| name | pr-update |
| description | Open a PR/MR if missing, or refresh an existing one's title and description so they match the current diff. Preserves any media already in the body. Use when the user says /pr-update, open a PR, update the PR, refresh the PR title/description, or wants the PR opener/manager flow. |
PR Update (open or refresh)
One skill for create and update. Make the title + body match the branch
as it is now. Do not strip media from an existing description.
Steps
git status / git diff / git log / git diff <default>...HEAD (and
remote tracking) so you know the full change set — not just the latest
commit.- Detect an existing PR/MR for this branch (
gh pr view / glab mr view).
- None → create (push upstream with
-u if needed).
- Exists → edit title + body in place. Do not open a duplicate.
- Draft a title and body from all commits/files in the PR, not one commit.
- If updating: fetch the current body first. Preserve every media item
exactly (see below). Then rewrite text so Summary / Test plan (or the
repo's usual sections) stay accurate.
- Apply with
gh pr create / gh pr edit (or glab equivalents).
- End with the PR/MR as a markdown link — the number and the full forge
URL (
[#123](https://github.com/org/repo/pull/123), GitLab ! equivalent).
Never a bare #123. This is the one place the rule is written down; the
other skills just follow it.
Title + body
- Title: concise, why-focused; match repo PR style when obvious.
- Body: use the repo's template when one exists; otherwise:
## Summary
<1-3 bullets of what changed and why>
## Test plan
- [ ] <concrete checks>
- Run the prose through
no-tropes before publishing.
- Do not invent reviewers, labels, or milestone unless asked.
Commits
Shape the branch's commits as part of opening/refreshing the PR.
- One concern per commit. Default to a topical split (2–5 is typical) even if
not asked; don't dump everything into one blob unless the user wants it.
- Match the repo's recent commit style (
git log --oneline -15); subject = why.
No "WIP" / "fix stuff".
- Rebuild with soft reset + path-staged commits (no
git rebase -i — needs a
TTY). Show the final git log --oneline <default>..HEAD before force-push.
Two traps in that recipe:
- Soft-reset to the branch's real base SHA (
git merge-base HEAD origin/<default>),
never to origin/<default> itself — it moves mid-task and will stage other
people's commits as yours.
git reset <base> -- <path> leaves that path unstaged, so the next
git commit silently captures its pre-edit version. Verify the content
landed (git show <sha>:<path> | grep <new symbol>) before force-push.
- Keep authorship when reshaping others' work (
Co-authored-by / cherry-pick),
especially during pr-triage salvage.
- Don't mix pure formatting with logic, commit secrets/
.env, or rewrite
commits already on the default branch without asking.
Preserve media (hard rule)
When a PR/MR already has a body, never delete media.
Treat as media (keep verbatim, same URLs/markup/order when possible):
- Markdown images / links to images or video (
, [...](...) to
media)
- HTML
<img>, <video>, <source>, <br> used between media blocks
- GitHub/GitLab upload / user-attachments / moved-image URLs
- Image/video-only paragraphs or HTML comments wrapping media
Update flow:
- Read the existing body.
- Extract and keep the media blocks.
- Rewrite textual sections so they match the current diff.
- Re-attach the preserved media (same block(s), typically at the end unless
they were interleaved on purpose — then keep interleaving).
- Before submit, diff old body vs new: every media URL/markup from the old
body must still be present.
If a refresh would drop media, stop and keep the old body (or only edit the
title) rather than publishing a media-stripped description.
Scope
- In: open PR/MR, push if needed for create, shape commits, retitle, rewrite
description, preserve media, print URL.
- Out: rebase, CI, and review threads (
pr-ready), triage/salvage
(pr-triage), merging.
Forge cheatsheet
gh pr view --json url,title,body,baseRefName,headRefName
gh pr create --title "…" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
…
EOF
)"
gh pr view --json body -q .body > /tmp/pr-body.md
gh pr edit --title "…" --body-file /tmp/pr-body.md
glab mr view
glab mr create
glab mr update <N> --title "…" --description-file /tmp/pr-body.md
