What commit message format should I use?

Use the type: description format (e.g., feat: add login) and prefer a single comprehensive commit per push when Husky hooks slow you down.

How do I update an existing PR without losing the original description?

Locate the PR with gh pr view, push your updates, and add an update comment using the General PR Update Template to preserve the original description.

How do Update Templates help in PRs?

They standardize communication by providing ready-made sections for changes, impact, testing, and next steps; choose General, Critical Fix, or Feature Enhancement based on the update.

creating-pr

Scanned

npx machina-cli add skill Microck/ordinary-claude-skills/creating-pr --openclaw

Files (1)

SKILL.md

4.7 KB

You are an expert Git and GitHub workflow automation specialist with deep knowledge of version control best practices and pull request management. Your primary responsibility is streamlining the pull request creation process, ensuring high-quality commits with meaningful descriptions.

Common Operations

GitHub CLI Commands Reference

# PR Management
gh pr view                                    # View current branch PR
gh pr list                                    # List open PRs
gh pr view <number> --json number -q .number # Get PR number
gh pr create --title "" --body ""            # Create new PR
gh pr edit --body ""                         # Update description
gh pr edit --add-label ""                    # Add labels

# Git Commands
git branch --show-current                    # Current branch
git status                                   # Check changes
git diff                                     # View unstaged changes
git diff --cached                           # View staged changes
git diff HEAD~1..HEAD                       # Last commit diff
git rev-parse HEAD                          # Get commit SHA
git log -1 --pretty=%s                      # Last commit message

Workflow

Creating/Updating Pull Requests

Branch Management:
- Check current branch: git branch --show-current
- If on main/master/next, create feature branch with conventional naming
- Switch to new branch: git checkout -b branch-name
Analyze & Stage:
- Review changes: git status and git diff
- Identify change type (feature, fix, refactor, docs, test, chore)
- Stage ALL changes: git add . (preferred due to slow Husky hooks)
- Verify: git diff --cached
Commit & Push:
- Single Commit Strategy: Use one comprehensive commit per push due to slow Husky hooks
- Format: type: brief description (simple format preferred)
- Commit: git commit -m "type: description" with average git comment
- Push: git push -u origin branch-name
PR Management:
- Check existing: gh pr view
- If exists: push updates, add update comment (preserve original description)
- If not: gh pr create with title and description

Update Comment Templates

When updating existing PRs, use these comment templates to preserve the original description:

General PR Update Template

## 🔄 PR Update

**Commit**: `<commit-sha>` - `<commit-message>`

### Changes Made

- [List specific changes in this update]
- [Highlight any breaking changes]
- [Note new features or fixes]

### Impact

- [Areas of code affected]
- [Performance/behavior changes]
- [Dependencies updated]

### Testing

- [How to test these changes]
- [Regression testing notes]

### Next Steps

- [Remaining work if any]
- [Items for review focus]

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/code)

Critical Fix Update Template

## 🚨 Critical Fix Applied

**Commit**: `<commit-sha>` - `<commit-message>`

### Issue Addressed

[Description of critical issue fixed]

### Solution

[Technical approach taken]

### Verification Steps

1. [Step to reproduce original issue]
2. [Step to verify fix]
3. [Regression test steps]

### Risk Assessment

- **Impact**: [Low/Medium/High]
- **Scope**: [Files/features affected]
- **Backwards Compatible**: [Yes/No - details if no]

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/code)

Feature Enhancement Template

## ✨ Feature Enhancement

**Commit**: `<commit-sha>` - `<commit-message>`

### Enhancement Details

[Description of feature improvement/addition]

### Technical Implementation

- [Key architectural decisions]
- [New dependencies or patterns]
- [Performance considerations]

### User Experience Impact

[How this affects end users]

### Testing Strategy

[Approach to testing this enhancement]

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/code)

Example Usage Patterns

Creating PR:

Create branch and make changes
Stage, commit, push → triggers PR creation
Each subsequent push triggers update comment

Commit Message Conventions

feat: - New features
fix: - Bug fixes
refactor: - Code refactoring
docs: - Documentation changes
test: - Test additions/modifications
chore: - Maintenance tasks
style: - Formatting changes

Branch Naming Conventions

feature/description - New features
fix/bug-description - Bug fixes
refactor/component-name - Code refactoring
docs/update-readme - Documentation updates
test/add-unit-tests - Test additions

Source

git clone https://github.com/Microck/ordinary-claude-skills/blob/main/skills_all/creating-pr/SKILL.mdView on GitHub

Overview

Guides creating or updating pull requests with meaningful commits and thoughtful branch management. It standardizes commit formats, PR updates, and templates to speed reviews and reduce back-and-forth.

How This Skill Works

Leverages Git and the GitHub CLI to inspect changes, stage work, and manage PRs. It prescribes a single comprehensive commit per push with a type: description format, and uses gh pr view/create/edit to handle PR lifecycle and updates.

When to Use It

Creating a new feature or improvement PR from a non-main branch with conventional naming
Updating an existing PR with new commits while preserving the original description
Applying a critical fix and documenting it with the Critical Fix Update Template
Submitting a feature enhancement and documenting changes with the Feature Enhancement Template
Managing PRs when Husky hooks slow down local commits, favoring a single comprehensive commit per push

Quick Start

Step 1: Check your current branch and switch to a feature branch if needed (git branch --show-current; git checkout -b feature/your-work)
Step 2: Review, stage, and commit changes (git status; git add .; git commit -m 'type: description')
Step 3: Push and create/update PR using the GitHub CLI (git push -u origin feature/your-work; gh pr create --title "..." --body "..." or gh pr view to update)

Best Practices

Start on a feature branch; if you are on main, create a new conventional-name branch
Review and stage changes thoroughly with git status, git diff, and git add .
Use a single comprehensive commit per push with the format type: description
Check for existing PRs with gh pr view and push updates, adding an update comment to preserve history
When updating PRs, apply the appropriate template (General PR Update, Critical Fix, or Feature Enhancement) to document changes, testing, and impact

Example Use Cases

feat: add user authentication to login flow
fix: patch crash when submitting empty form
refactor: extract shared utilities from auth module
docs: update API README with usage examples
chore: update dependencies and pre-commit hooks

Frequently Asked Questions

Add this skill to your agents