Generate PR Description
SkillDev toolsGenerate a comprehensive pull request description following the
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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.mdalready 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-defaultand 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
- If it's a command you can run (like
- 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:
-
Invoke
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/accelerator corpus metadata deriveto obtainCurrent Date/Time (UTC):,Current Revision:, andRepository Name:. Also capture PR-specific extras viagh pr view <number> --json url,number,title,mergeCommitto fillpr_url:,pr_number:,title:, and (when the PR is merged)merge_commit:. -
Substitute every field below with the indicated value:
type:←pr-descriptionid:← the PR number as a quoted YAML string (e.g."42")title:← the PR title fromgh pr viewdate:← theCurrent Date/Time (UTC):valueauthor:← the author resolved per the standard chain (config → VCS user → prompt)producer:←describe-prstatus:←completepr_url:← the URL fromgh pr viewpr_number:← the PR number as a bare integermerge_commit:← the merge commit SHA. Fill when the PR is merged; otherwise omit the key entirely.revision:← theCurrent Revision:valuerepository:← theRepository Name:valuelast_updated:← the sameCurrent Date/Time (UTC):valuelast_updated_by:← the same value resolved forauthorschema_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.
-
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.mdalready exists), regenerate the unified frontmatter rather than only updatingdate:. Creation-time fields are immutable on re-run:date:,author:,id:,pr_number:, andpr_url:are preserved verbatim from the existing on-disk file.last_updated:is refreshed to the newCurrent 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.mdfile contains YAML frontmatter that should not appear on GitHub. Before posting, strip the frontmatter block from the start of the file:- Read the file content
- 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). - Ensure the tmp directory exists:
mkdir -p {tmp directory} - Write everything after the closing
---line to{tmp directory}/pr-body-{number}.md - 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:
If the command exits non-zero, surface its stderr verbatim to the user. Exit codes:${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/accelerator collaboration pr update-body {number} --body-file {tmp directory}/pr-body-{number}.md- Exit 2 → usage/refusal — e.g. missing
--body-file, nooriginremote configured - Exit 1 → any other failure — base-repo resolution failure, body-file read failure, GitHub REST API failure stderr always names which stage failed.
- Exit 2 → usage/refusal — e.g. missing
- 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