stack-submit

name	stack-submit
description	Use when you want to open or refresh pull requests for every branch in a stacked-PR chain — creates missing PRs with the correct base branch and refreshes the body of existing ones, then force-pushes any branch whose tip has moved.
when_to_use	Reach for this after pushing new commits to a stacked branch or when a PR body is stale and needs refreshing. It iterates every branch in the stack, opens a PR where none exists (base always set explicitly to the recorded parent, never the repo default), updates the body of existing PRs via pr-body.sh, and force-pushes moved branches via safe-push.sh. Do NOT use to rebase branches onto a new upstream — that is /stack-restack; use /stack-submit only to open/refresh PRs after the branch history is already correct.
disable-model-invocation	true
allowed-tools	["Bash(git *)","Bash(gh *)"]
argument-hint	[<branch>]
scheduling	user wants PRs opened or refreshed for a stacked-PR chain
structural	["Collect all branches in the stack via stack-graph.sh list","For each branch, generate the PR body via pr-body.sh","Push the branch via safe-push.sh first so its remote ref exists and is current","If no PR exists, create one with gh pr create --base <parent> --head <branch>","If a PR exists, refresh its body with gh pr edit --body-file -","Backfill the PR number into the stack graph via stack-graph.sh set"]
logical	every branch in the stack has an open PR whose base is its recorded parent, whose body is current, and whose remote ref matches the local branch tip

/stack-submit — Open or Refresh Stacked PRs

For every branch in the stack: open a pull request targeting the recorded parent branch if none exists, or refresh the PR body if one does, then force-push any branch whose local tip differs from the remote ref.

Invocation

/stack-submit
/stack-submit <branch>   # submit only from <branch> upward

What it does

For each branch in stack order (base → tip):

1. Generate the PR body:

   bash plugins/stack-flow/skills/_lib/pr-body.sh <branch>
   

2. Push the branch first, so its remote ref exists and is current. gh pr create --head does not push — it requires the branch to already be on the remote — so the push has to precede creation. For a never-pushed branch this is the initial push; for an existing one it updates the moved tip:

   bash plugins/stack-flow/skills/_lib/safe-push.sh <branch>
   

3. If no PR exists, create one — base is always the recorded parent, never the repo default:

   bash plugins/stack-flow/skills/_lib/pr-body.sh <branch> \
     | gh pr create --base <parent> --head <branch> \
         --title "<title reflecting the change, not the branch name>" \
         --body-file -
   

4. If a PR already exists, refresh its body:

   bash plugins/stack-flow/skills/_lib/pr-body.sh <branch> \
     | gh pr edit <branch> --body-file -
   

5. Backfill the PR number into the stack graph:

   bash plugins/stack-flow/skills/_lib/stack-graph.sh set <branch> <parent> <parent-sha> <pr-number>
   

The parent base is read from the stack graph entry for each branch — it is never inferred from the repo default branch.

Execution Checklist

• Run bash plugins/stack-flow/skills/_lib/stack-graph.sh list to enumerate all branches in the stack
• For each branch, read its recorded parent: bash plugins/stack-flow/skills/_lib/stack-graph.sh get <branch>
• Generate the PR body: bash plugins/stack-flow/skills/_lib/pr-body.sh <branch>
• Push the branch first (creates/updates the remote ref gh pr create needs): bash plugins/stack-flow/skills/_lib/safe-push.sh <branch>
• Check whether a PR already exists: gh pr view <branch> --json number,state 2>/dev/null
• If no PR: create it with gh pr create --base <parent> --head <branch> --title "<purpose>" --body-file -
• If PR exists: refresh with gh pr edit <branch> --body-file -
• Capture the PR number from gh pr view <branch> --json number --jq .number
• Backfill: bash plugins/stack-flow/skills/_lib/stack-graph.sh set <branch> <parent> <sha> <pr-number>
• Report a summary: branches submitted, PRs opened, PRs refreshed, pushes made

Input / Output examples

Pair 1 — new stack, no PRs yet

Input:

Stack: main → feat-auth → feat-auth-tests
feat-auth:       no PR
feat-auth-tests: no PR

Output (branches pushed first, then two PRs created):

Pushed feat-auth (initial push)
Created PR #42: "Add JWT authentication middleware" (feat-auth → main)
Pushed feat-auth-tests (initial push)
Created PR #43: "Add unit tests for auth middleware" (feat-auth-tests → feat-auth)

---

Pair 2 — existing PRs, body refresh only

Input:

Stack: main → feat-auth → feat-auth-tests
feat-auth:       PR #42 (OPEN)
feat-auth-tests: PR #43 (OPEN)
One new commit added to feat-auth since last submit.

Output (bodies refreshed, feat-auth pushed):

Refreshed PR #42 body (feat-auth)
Pushed feat-auth (tip moved)
Refreshed PR #43 body (feat-auth-tests)
feat-auth-tests up to date, no push needed

Known Failure Modes

• PR creation fails after the push. safe-push.sh and gh pr create are two separate calls; if creation fails after the branch is pushed, the branch exists on the remote but has no PR. Re-running /stack-submit sees no PR and creates it — it is idempotent.
• Stale lease rejected. safe-push.sh uses --force-with-lease --force-if-includes; the push fails when another process pushed to the same branch since the last fetch. Fetch first (git fetch origin <branch>) then re-run.
• gh auth expired mid-submit. PR creation or body refresh fails. Re-authenticate with gh auth login and re-run — already-created PRs are skipped (body refresh is safe to repeat).
• Title is the branch name. The plan requires the title to reflect the change's purpose, not the branch name. If Claude cannot determine a meaningful title from the commit log, it asks the user before creating the PR.