Generate PR Description

SkillDev tools

Generate a comprehensive pull request description following the

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the Generate PR Description skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by atomicinnovation/accelerator in skills/github/describe-pr/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

!${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/accelerator config context --skill describe-pr --fail-safe

PRs directory: !${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/accelerator config path prs --fail-safe Tmp directory: !${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/accelerator config path tmp --fail-safe

IMPORTANT: Wherever {prs directory} or {tmp directory} appears in the instructions below, substitute the actual resolved path shown above.

PR description template:

!${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/accelerator config template pr-description --fail-safe

You are tasked with generating a comprehensive pull request description following the repository's standard template.

Steps to follow:

Step 1: Use the PR description template

  • The template is shown above under "PR description template"
  • Read the template carefully to understand all sections and requirements

Step 2: Identify the PR to describe

  • Check if the current branch has an associated PR: gh pr view --json url,number,title,state 2>/dev/null
  • If no PR exists for the current branch, or if on main/master, list open PRs: gh pr list --limit 10 --json number,title,headRefName,author
  • Ask the user which PR they want to describe

Step 3: Check for existing description

  • Check if {prs directory}/{number}-description.md already exists
  • If it exists, read it and inform the user you'll be updating it
  • Consider what has changed since the last description was written

Step 4: Gather comprehensive PR information

  • Get the full PR diff: gh pr diff {number}
  • If you get an error about no default remote repository, instruct the user to run gh repo set-default and select the appropriate repository
  • Get commit history: gh pr view {number} --json commits
  • Review the base branch: gh pr view {number} --json baseRefName
  • Get PR metadata: gh pr view {number} --json url,title,number,state

Step 5: Analyze the changes thoroughly

(ultrathink about the code changes, their architectural implications, and potential impacts)

  • Read through the entire diff carefully
  • For context, read any files that are referenced but not shown in the diff
  • Understand the purpose and impact of each change
  • Identify user-facing changes vs internal implementation details
  • Look for breaking changes or migration requirements

Step 6: Handle verification requirements

  • Look for any checklist items in the "How to verify it" section of the template
  • For each verification step:
    • If it's a command you can run (like make check test, npm test, etc.), run it
    • If it passes, mark the checkbox as checked: - [x]
    • If it fails, keep it unchecked and note what failed: - [ ] with explanation
    • If it requires manual testing (UI interactions, external services), leave unchecked and note for user
  • Document any verification steps you couldn't complete

Step 7: Generate the description

  • Fill out each section from the template thoroughly:
    • Answer each question/section based on your analysis
    • Be specific about problems solved and changes made
    • Focus on user impact where relevant
    • Include technical details in appropriate sections
    • Write a concise changelog entry
  • Ensure all checklist items are addressed (checked or explained)

Step 8: Populate frontmatter and save the description

Use the unified pr-description template as the source of the frontmatter block:

!${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/accelerator config template pr-description --fail-safe

Before writing the artifact file, capture metadata and substitute the unified base fields into the template's frontmatter block:

  1. Invoke ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/accelerator corpus metadata derive to obtain Current Date/Time (UTC):, Current Revision:, and Repository Name:. Also capture PR-specific extras via gh pr view <number> --json url,number,title,mergeCommit to fill pr_url:, pr_number:, title:, and (when the PR is merged) merge_commit:.

  2. Substitute every field below with the indicated value:

    • type:pr-description
    • id: ← the PR number as a quoted YAML string (e.g. "42")
    • title: ← the PR title from gh pr view
    • date: ← the Current Date/Time (UTC): value
    • author: ← the author resolved per the standard chain (config → VCS user → prompt)
    • producer:describe-pr
    • status:complete
    • pr_url: ← the URL from gh pr view
    • pr_number: ← the PR number as a bare integer
    • merge_commit: ← the merge commit SHA. Fill when the PR is merged; otherwise omit the key entirely.
    • revision: ← the Current Revision: value
    • repository: ← the Repository Name: value
    • last_updated: ← the same Current Date/Time (UTC): value
    • last_updated_by: ← the same value resolved for author
    • schema_version:1 (bare integer)

    Optional linkage/foreign-ref keys are omit-by-default: the template shows each as ""/[], but write a key into the artifact only when it has a value, and omit it entirely otherwise (do not carry the empty placeholder through).

    • parent: ← the work item this PR implements, as a typed-linkage ref ("work-item:NNNN"). Fill when the PR has an owning work item; otherwise omit the key.
    • relates_to: ← list of typed-linkage refs to related artifacts (["work-item:NNNN", ...]). Fill when relationships are explicit; otherwise omit the key.
    • work_item_id: ← the linked work item's full ID (quoted). Fill when the PR is linked to a work item; otherwise omit the key.
  3. Write the completed description with the substituted frontmatter block to {prs directory}/{number}-description.md.

  • Show the user the generated description (without frontmatter — they'll see what gets posted to GitHub).
  • On re-run (when {prs directory}/{number}-description.md already exists), regenerate the unified frontmatter rather than only updating date:. Creation-time fields are immutable on re-run: date:, author:, id:, pr_number:, and pr_url: are preserved verbatim from the existing on-disk file. last_updated: is refreshed to the new Current Date/Time (UTC): value; last_updated_by: is rewritten to the current author per the standard resolution chain; merge_commit: is filled if the PR is now merged. Step 3 already handles reading the prior description for context.

Step 9: Update the PR

  • The {prs directory}/{number}-description.md file contains YAML frontmatter that should not appear on GitHub. Before posting, strip the frontmatter block from the start of the file:
    1. Read the file content
    2. The frontmatter block starts with --- on line 1 and ends at the next --- line (which closes the YAML block). Only match the opening frontmatter block — do not match --- lines that appear later in the body (e.g., markdown horizontal rules).
    3. Ensure the tmp directory exists: mkdir -p {tmp directory}
    4. Write everything after the closing --- line to {tmp directory}/pr-body-{number}.md
    5. Post the body via the helper binary, which resolves the base (upstream) repository for cross-fork safety and PATCHes via the GitHub REST API in-process:
      ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/accelerator collaboration pr update-body {number} --body-file {tmp directory}/pr-body-{number}.md
      
      If the command exits non-zero, surface its stderr verbatim to the user. Exit codes:
      • Exit 2 → usage/refusal — e.g. missing --body-file, no origin remote configured
      • Exit 1 → any other failure — base-repo resolution failure, body-file read failure, GitHub REST API failure stderr always names which stage failed.
    6. Clean up {tmp directory}/pr-body-{number}.md
  • Confirm the update was successful
  • If any verification steps remain unchecked, remind the user to complete them before merging

Important notes:

  • This command works across different repositories - always read the local template
  • Be thorough but concise - descriptions should be scannable
  • Focus on the "why" as much as the "what"
  • Include any breaking changes or migration notes prominently
  • If the PR touches multiple components, organize the description accordingly
  • Always attempt to run verification commands when possible
  • Clearly communicate which verification steps need manual testing

!${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/accelerator config instructions describe-pr --fail-safe

Signals

GitHub stars
31
Forks
1
Last commit
Sep 2026
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
describe-pr
Source
github.com/atomicinnovation/accelerator