PR Retro Skill

Learn from PR outcomes by analyzing accept/reject patterns.

Overview

After a PR is merged or rejected, analyze what worked and what didn't to improve future contributions.

Output: .agents/learnings/YYYY-MM-DD-pr-{repo}-{outcome}.md

When to Use:

• After a PR is merged (capture success patterns)
• After a PR is rejected (understand why)
• After receiving significant review feedback
• Periodically to review contribution patterns

Workflow

1.  PR Discovery    -> Find the PR to analyze
2.  Outcome Analysis -> Merged/rejected/changes requested
3.  Feedback Extraction -> What did reviewers say?
4.  Pattern Identification -> What worked/didn't
5.  Lesson Extraction -> Reusable learnings
6.  Output -> Write retro document

Phase 1: PR Discovery

# If PR number provided
gh pr view <number> --json state,reviews,comments,mergedAt,closedAt

# Find recent PRs by you
gh pr list --state all --author @me --limit 10

# Find PRs to a specific repo
gh pr list -R <owner/repo> --state all --author @me --limit 10

Phase 2: Outcome Analysis

# Get PR outcome
gh pr view <number> --json state,mergedAt,closedAt,reviews

Phase 3: Feedback Extraction

# Get all review comments
gh pr view <number> --json reviews --jq '.reviews[] | "\(.author.login): \(.body)"'

# Get all comments
gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/pulls/<number>/comments --jq '.[].body'

# Get requested changes
gh pr view <number> --json reviews --jq '.reviews[] | select(.state == "CHANGES_REQUESTED")'

Feedback Categories

Phase 4: Pattern Identification

Success Patterns (If Merged)

Failure Patterns (If Rejected)

Phase 5: Lesson Extraction

Lesson Template

## Lesson: [Title]

**Context**: [When does this apply?]
**Learning**: [What did we learn?]
**Action**: [What to do differently?]

**Evidence**:
- PR #N: [quote or summary]

Common Lessons

Phase 6: Output

Write to .agents/learnings/YYYY-MM-DD-pr-{repo}-{outcome}.md

# PR Retro: {repo} #{number}

**Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**PR**: {url}
**Outcome**: Merged / Rejected / Stale

## Summary

{What was the PR about? What happened?}

## Timeline

| Date | Event |
|------|-------|
| {date} | PR opened |
| {date} | First review |
| {date} | {outcome} |

## Feedback Analysis

### Positive Feedback
- {quote}

### Requested Changes
- {quote}

### Rejection Reasons (if applicable)
- {quote}

## Lessons Learned

### Lesson 1: {title}
**Context**: {when this applies}
**Learning**: {what we learned}
**Action**: {what to do differently}

## Updates to Process

{Any changes to make to pr-prep, pr-plan, or other skills}

## Next Steps

{Future actions based on this retro}

Anti-Patterns

Examples

Learn From Rejected PR

User says: "Run a retro on why this PR was rejected."

What happens:

1. Analyze reviewer feedback and timeline.
2. Identify preventable process and scope issues.
3. Capture reusable lessons for future PRs.

Learn From Successful Merge

User says: "Extract what worked from this merged PR."

What happens:

1. Identify patterns that sped review/approval.
2. Distill actionable playbook updates.
3. Save lessons for future contribution flows.

Troubleshooting