pr-description

SkillDev tools

Template and rules for writing PR descriptions

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 pr-description skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by albinotonnina/echos in .hive/prompts/skills/pr-description/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

Write the GitHub PR title and body, then post them. Do not wait for approval.

Work from the diff, not from memory.

When to run

This skill is auto plus on demand.

Run it:

  • When the user asks for a PR title or body, or types /pr-description.
  • Immediately before gh pr create.
  • Immediately after an agent git push on a branch that already has an open PR. Then run gh pr edit with a fresh title and body.

Do not run it on a human-only git push in another terminal. Do not add a git hook.

A later push must rewrite the GitHub text. Do not leave a stale description.

Required skills for the title and body

simple-english and i-have-adhd are prerequisites. They apply to the PR title and body, not to the rest of the session.

Load both immediately before writing the title and body. Use the Skill tool if this harness has one. If it does not, Read each skill's SKILL.md. Do not write from memory of those skills.

If either skill is missing, stop. Do not post a weaker substitute.

When i-have-adhd is loaded from this skill, ignore its persistence section. Do not switch the rest of the session into ADHD mode.

Use pragmatic simple-english. Then shape the text with i-have-adhd: next action first in the lead, numbered steps for manual test, lists capped at 5.

Procedure

1. Ground in the repo

  1. Find the base branch (main / master / develop).
  2. Read git log --oneline base...HEAD and git diff base...HEAD.
  3. Read .github/pull_request_template.md if it exists (also check .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md and .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/).
  4. Read about 15 recent PR titles in this repo (gh pr list --limit 15 --state all --json title). Match that shape. Do not invent a new title style.
  5. Collect linked issues from branch name, commit messages, and Closes # / Fixes # text.

2. Classify the PR

Pick one kind from the diff:

KindSignal
fixRestores broken behavior. A user-visible bug, a failing test, a regression.
featAdds behavior that did not exist. New export, new command, new user-facing flow.
chore / docsAgent files, CI, docs-only, refactors with no user-visible behavior change.

If both a feat and a fix are in the diff, the larger user-visible story wins. Say so in the lead.

3. Feat gate: easy test path

  • A new or updated automated test that covers the new behavior
  • A command a reviewer can copy and run
  • A change in an official example app that shows the new behavior

If none of those exist, stop. Do not run gh pr create. Do not run gh pr edit. Tell the user what is missing. Wait until they add one, then continue.

A fix does not use this gate. A chore / docs PR does not use this gate.

4. Write the title

Match this repo's recent PR titles. In a conventional-commit repo, write type(scope): summary. Keep it one line.

The title must still make sense if the reviewer never opens the body.

5. Write the body

Load simple-english and i-have-adhd, then write in this order.

Lead (required, 1 to 4 sentences, before the template).

  • feat: what the PR does for a user of the product.
  • fix: what the bug is, then how this PR fixes it.
  • chore / docs: what changed, in product or repo terms, not a file list.

No preamble. No "This PR aims to". Start with the fact.

Repo template (required when the file exists).

Fill every section honestly. Leave a checkbox unchecked when the claim is false. Do not tick "I ran pnpm test:pr" if you did not run it.

Extra sections after the template, in this order. Testing and Risk / rollback are always present. Linked issues and Public API change are omitted when they do not apply.

Testing

Three parts, all required:

  1. Commands run. What you ran, what passed, what you skipped and why. If you ran nothing, say so.
  2. Manual test. Numbered steps a reviewer can follow to see the change. For a fix, step 1 is how to reproduce the old bug, then how to confirm it is gone.
  3. How this PR makes testing easy. Name the artifacts on the branch: tests, a command, an example app change. If there are none (allowed for fix and chore / docs), write that. Do not invent an easy path.
Linked issues

Omit this heading when nothing links. When an issue links, use Closes #N or Fixes #N.

Risk / rollback

What could break. How to undo (revert the PR, turn a flag off, and so on). If risk is low, say that in one line. Do not skip the heading.

Public API change

Omit this heading when the PR does not touch the published surface.

Published surface means: exported functions, types, components, CLI flags, env vars, and documented contracts from published packages. Tests, internal files, agent skills, AGENTS.md, and CLAUDE.md do not count.

When it does touch that surface, show caller usage, not the internal diff:

## Public API change

**Before**

\`\`\`ts
old call site
\`\`\`

**After**

\`\`\`ts
new call site
\`\`\`

Two short snippets. What a user writes today, then what they write after this PR.

6. Post immediately

Do not wait for the user to approve the text.

  • No PR yet: gh pr create --title "..." --body-file ...
  • PR already open: gh pr edit --title "..." --body-file ...

If gh fails, stop and show the error. Leave the drafted body in the chat so it is not lost.

Do not attach screenshots to the PR. Do not commit screenshot files for this skill.

Red flags

You catch yourselfDo instead
Writing the body from the branch nameRead the diff.
Ticking a template checkbox you did not doLeave it unchecked and say so in Testing.
Posting a feat with no test, command, or exampleStop. The feat gate failed.
A 1-4 sentence lead that lists filesRewrite as what a user can do, or what bug is gone.
Public API section that shows the internal diffShow caller usage before and after.
Public API section on an AGENTS.md-only PROmit the heading.
"I'll update the description later" after a pushRewrite now with gh pr edit.
Waiting for the user to approve the textPost. This skill does not wait.
Uploading or committing screenshots for the PR bodySkip. Do not put images on the PR.
Writing without loading simple-english and i-have-adhdLoad both. If missing, stop.

Signals

GitHub stars
60
Forks
8
Last commit
Jul 2026

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Source
github.com/albinotonnina/echos