eia-github-pr-context

GitHub PR Context Skill

Overview

This skill provides tools to retrieve comprehensive context about GitHub Pull Requests. Use this skill when you need to:

• Understand a PR before reviewing: Get the full picture of what changed, why, and how
• Plan task delegation: Know which files changed to assign subagents appropriately
• Analyze merge readiness: Check mergeable status, conflicts, and CI state
• Extract specific metadata: Get author, branch names, labels, reviewers

Output

Each script produces structured output for different PR analysis needs:

Script	Output Format	Key Fields	Use Case
eia_get_pr_context.py	JSON	number, title, state, author, mergeable, files[], labels[], reviewers[]	Complete PR overview for review planning
eia_get_pr_files.py	JSON array	filename, status, additions, deletions, patch (optional)	File-level change tracking
eia_get_pr_diff.py	Unified diff text or JSON stats	Diff hunks or files_changed, insertions, deletions	Code change inspection

All JSON outputs are pretty-printed and can be piped to jq for filtering.

Instructions

Follow these numbered steps to retrieve and analyze GitHub PR context:

1. Verify prerequisites are met

   • Run gh auth status to confirm GitHub CLI authentication
   • Run python3 --version to confirm Python 3.8+ is available
   • Ensure you have read access to the target repository

2. Identify which information you need

   • Need full PR overview? → Use eia_get_pr_context.py
   • Need only changed files list? → Use eia_get_pr_files.py
   • Need actual code diff? → Use eia_get_pr_diff.py

3. Run the appropriate script with required parameters

   • Always provide --pr NUMBER (the PR number)
   • Optionally provide --repo OWNER/REPO (defaults to current directory's repo)
   • For diffs, optionally add --stat for summary or --files for specific files

4. Parse the output based on your task

   • For JSON outputs: pipe to jq or parse in your code
   • For diff outputs: analyze unified diff format or statistics
   • Check exit codes (0 = success, 1-4 = various errors)

5. Handle errors appropriately

   • Exit code 1: Fix invalid parameters
   • Exit code 2: Verify PR number and repository
   • Exit code 3: Check network, retry if rate limited
   • Exit code 4: Re-authenticate with gh auth login

6. Extract specific information as needed

   • For metadata fields, see references/pr-metadata.md
   • For diff analysis, see references/diff-analysis.md

Checklist

Copy this checklist and track your progress:

• Verify GitHub CLI is authenticated (gh auth status)
• Verify Python 3.8+ is available
• Confirm read access to the target repository
• Identify which information is needed (context/files/diff)
• Run the appropriate script with --pr NUMBER parameter
• Parse the JSON or diff output
• Check exit codes and handle any errors
• Extract specific metadata or diff information as needed

When to Use This Skill

Scenario	Use This Skill
Starting a code review	Yes - get full PR context first
Need to know which files changed	Yes - use file listing script
Want to see actual code changes	Yes - use diff retrieval script
Need PR metadata (author, labels)	Yes - use context script
Creating a new PR	No - use git workflow skill instead
Commenting on a PR	Partially - get context first, then use gh CLI directly

Decision Tree: Which Script to Use

Need PR information?
├── Need full context (metadata + files + status)?
│   └── Use: eia_get_pr_context.py
│
├── Need only the list of changed files?
│   └── Use: eia_get_pr_files.py
│
├── Need to see the actual code diff?
│   ├── Want summary statistics only?
│   │   └── Use: eia_get_pr_diff.py --stat
│   ├── Want diff for specific files?
│   │   └── Use: eia_get_pr_diff.py --files file1.py file2.py
│   └── Want full diff?
│       └── Use: eia_get_pr_diff.py

Prerequisites

1. GitHub CLI (gh) must be installed and authenticated
2. Python 3.8+ available in PATH
3. Repository access - you must have read access to the repository

Verify prerequisites:

