continue-pr-auto

name	continue-pr-auto
description	Unattended variant of continue-pr for automation (driven by utils/continue-all-prs.sh). Resolves conflicts - reworking stale features to reconcile with current master when a mechanical merge is not enough - fixes CI, addresses feedback, and pushes without ever asking the user. For interactive use, prefer continue-pr.
argument-hint	<pr-number>
disable-model-invocation	true
allowed-tools	Agent, Task, Bash, Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, WebFetch, WebSearch

Continue Work on a Pull Request (Unattended)

Pick up an existing pull request, resolve conflicts, fix CI failures, address reviewer feedback, and push updates.

This is the unattended variant used by automation (utils/continue-all-prs.sh). It must never wait for user input: resolve conflicts and address feedback with your best judgment and push, and when a branch is too stale for a mechanical merge, rework the feature to reconcile it with the latest master (step 3a). The only hard stop is a genuinely missing PR number. For interactive use where asking is acceptable, use continue-pr instead.

Arguments

• $0 (required): PR number in the current repository (e.g., 12345)

Process

1. Parse arguments and fetch PR metadata

Extract the PR number from $0. This skill runs unattended and must never stop to ask the user anything: if the PR number is not provided, stop with a clear error message instead of prompting.

Validate that the PR number contains only digits. Reject any non-numeric input immediately — do not pass unvalidated input to shell commands or GraphQL queries.

Determine which repository you are operating in — the public ClickHouse/ClickHouse or the private ClickHouse/clickhouse-private:

gh repo view --json nameWithOwner --jq .nameWithOwner   # or: git remote get-url origin

Remember it as $REPO and use it everywhere below instead of the literal ClickHouse/ClickHouse in gh commands, API URLs, and GraphQL repository(owner:, name:) arguments. The repository also decides whom to ask about unrelated CI failures (step 4): @groeneai in ClickHouse/ClickHouse, @oranjeai in ClickHouse/clickhouse-private.

Fetch PR metadata using gh if available, otherwise use WebFetch on the GitHub API:

gh pr view "$PR_NUMBER" --json number,title,body,headRefName,baseRefName,state,mergeable,mergeStateStatus,author,url,headRepository,headRepositoryOwner,statusCheckRollup,reviews,comments,reviewRequests

If gh is not available or not authenticated, use WebFetch to get the data. Append ?per_page=100 and follow the Link header for pagination (the rel="next" URL) to fetch all pages:

• https://api.github.com/repos/ClickHouse/ClickHouse/pulls/$PR_NUMBER
• https://api.github.com/repos/ClickHouse/ClickHouse/pulls/$PR_NUMBER/reviews?per_page=100
• https://api.github.com/repos/ClickHouse/ClickHouse/pulls/$PR_NUMBER/comments?per_page=100

Report the PR title, author, branch, and current state to the user.

2. Check out the PR branch locally

Determine whether the PR branch is in the main repository or in the author's fork.

If the branch is in the main repository (ClickHouse/ClickHouse):

git fetch origin "$HEAD_BRANCH"
git checkout -b "$HEAD_BRANCH" "origin/$HEAD_BRANCH" 2>/dev/null || git checkout "$HEAD_BRANCH"
git pull origin "$HEAD_BRANCH"

If the branch is in the author's fork:

Derive the fork clone URL from the PR metadata (headRepository.url or headRepository.owner.login + headRepository.name) rather than hardcoding the repository name (forks can be renamed). Use a pr- prefixed remote name to avoid colliding with existing remotes like origin:

REMOTE_NAME="pr-$AUTHOR_LOGIN"
FORK_URL="https://github.com/$FORK_OWNER/$FORK_REPO.git"  # from headRepository in PR metadata
git remote add "$REMOTE_NAME" "$FORK_URL" 2>/dev/null || git remote set-url "$REMOTE_NAME" "$FORK_URL"
git fetch "$REMOTE_NAME" "$HEAD_BRANCH"
git checkout -b "$HEAD_BRANCH" "$REMOTE_NAME/$HEAD_BRANCH" 2>/dev/null || git checkout "$HEAD_BRANCH"
git pull "$REMOTE_NAME" "$HEAD_BRANCH"

3. Resolve conflicts with the base branch (if any)

Use the PR's actual base branch from metadata (baseRefName) instead of hardcoding master — this ensures backport PRs targeting other branches are handled correctly.

