pr-research

PR Research Skill

Systematic exploration of upstream repositories before contributing.

Overview

Research an external codebase to understand how to contribute effectively. This is the FIRST step before planning or implementing an open source contribution.

When to Use:

• Before contributing to an external repository
• Starting a new open source contribution
• Evaluating whether to contribute to a project

When NOT to Use:

• Researching your own codebase (use $research)
• Already familiar with the project's guidelines

Workflow

-1. Prior Work Check    -> BLOCKING: Check for existing issues/PRs
0.  CONTRIBUTING.md     -> MANDATORY: Find contribution guidelines
1.  Repository Setup    -> Clone/identify upstream repo
2.  Guidelines Analysis -> Templates, CODE_OF_CONDUCT
3.  PR Archaeology      -> Analyze merged PRs, commit patterns
4.  Maintainer Research -> Response patterns, review expectations
5.  Issue Discovery     -> Find contribution opportunities
6.  Output              -> Write research document

Phase -1: Prior Work Check (BLOCKING)

CRITICAL: Before ANY research, check if someone is already working on this.

# Search for open issues on this topic
gh issue list -R <owner/repo> --state open --search "<topic keywords>" --limit 20

# Search for open PRs that might address this
gh pr list -R <owner/repo> --state open --search "<topic keywords>" --limit 20

# Check for recently merged PRs (might already be fixed)
gh pr list -R <owner/repo> --state merged --search "<topic keywords>" --limit 10

| Finding | Action | |---------|--------| | Open issue exists | Link to it, don't create duplicate | | Open PR exists | Don't duplicate work | | Recently merged PR | Verify fix, no work needed | | No prior work found | Proceed to Phase 0 |

Phase 0: CONTRIBUTING.md Discovery (BLOCKING)

CRITICAL: Do not proceed without finding contribution guidelines.

# Check all common locations
cat CONTRIBUTING.md 2>/dev/null
cat .github/CONTRIBUTING.md 2>/dev/null
cat docs/CONTRIBUTING.md 2>/dev/null

# Check README for contribution section
grep -i "contribut" README.md | head -10

Extract Key Requirements

| Requirement | Where to Find | |-------------|---------------| | Commit format | "Commit messages" section | | PR process | "Pull Requests" section | | Testing requirements | "Testing" section | | Code style | "Style" section | | CLA/DCO | "Legal" or "License" section |

Phase 3: PR Archaeology

CRITICAL: Understand what successful PRs look like.

# List recent merged PRs
gh pr list --state merged --limit 20

# Recent commit style
git log --oneline -30 | head -20

# Check for conventional commits
git log --oneline -30 | grep -E "^[a-f0-9]+ (feat|fix|docs|refactor|test|chore)(\(.*\))?:"

PR Size Analysis

| Size | Files | Lines | Likelihood | |------|-------|-------|------------| | Small | 1-3 | <100 | High acceptance | | Medium | 4-10 | 100-500 | Moderate | | Large | 10+ | 500+ | Needs discussion first |

Phase 5: Issue Discovery

# Find beginner-friendly issues
gh issue list --label "good first issue" --state open
gh issue list --label "help wanted" --state open

# Issues with no assignee
gh issue list --state open --json assignees,title,number | \
  jq -r '.[] | select(.assignees | length == 0) | "#\(.number): \(.title)"' | head -10

Output

Write to .agents/research/YYYY-MM-DD-pr-{repo-slug}.md

# PR Research: {repo-name}

## Executive Summary
{2-3 sentences: project health, contribution friendliness}

## Contribution Guidelines
| Document | Status | Key Requirements |
|----------|--------|------------------|
| CONTRIBUTING.md | Present/Missing | {summary} |
| PR Template | Present/Missing | {required sections} |

## PR Patterns
- **Average size**: X files, Y lines
- **Commit style**: {conventional/imperative/etc}
- **Review time**: ~X days

## Contribution Opportunities
| Issue | Type | Difficulty |
|-------|------|------------|
| #N | bug/feat | easy/medium |

## Next Steps
-> `$plan .agents/research/YYYY-MM-DD-pr-{repo}.md`

Anti-Patterns

| DON'T | DO INSTEAD | |-------|------------| | Skip guidelines check | Always read CONTRIBUTING.md first | | Ignore PR patterns | Study successful merged PRs | | Start with large PRs | Begin with small, focused changes |

Workflow Integration

$pr-research <repo> -> $plan <research> -> implement -> $pr-prep

Examples

Research Upstream Before Contributing

User says: "Do PR research for owner/repo before I propose a fix."

What happens:

1. Inspect contribution guidelines and governance files.
2. Analyze merged PR patterns and conventions.
3. Produce a research artifact with opportunities and risks.

Scope Discovery

User says: "Find small starter contribution options in this repo."

What happens:

1. Scan issues/labels and prior merged work.
2. Classify candidates by difficulty and scope.
3. Recommend a smallest-safe starting contribution.

Troubleshooting

| Problem | Cause | Solution | |---------|-------|----------| | No contribution guide found | Repo lacks standard files | Infer conventions from merged PR history and maintainers' comments | | Too many possible issues | Scope not constrained | Filter by labels, component paths, and recent maintainer activity | | Suggested work seems risky | Hidden dependency or broad blast radius | Downscope to narrower file/domain boundary and restate assumptions | | Output is too generic | Insufficient repository evidence | Add concrete file/PR references and explicit pattern findings |

Reference Documents

• [references/pr-research.feature](references/pr-research.feature) — Executable spec: explore upstream conventions/structure, write cited upstream artifact, first-step-before-plan (soc-qk4b)

• [references/upstream-research-checklist.md](references/upstream-research-checklist.md)