---
name: create-pr
description: PR flow — open a new PR for the current task branch (validates base branch, commits, issue and push state) or update an existing PR's title or description to match Penpot conventions. Use it when the user asks to open or create a PR, in any phrasing.
---
# Create PR
Two modes. **Open mode** takes the current task branch to a new, validated
PR. **Update mode** rewrites an existing PR's title or description. Gather
information, validate, and act in one pass. If validation fails, STOP with a
single coherent message that lists every problem and states exactly what
information is missing — never fix or work around problems silently.
Both modes require an authenticated `gh` CLI (`gh auth status`) and never
push — the user pushes from their own shell.
## When to use
- The user asks to open or create a NEW PR for the current task branch, in
any phrasing ("open a PR", "create the pull request", "put this up for
review") — or runs `/create-pr`. → **Open mode**.
- The user asks to fix or update an EXISTING PR's title or description to
match conventions. → **Update mode**.
If the running agent cannot write (for example, the plan agent), say so and
stop — this skill needs the build agent.
## Open mode
### 1. Gather context (read-only)
- Current branch: `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD`.
- Target base branch: run `./scripts/detect-target-branch` from the repo root.
It prints the nearest ancestor branch of HEAD (exit 0) or fails (exit 1).
- Commits: `git log --oneline ..HEAD`.
- Push state (local): `git rev-parse --verify origin/` and compare
with HEAD. It reads the local remote-tracking ref — no network, no SSH. It
reflects the last push or fetch this clone knows about.
- Issue: from the session context, or from the branch name — `issue-NNNN`
maps to issue NNNN; recover its title and body with `gh issue view NNNN`.
### 2. Validate — stop with one message if anything fails
Run all checks before reporting, then report every failure together:
1. **Base branch not usable.** If the script fails (exit 1), or its output —
after stripping an optional `remotes/origin/` prefix — is not one of the
canonical branches (`develop`, `staging`, `main`), stop and ask the user
to re-run with more context — for example, passing the base branch
explicitly in their invocation. An explicit base given by the user
overrides the script's output.
2. **On a base branch.** There is no task branch to merge — say so and stop.
3. **No commits.** The branch has no commits ahead of the base — say so and
stop.
4. **No clear issue.** There is no issue in the session context, and the
branch name has no `issue-NNNN` pattern (or `gh issue view` finds nothing)
— say so and stop. Exception: the user's invocation says `no issue` /
`without issue` — then continue without an issue reference.
5. **Branch not pushed.** The remote-tracking ref `origin/` is
missing, or `git rev-parse origin/` differs from HEAD — the
branch was never pushed, or has commits the remote does not have. Never
push yourself; ask the user to push and to run `/create-pr` again
afterwards, then stop.
### 3. Already-open PR
Check whether a PR already exists for this branch (`gh pr list --head
`). If one exists, report its URL and stop — do not create a second
one. Title or description fixes belong to Update mode.
### 4. Write and create the PR
Write the title and body following `mem:workflow/creating-prs` (title format,
description structure, writing principles) and `mem:workflow/creating-commits`
(commit type emojis). Derive the title and body from the commits and, when
there is one, from the issue body. Include `Closes #NNNN` for readable context,
but do not treat it as the link; use `python3 scripts/gh.py link-issue ` after creating the PR.
Repeat the `AI-assisted-by:` trailer in the body, once per model that worked
on the branch, so the PR states the assistance where a reviewer reads it. The
branch commits keep their own trailers, and a squash merge carries every one
of them into the landed message.
Before offering or accepting a draft PR, warn that CI doesn't run on them. Add
`--draft` only when the user agrees to that.
```bash
gh pr create --repo penpot/penpot --base "" --title "" \
--project "Main" --body-file /tmp/pr-body.md
```
`--base` is the branch resolved in step 1: without it the PR opens against the
repository default, which is wrong for a branch cut from `staging`. `--project
"Main"` is required by `mem:workflow/creating-prs`.
If an issue is present, run the explicit assignment and verification command
from `mem:workflow/creating-prs` before reporting success:
```bash
python3 scripts/gh.py link-issue
```
### 5. Report
Report the PR URL and stop.
## Update mode
1. Identify the PR: the number given by the user, or `gh pr list --head
`.
2. Write the new title and/or body following `mem:workflow/creating-prs`.
3. Apply and verify:
```bash
gh pr edit --repo penpot/penpot --title "" --body-file /tmp/pr-body.md
gh pr view --repo penpot/penpot --json title,body
```
If the updated body contains `Closes #NNNN`, run the explicit assignment
command from `mem:workflow/creating-prs` and require its verification to
succeed:
```bash
python3 scripts/gh.py link-issue
```
4. Report and stop.
## User context
Extra context in the user's invocation (the message that triggered this skill)
plays the role command arguments play elsewhere: overrides such as `no issue` /
`without issue`, an explicit base branch (`from origin/staging`), a PR number
for Update mode, and so on.