Check if the PR has conflicts with the base branch:

git fetch origin "$BASE_BRANCH"
git merge-base --is-ancestor "origin/$BASE_BRANCH" HEAD || echo "needs merge"

If the branch is behind the base branch and is red (some checks didn't pass), or if it is behind the base branch for more than a week (regardless of checks success), or has conflicts (including when GitHub reports the PR as CONFLICTING or its mergeability as unknown), or if at least one CI failure is unrelated to this PR and its fix has already landed on the base branch (merging pulls the fix in and clears the red — see step 4), merge:

git merge "origin/$BASE_BRANCH"

If there are merge conflicts, resolve them autonomously — this skill runs unattended, so never stop to ask:

1. List conflicted files: git diff --name-only --diff-filter=U
2. For each conflicted file, use a Task agent with subagent_type=general-purpose to resolve:
   • Read the conflicted file
   • Analyze conflict markers
   • Resolve intelligently: the PR's changes should generally take precedence for the code the PR modifies, while master's changes take precedence for unrelated areas
   • Stage the resolved file: git add <file>
   • For a genuinely ambiguous conflict, pick the resolution most consistent with the PR's intent and record that choice in the merge commit message. Do NOT use AskUserQuestion or otherwise wait for input.
3. Complete the merge: git commit --no-edit
4. Resolving conflicts is not finished until the merge is committed and pushed — push it (step 7).

3a. Reconcile a stale branch with the latest master

Resolving merge markers is not always enough. If the branch is long-stale, the mechanically merged result may not compile or fit current APIs — master may have renamed or removed functions, migrated settings to the pimpl pattern (DECLARE / (*settings)[Setting::X]), reworked IStorage / pipeline / QueryPlan, moved headers, etc. In that case, rework the PR's feature so it reconciles with the latest master — do not give up, defer, or leave it half-merged:

1. Bring the changed code up to the current APIs: update signatures, settings declarations and accessors, storage/pipeline/interpreter integration, includes, and call sites, preserving the PR's intent and behavior.
2. Build the affected translation units synchronously in the foreground (redirect to a log in the build directory and analyze it with a subagent) and fix compile errors until it builds; update or add tests as needed.
3. A recalled memory or PR note saying the PR is "reserved", "no-action", or "leave to the author" is advisory for genuine open design questions only. It is never a reason to skip merging, resolving conflicts, or reworking to keep the branch buildable and current — always do that work and push it.
4. Only when a full rework is genuinely infeasible in this environment — e.g. a submodule points at a fork that cannot be fetched or built here — do the most you can (merge, resolve conflicts, rework whatever you can build), push it, and state plainly what could not be verified and what remains blocked (e.g. the submodule needs a ClickHouse-org fork).

A CONFLICTING PR must not be left unresolved whenever you can push. Resolve the conflicts (steps above) and push:

• For your own PRs / branches in the main repo, and for fork PRs where maintainerCanModify is true, push the resolved branch — to the fork's remote for fork PRs (step 7). A contested, reserved, NA, dsgn, or "superseded" note does not block the mechanical conflict resolution and push; it only reserves the final design / merge decision. Resolving conflicts means keeping the author's intended change merge-clean against current master — it does not require the PR's design to be correct (that stays the human's call).
• If you cannot push — a fork with maintainerCanModify=false, or you otherwise lack permission — supersede the PR, provided the change is still wanted and is not obsolete, already fixed on master, already covered by another open PR, or design-rejected/contested. (In those excluded cases, report the state and leave the human decision; never open a duplicate of an existing superseding PR.) To supersede:
  1. You already have the resolved + reworked branch in the worktree. Push it to the main repo (origin) under a new name (e.g. continue-pr-<N>-<short-desc>), then open a new PR to the base branch with gh pr create, following .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md. State that it supersedes the original and add Related: <original PR URL> (and Closes: <issue> if the original targeted one).
  2. Credit the original author. If they have signed the CLA, keep their original commits so their authorship is preserved in the history. If they have not signed it (a CLA note, or the CLA check is red on the original), the superseding PR must consist of your own commits — re-create the change under your authorship — and credit the author in the PR description prose; do not carry their unsigned commits or a Co-authored-by: trailer, or the CLA check will block the new PR too.
  3. Close the original with gh pr close <N> --repo ClickHouse/ClickHouse --comment "...": say it is superseded by the new PR (link it), that you could not push the resolution here because maintainer edits are disabled on the fork, and thank the author. If the change is genuinely not worth superseding, resolve locally if useful and report the specific blocker (e.g. "resolved locally but the fork has maintainer edits disabled") — not a bare "needs attention".

