

PR Description Format

Include in the PR description:

• Summary: Brief overview of changes (1-3 bullet points)
• Test plan: How to verify the changes work correctly
• Issue / Tracker link: The provider-specific native linkage line when a source work item is available, placed after the summary and before the test plan.

Never

• use --force push without explicit user request
• create PR from protected branches (dev, staging, main)
• skip pushing before PR creation

Execute

Execute the workflow now.