| name | merge-planner |
| description | Classify PRs and produce a priority-ordered merge plan. Use when the user says "merge order", "which PR first", "merge plan", or has multiple PRs targeting the same branch that need sequencing. |
Merge Planner
Use this skill when multiple PRs target the same branch and you need to decide merge order, or when a PR has complex dependencies that affect merge safety. The goal is to classify PRs and produce a priority-ordered merge plan.
Purpose
Merging PRs in the wrong order causes unnecessary conflicts, broken CI, and wasted rebase cycles. This skill provides a structured approach to classifying PRs by type, scoring their priority, and determining a safe merge sequence.
Prerequisites
- Two or more open PRs targeting the same branch, or a single PR with dependency concerns
- Access to
gh CLI for fetching PR metadata and CI status
Workflow
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Classify each PR by type.
Read the diff summary and labels for each PR. Assign one type:
- Accelerator — Small, self-contained changes (docs, config, typo fixes, dependency bumps) that cannot conflict with other PRs.
- Normal — Feature work, bug fixes, or refactors that touch shared code.
- Blocked — PRs with failing CI, unresolved review comments, or explicit dependency on another PR.
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Score priority across dimensions.
For each non-blocked PR, assess these dimensions:
- Size — Smaller PRs merge first (less conflict surface).
- Age — Older PRs get slight priority to prevent staleness.
- CI status — Green CI scores higher than pending.
- Review status — Approved PRs score higher than awaiting review.
- Conflict risk — PRs touching fewer shared files score higher.
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Determine merge order.
Sort PRs by: accelerators first (they clear the queue), then normal PRs by priority score descending. For ties, prefer the older PR. List blocked PRs last with their blocking reason.
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Check for base branch conflicts.
For the top-priority PR, verify it can merge cleanly into the target branch. If conflicts exist, note which files conflict and whether a rebase is needed before merge.
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Output the merge plan.
Present the ordered list with: PR number, title, type, priority score, and any action required (merge, rebase first, or blocked — fix X).
Expected Output Format
A merge plan containing:
- PR classification table (number, title, type, CI status, review status)
- Priority-ordered merge sequence with scores
- Blocked PRs with blocking reasons
- Conflict warnings for the next PR to merge
Quality Checklist