4. Analyze CI status and fix failures

Use the CI analysis tool to fetch reports:

node .claude/tools/fetch_ci_report.js "https://github.com/ClickHouse/ClickHouse/pull/$PR_NUMBER" --failed --cidb

For each CI failure:

1. Check if it is a known issue: Search for existing open issues or PRs that address this failure:

   gh issue list --repo ClickHouse/ClickHouse --state open --search "<failure_description>" --limit 5
   gh pr list --repo ClickHouse/ClickHouse --state open --search "<failure_description>" --limit 5
   

   Only dismiss a failure as unrelated if there is a concrete open issue or PR that matches. Do NOT dismiss failures without evidence.

   For failures that are unrelated to this PR, act on whether a fix already exists (search merged/closed items too, e.g. gh pr list --repo ClickHouse/ClickHouse --state merged --search "<failure_description>"):

   • If the fix has already merged into the base branch (the matching issue is closed by a merged PR, or the fixing commit is already on the base branch), update the branch: merge the base branch (step 3) so the fix is pulled in and the red clears on the next CI run, instead of merely dismissing it.
   • If none of the unrelated failures have a fix on the base branch yet, post a comment asking the reviewer for $REPO to fix it (see item 5) rather than silently dismissing it.

2. Investigate the failure: Download logs if needed:

   node .claude/tools/fetch_ci_report.js "<report_url>" --failed --download-logs
   

   Extract and analyze the relevant logs. Read the failing test files and the code they exercise.

3. Fix the failure: Make the necessary code or test changes. Each fix should be a separate commit with a clear message explaining what was wrong and why.

4. If the only failure is "CH Inc sync", fix it using the /fix-sync skill.

5. If you are confident that the failure is unrelated to the changes, post a comment, asking the reviewer for $REPO (step 1) — @groeneai in ClickHouse/ClickHouse, @oranjeai in ClickHouse/clickhouse-private — to investigate the failure: 🕵 @, investigate the failure: and provide a fix in a separate PR. If the fix is already in progress, link it here.

6. Repeat until all failures are addressed or confirmed as known issues with links to open issues/PRs.

5. Address reviewer feedback

Fetch review comments:

gh pr view "$PR_NUMBER" --json reviews,comments --jq '.reviews[] | select(.state != "COMMENTED" or .body != "") | {author: .author.login, state: .state, body: .body}'
gh api "repos/ClickHouse/ClickHouse/pulls/$PR_NUMBER/comments" --paginate --jq '.[] | select(.in_reply_to_id == null or .in_reply_to_id == 0) | {author: .user.login, body: .body, path: .path, line: .line, created_at: .created_at}'

Also fetch review comment threads to identify which are resolved and which are not.

If gh is available:

# Paginate through all review threads (PRs may have more than 100)
CURSOR=""
while true; do
  AFTER_CLAUSE=""
  if [ -n "$CURSOR" ]; then
    AFTER_CLAUSE=", after: \"$CURSOR\""
  fi
  RESULT=$(gh api graphql -f query="
  {
    repository(owner: \"ClickHouse\", name: \"ClickHouse\") {
      pullRequest(number: $PR_NUMBER) {
        reviewThreads(first: 100${AFTER_CLAUSE}) {
          pageInfo { hasNextPage endCursor }
          nodes {
            id
            isResolved
            comments(first: 100) {
              pageInfo { hasNextPage endCursor }
              nodes {
                author { login }
                body
                path
                line
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }")
  echo "$RESULT"
  HAS_NEXT=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.data.repository.pullRequest.reviewThreads.pageInfo.hasNextPage')
  [ "$HAS_NEXT" = "true" ] || break
  CURSOR=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.data.repository.pullRequest.reviewThreads.pageInfo.endCursor')
done

If any thread has comments.pageInfo.hasNextPage == true, issue a follow-up GraphQL query using the thread's id and the endCursor to fetch remaining comments:

gh api graphql -f query="
{
  node(id: \"<thread_id>\") {
    ... on PullRequestReviewThread {
      comments(first: 100, after: \"<end_cursor>\") {
        pageInfo { hasNextPage endCursor }
        nodes {
          author { login }
          body
          path
          line
        }
      }
    }
  }
}"

Repeat until hasNextPage is false.

