| name | chained-pr |
| description | Trigger: PRs over 400 lines, stacked PRs, review slices. Split oversized changes into chained PRs that protect review focus. |
| license | Apache-2.0 |
| metadata | {"author":"gentleman-programming","version":"1.0"} |
Activation Contract
Load this skill when a planned PR may exceed 400 changed lines or the user asks for chained/stacked PRs, review slices, or reviewer-load control.
Hard Rules
- Split PRs over 400 changed lines unless the maintainer explicitly accepts
size:exception.
- Keep each PR reviewable in about ≤60 minutes.
- Use one deliverable work unit per PR; keep tests/docs with the unit they verify.
- State start, end, prior dependencies, follow-up work, and out-of-scope items in every chained PR.
- Every child PR must include a dependency diagram marking the current PR with
📍.
- Treat polluted diffs as base bugs: retarget or rebase until only the current work unit appears.
Decision Gates
| Condition | Action |
|---|
| PR ≤400 changed lines and focused | Keep single PR. |
| PR >400, each slice can land independently | Use Stacked PRs to main. |
| PR >400, feature must integrate before main | Use Feature Branch Chain with tracker. |
| Generated/vendor/migration diff cannot split cleanly | Ask for size:exception. |
Execution Steps
- Estimate changed lines and identify independent work units.
- Ask for a chain strategy when the budget is exceeded.
- Create branches/PRs using the chosen strategy only.
- Add Chain Context to each PR (link to previous and next).
- Verify each PR independently: CI/tests/docs/manual checks.
- Keep tracker PR draft/no-merge until all child PRs are integrated.
Output Contract
Return: chosen strategy, PR order, current PR boundary, dependency diagram, review budget (additions + deletions), verification plan.
Gotchas
- Forgetting
📍 on the current PR in the dependency diagram — reviewers lose track of where they are in the chain
- Not asking for
size:exception when the change genuinely can't split — silence looks like it was forgotten
- Creating a tracker PR that gets accidentally merged before all child PRs land — keep it in draft until the chain is complete
- Retargeting child PRs without rebasing first — polluted diffs make review impossible
Commands
gh pr view <PR_NUMBER> --json additions,deletions,changedFiles
git log --oneline main..HEAD
