GitHub PR merge

Merges Pull Requests after validating pre-merge checklist and handling post-merge cleanup.

Current PR

!gh pr view --json number,title,state -q '"PR #\(.number): \(.title) (\(.state))"' 2>/dev/null

Core workflow

1. Check comments status

Verify all review comments have at least one reply:

REPO=$(gh repo view --json nameWithOwner -q '.nameWithOwner')
PR=$(gh pr view --json number -q '.number')

# Find unreplied comment IDs
gh api repos/$REPO/pulls/$PR/comments --jq '
  [.[] | select(.in_reply_to_id) | .in_reply_to_id] as $replied |
  [.[] | select(.in_reply_to_id == null) | select(.id | IN($replied[]) | not) | .id]
'

If unreplied comments exist:

• STOP the merge process
• Inform user: "Found unreplied comments: [IDs]. Run github-pr-review first."
• NEVER reply to comments from this skill

2. Check milestone

gh pr view $PR --json milestone -q '.milestone.title // "none"'

• If milestone is assigned: include it in the checklist summary (step 5)
• If no milestone: check for open milestones and warn the user

gh api repos/$REPO/milestones --jq '[.[] | select(.state=="open")] | length'

If open milestones exist but the PR has none, surface a warning in the checklist: - Milestone: ⚠ not assigned (open milestones exist)

Do NOT block the merge for a missing milestone. It is a warning only.

3. Run validation

Run tests, linting, and verify CI checks. All MUST pass before proceeding.

gh pr checks $PR

4. Verify changelog completeness

Skip if the repo has no CHANGELOG.md. Otherwise make sure every commit this merge will publish is reflected in the changelog, so a release-promotion merge (develop → main) never leaves commits unlogged.

List the commits this PR brings into the base, and the changelog lines it adds:

BASE=$(gh pr view $PR --json baseRefName -q .baseRefName)
HEAD=$(gh pr view $PR --json headRefName -q .headRefName)
git log --oneline origin/$BASE..origin/$HEAD
git diff origin/$BASE...origin/$HEAD -- CHANGELOG.md

• Every commit that changes shipped behavior (feat/fix/perf, behavior-affecting refactor) MUST have a matching changelog line; pure chore/docs/test commits that do not change shipped behavior may be omitted.
• For a release-promotion merge, also confirm the version was bumped (the top ## [x.y.z] entry is new) and matches the manifest version(s).
• If any behavior-changing commit is missing from the changelog: STOP. Report the unlogged commits and ask the user to update the changelog and version before merging. NEVER edit the changelog from this skill.

5. Confirm with user

ALWAYS show checklist summary and ask before merging:

Pre-merge checklist:
- Comments: all replied
- Tests: passing
- Lint: passing
- CI: green
- Milestone: v0.1.0 (or ⚠ not assigned)
- Changelog: complete (or n/a)

Ready to merge PR #X. Proceed?

6. Execute merge

First determine the merge direction. It decides whether the head branch may be deleted:

gh pr view $PR --json baseRefName,headRefName -q '"\(.headRefName) -> \(.baseRefName)"'

Branch deletion rule:

• Topic branch → develop (head is a feature/fix/etc. branch): the branch is spent. Propose deleting it and merge with --delete-branch.
• develop → main (or any long-lived branch as head): NEVER delete the head branch. develop and main are permanent. Omit --delete-branch and do not propose deletion.

# Add --delete-branch ONLY for a topic branch merging into develop.
gh pr merge $PR --merge --delete-branch --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
- Key change 1
- Key change 2
- Key change 3

Reviews: N/N addressed
Tests: X passed (Y% cov)
Refs: Task N, Req M
EOF
)"

For a develop → main merge, run the same command without --delete-branch.

Merge strategy: always --merge (merge commit), never squash or rebase.

7. Post-merge cleanup

Sync the branch that received the merge (the PR base), not always develop:

BASE=$(gh pr view $PR --json baseRefName -q .baseRefName)
git checkout "$BASE" && git pull origin "$BASE"

8. Check milestone completion

If the PR had a milestone, check whether all items are now closed:

MILESTONE=$(gh pr view $PR --json milestone -q '.milestone.number // empty')
if [ -n "$MILESTONE" ]; then
  gh api repos/$REPO/milestones/$MILESTONE \
    --jq '"Open: \(.open_issues) | Closed: \(.closed_issues) | \(.title)"'
fi

• If open_issues == 0: inform the user and ask whether to close the milestone

gh api repos/$REPO/milestones/$MILESTONE --method PATCH --field state="closed"

• If open_issues > 0: report remaining open items count. No action needed.
• NEVER close a milestone automatically without explicit user confirmation.

Merge message format

Concise format for a clean git log:

- Key change 1 (what was added/fixed)
- Key change 2
- Key change 3

Reviews: 7/7 addressed (Gemini 5, Codex 2)
Tests: 628 passed (88% cov)
Refs: Task 8, Req 14-15

• 3-5 bullet points max for changes
• One line each for reviews summary, test results, and task references
• No headers (##), no verbose sections
• Total: ~10 lines max

Important rules

• ALWAYS run tests, lint, and CI checks before merging
• ALWAYS verify all review comments have replies
• ALWAYS check milestone assignment before merging (warn if missing, do not block)
• ALWAYS (repos with a CHANGELOG) verify it accounts for every behavior-changing commit this merge publishes; STOP and report any that are missing
• ALWAYS confirm with user before executing merge
• ALWAYS use merge commit (--merge), never squash/rebase
• ALWAYS delete the head branch only when merging a topic branch (feature/fix/etc.) into develop
• NEVER delete develop or main. On a develop → main merge, omit --delete-branch and never propose deletion
• ALWAYS check milestone completion after merge and report open items count
• NEVER merge with failing tests, lint, or CI checks
• NEVER skip user confirmation
• NEVER close a milestone without explicit user confirmation
• NEVER reply to PR comments from this skill - use github-pr-review instead
• STOP merge if unreplied comments exist and direct user to review skill