skills/engineer-mode/playbooks/opening-a-pr.md

### Opening a PR

Invoked at the end of every other playbook.

**Worktree.** Work from a git worktree off main; subagents inherit it. Multiple `Agent` calls on the same branch each get their own worktree, or `git fetch && git reset --hard origin/<branch>` between them. Dirty branch with unrelated work: patch out, fresh worktree, apply. Snarled worktree: reset from main, redo minimally.

**Commits.** Commit liberally; rebase into small, ordered commits before opening PRs. Each commit is a future PR: landable, ordered to tell the story. Amend when the fix belongs in a just-made commit; new commit when separable.

**PRs.** Run `/deslop` over the diff before commit. Run `/no-comments` before review. Write every PR title, PR description, and commit body with `/technical-writing`, then apply `/unslop`. Apply every technical-writing layer except Diátaxis. Use one word for each action, keep articles, and avoid `-ing` when a plain verb works.

**Titles.** Use Conventional Commits in the form `type(scope): subject`. Use `feat`, `fix`, `docs`, `refactor`, `test`, `chore`, or `perf` as the type. Use the changed area, such as `pstack` or `engineer-mode`, as the scope. Keep the subject short and imperative. Apply the same `/technical-writing` and `/unslop` pass as the body. Name a real symbol when one carries the change. For example, `fix(pstack): retarget opening-a-pr babysit trigger`. Do not add a trailing period.

**Descriptions.** Use these sections in order. Drop a section when it is empty.

- `## Why`. State the intent and why this approach fits.
- `## Scope`. State facts from the diff. Name real symbols and paths. Name both sides of a rename or retarget. State what is in and out when the boundary matters.
- `## Tradeoffs`. State real choices only. Skip this section when there are none.
- `## Blast Radius`. State who and what the change touches. Explain why the change is safe or risky. If main is red without the fix, name the continuing cost.
- `## Verification`. State how you ran each check and its rigor. Name the real path, such as the `run` skill, the `verify` skill, or the targeted tests. State the outcome of each check, not only the command name.

After these sections, attach videos or screenshots when they prove a claim. Do not use `## Summary` or `## Test plan` boilerplate. A commit body does not restate its subject.

**Size and stacks.** Prefer five narrow PRs to one large PR. A stack is a base-branch chain. The root PR targets trunk. Each child branch rebases onto its parent's exact tip and its PR targets the parent branch. Create a child with `origin pr create --base <parent-branch>` or `gh pr create --base <parent-branch>` according to the resolved forge. Retarget an existing child with `origin pr edit <pr> --base <parent-branch>` or `gh pr edit <pr> --base <parent-branch>`. Branch from trunk only for independent work. Rebase on trunk before substantial stack work.

**Forge.** Resolve the forge before the first PR operation and keep that choice for create, edit, view, watch, and merge. GitHub CLI (`gh`) is the default. If `command -v origin` succeeds and Origin can resolve the repository, prefer `origin pr ...`. If Origin is absent or cannot resolve the repository, stay on `gh` and record the fallback.

**Readiness.** Open every PR ready, never as a draft. Some PR tools default to draft, so drop `--draft` from every PR creation call. If a PR still opens as a draft, run `gh pr ready <number>` or `origin pr ready <number>` according to the resolved forge. Run `gh pr view <number>` or `origin pr view <number>` before you refer to PR status.

**Babysit.** Opening a PR does not start a babysit. Post the URL and keep building. Finish the phase or stack first. Run a separate babysit pass only when the user asks for one after the whole stack exists, per `babysit.md`. A babysit for each new PR stalls the build and spends checks on commits that later waves restart. Push back when feedback drifts from intent.

A subagent that opens a PR runs `interrogate`, `/deslop`, and `/no-comments`. It returns the URL and does not babysit. Return to the parent.