pr-lifecycle

Context

This skill is the canonical Copilot-agent lifecycle for the Squad repository. It covers the full path from picking up a GitHub issue to merging a PR. Where older docs (templates, copilot-instructions, CONTRIBUTING.md) conflict with this skill, this skill takes precedence for Copilot agents.

For advanced scenarios (worktrees, multi-repo coordination), see .copilot/skills/git-workflow/SKILL.md.

Scope

✅ THIS SKILL COVERS:

• Issue pickup and branch creation
• Implementation, build, test, lint workflow
• Pre-push safety verification
• PR creation with correct target, title, body, and labels
• All 11 PR readiness checks (what they check, how to pass, how to fix)
• Post-creation maintenance (review feedback, rebasing, CI)
• Merge preconditions and cleanup

❌ THIS SKILL DOES NOT COVER:

• Worktree-based parallel work (see git-workflow skill)
• Multi-repo coordinated PRs (see git-workflow skill)
• Release process / publishing (see .squad/skills/release-process)
• Reviewer lockout protocol (see .copilot/skills/reviewer-protocol)
• Architectural or security review checklists

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Lifecycle Procedure

Phase 1 — Issue Pickup

1. Read the issue. Understand the acceptance criteria before writing code.

2. Confirm capability fit. Check your capability profile in .squad/team.md. 🟢 = proceed. 🟡 = proceed but flag in PR. 🔴 = comment on issue and stop.

3. Branch from dev:

   git fetch origin dev
   git checkout dev
   git rebase origin/dev
   git checkout -b squad/{issue-number}-{slug}
   

   • Branch name format: squad/{issue-number}-{kebab-case-slug}
   • Example: squad/42-fix-login-validation
   • Never branch from main

4. Mark in-progress (optional):

   gh issue edit {number} --add-label "status:in-progress"
   

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Phase 2 — Implementation

1. Make your changes. Follow the codebase conventions:
   • TypeScript strict mode, no @ts-ignore
   • ESM-only, async/await
   • JSDoc on new public APIs