# Check gh is authenticated
gh auth status

# Check Python version
python3 --version

Script Reference Table

Script	Purpose	Key Arguments	Output
eia_get_pr_context.py	Full PR metadata and status	--pr NUMBER, --repo OWNER/REPO	JSON with metadata, files, mergeable status
eia_get_pr_files.py	List changed files	--pr NUMBER, --repo OWNER/REPO, --include-patch	JSON array of files with status
eia_get_pr_diff.py	Get code diff	--pr NUMBER, --repo OWNER/REPO, --stat, --files	Diff text or JSON stats

Exit Codes (Standardized)

All scripts use standardized exit codes for consistent error handling:

Code	Meaning	Description
0	Success	Output is valid JSON/text
1	Invalid parameters	Bad PR number, missing required args
2	Resource not found	PR does not exist
3	API error	Network, rate limit, timeout
4	Not authenticated	gh CLI not logged in
5	Idempotency skip	N/A for these scripts
6	Not mergeable	N/A for these scripts

Examples

Get Full PR Context

# Get context for PR #123 in current repo
python3 eia_get_pr_context.py --pr 123

# Get context for PR in specific repo
python3 eia_get_pr_context.py --pr 456 --repo owner/repo-name

List Changed Files

# List files changed in PR #123
python3 eia_get_pr_files.py --pr 123

# Include patch/diff for each file
python3 eia_get_pr_files.py --pr 123 --include-patch

Get Diff

# Get full diff
python3 eia_get_pr_diff.py --pr 123

# Get statistics summary only
python3 eia_get_pr_diff.py --pr 123 --stat

# Get diff for specific files only
python3 eia_get_pr_diff.py --pr 123 --files src/main.py tests/test_main.py

Reference Documents

PR Metadata Reference

For detailed information about PR metadata fields and how to extract specific information, see:

references/pr-metadata.md

Contents:

• 1. PR Metadata JSON Structure
  • 1.1 Core identification fields (number, title, state)
  • 1.2 Author and assignee information
  • 1.3 Branch and merge information
  • 1.4 Labels, milestones, and projects
  • 1.5 Review and approval status
• 2. Extracting Specific Fields
  • 2.1 Getting PR title and description
  • 2.2 Finding the source and target branches
  • 2.3 Checking mergeable status and conflicts
  • 2.4 Listing reviewers and their decisions
• 3. Common Metadata Queries
  • 3.1 Is this PR ready to merge?
  • 3.2 Who needs to approve this PR?
  • 3.3 What labels are applied?

Diff Analysis Reference

For detailed information about interpreting PR diffs and analyzing changes, see:

references/diff-analysis.md

Contents:

• 1. Understanding Diff Output
  • 1.1 Unified diff format explanation
  • 1.2 File headers and hunks
  • 1.3 Addition, deletion, and context lines
• 2. File-Level Analysis
  • 2.1 Identifying file types by extension
  • 2.2 Detecting rename and copy operations
  • 2.3 Binary file changes
• 3. Change Statistics
  • 3.1 Lines added vs deleted
  • 3.2 Files by change type (added, modified, deleted)
  • 3.3 Estimating review complexity
• 4. Filtering and Focusing
  • 4.1 Filtering by file path patterns
  • 4.2 Ignoring generated files
  • 4.3 Focusing on specific directories

Integration with Integrator Agent

When delegating PR review tasks, use this skill to gather context first:

1. Get PR context with eia_get_pr_context.py
2. Analyze which files changed with eia_get_pr_files.py
3. Delegate file-specific reviews to subagents based on file types
4. Aggregate results and post review summary

Error Handling

Problem	Cause	Solution
"gh: command not found"	GitHub CLI not installed	Install with brew install gh or see gh docs
"not logged into any GitHub hosts"	gh not authenticated	Run gh auth login
"Could not resolve to a PullRequest"	Wrong PR number or repo	Verify PR exists with gh pr view NUMBER
Rate limit errors	Too many API calls	Wait for rate limit reset or use --retry
Permission denied	No repo access	Verify you have read access to the repository

For additional troubleshooting, run scripts with --verbose flag for detailed logging.

Resources

• references/pr-metadata.md - PR metadata JSON structure and field extraction
• references/diff-analysis.md - Understanding and analyzing PR diffs