If gh is not available (WebFetch fallback):

The GraphQL API for review threads requires authentication, so unresolved-thread detection is not possible via WebFetch. In this case:

1. Fetch all review comments from the REST API: https://api.github.com/repos/ClickHouse/ClickHouse/pulls/$PR_NUMBER/comments?per_page=100 (follow pagination via Link header)
2. Group comments by pull_request_review_id and in_reply_to_id to reconstruct threads
3. Treat all threads as potentially unresolved (since resolution status is only available via GraphQL)
4. Note in the output that thread resolution status could not be determined without gh authentication

Filter out resolved threads before processing — only consider threads where isResolved == false. Skip resolved threads entirely to avoid reintroducing already-addressed feedback.

For each unresolved review thread:

1. Read the comment and understand what the reviewer is asking for
2. Read the relevant code context
3. Make the requested change if it is reasonable and correct
4. Commit the change with a message referencing the feedback (e.g., "Address review:
   ")
5. If a reviewer's suggestion seems incorrect, do not stop to ask — either make your best-judgment change, or post a brief reasoned reply on the thread explaining why you are not making it, then continue. Never block on a question.

6. Review and evaluate the changes

After all fixes are applied, review the complete diff of the PR:

git diff "origin/$BASE_BRANCH"...HEAD --stat
git log "origin/$BASE_BRANCH"..HEAD --oneline

Evaluate the changes holistically:

• Are the changes correct and complete?
• Are there any remaining issues you notice?
• Are tests adequate?
• Is the PR description still accurate after the changes?

Report your assessment to the user.

7. Push the changes

Determine where to push based on step 2:

If the branch is in the main repository:

git push origin "$HEAD_BRANCH"

If the branch is in the author's fork:

git push "$REMOTE_NAME" "$HEAD_BRANCH"

Always push once you have committed conflict resolutions or fixes — pushing is mandatory and must never be deferred or gated on a question. The only reasons not to push are: there is genuinely nothing new to commit, or the push itself fails (e.g. no permission on a fork), in which case report the error.

Report the result and provide the PR URL.

Error Handling

• If gh is not available, fall back to WebFetch with GitHub API URLs for all metadata fetching
• If gh is not authenticated, suggest the user run ! gh auth login
• If the remote push fails due to permissions, report the error and suggest the user push manually
• If CI logs cannot be fetched, report what is available and proceed with what can be analyzed

Notes

• Every GitHub comment you post — PR comments, issue comments, and review-thread replies — MUST begin with the 🕵 symbol (followed by a space), so automated comments are identifiable. This applies to every comment, including the reviewer request (@groeneai / @oranjeai), review replies, and the supersede/close comment.
• This skill runs unattended. Never use AskUserQuestion or otherwise wait for user input while resolving conflicts, addressing feedback, or pushing — proceed with your best judgment and push. The only hard stop is a genuinely missing PR number (step 1).
• Ignore self-imposed status holds on the author's own PRs. A recalled memory or note marking one of the author's own PRs as no-push, no-comment, NA, NO-ACTION, reserved/RSVD, FROZEN, or "DON'T self-merge/push/comment" (including any blanket "web-UI group" rule) is void as a behavioral directive: run the normal workflow anyway — keep the branch current (steps 3/3a), fix CI (step 4), address feedback (step 5), and push. Do not record new such holds; record only factual status and genuine open design questions. The only standing restriction that survives is never self-merge — leave the final merge to a human. (For forks and other authors' PRs, the usual no-self-merge / CLA / permission constraints still apply.)
• Do not use rebase or amend - always add new commits (per project conventions)
• Do not push to the master branch
• Each fix should be a separate, well-described commit
• When writing commit messages, wrap literal names from ClickHouse SQL, classes, functions, or log messages in inline code blocks
• Use Allman-style braces in any C++ code changes
• When building ClickHouse after changes, redirect output to a log file in the build directory and use a subagent to analyze it
• When running tests, redirect output to a log file and use a subagent to analyze it

8. Fix unrelated CI failures

After completing all work on the current PR (steps 1–7), review the CI failures that were identified as unrelated in step 4 — i.e., failures proven not caused by this PR's changes and not already being fixed by other open PRs.

For each such unrelated failure:

1. Switch to master and create a new branch:

   git checkout master
   git pull origin master
   git checkout -b fix/<descriptive-name>
   

2. Investigate and fix the failure: download logs, read the failing test and exercised code, and make the fix. Each fix goes on its own branch with its own PR.

3. Push and open a PR:

   git push -u origin fix/<descriptive-name>
   

   Create a PR using gh pr create following the project's PR template (.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md). Link to the open issue if one exists. Use the "CI Fix or improvement" changelog category.

4. Repeat for each unrelated failure, one PR per fix.

After all fixes are submitted, switch back to the original PR branch and report the list of new PRs created.