split-pr

Split Large PR into Smaller Changes

Purpose

Help developers break down large changesets into logical, reviewable pull requests. This skill analyzes the current diff and proposes a splitting strategy that keeps changes atomic and reviewable.

Instructions

1. Analyze Current Changes

Run these commands to understand the scope:

# Get detailed file statistics
git diff main...HEAD --stat

# List all changed files
git diff main...HEAD --name-only

# Show commit history for context
git log main...HEAD --oneline

# Count non-generated files changed
git diff main...HEAD --name-only | grep -v 'vendor/' | grep -v '\.pb\.go$' | grep -v 'zz_generated' | grep -v '^docs/' | wc -l

# Count lines changed (excluding generated code)
git diff main...HEAD --stat -- . ':(exclude)vendor/*' ':(exclude)*.pb.go' ':(exclude)zz_generated*' ':(exclude)docs/*' | tail -1

2. Evaluate Size and Complexity

Assess whether the changes exceed recommended limits:

• Target limits per PR:
  • < 10 files changed (excluding tests, generated code, docs)
  • < 400 lines of code changed (excluding tests, generated code, docs)
  • Changes represent one logical unit of work

If changes exceed these limits or mix multiple concerns, proceed to split analysis.

3. Identify Logical Groupings

Examine the changed files and identify natural boundaries:

• By component/package: Group changes by the package or component they affect
• By layer: Separate model changes, business logic, API changes, CLI changes
• By concern: Separate refactoring from new features, bug fixes from enhancements
• By dependency: Identify which changes depend on others

Use these commands to help:

# Group changed files by directory
git diff main...HEAD --name-only | grep -v 'vendor/' | grep -v '\.pb\.go$' | cut -d'/' -f1-2 | sort | uniq -c

# Show changes by package
git diff main...HEAD --name-only | grep '\.go$' | grep -v '_test\.go$' | cut -d'/' -f1-3 | sort | uniq -c

4. Propose Split Strategy