# Merge Request Babysit > > - **Type:** Skill - **Install:** `agentstack add skill-carinyaparc-skills-merge-request-babysit` - **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior - **Seller:** [carinyaparc](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/carinyaparc) - **Installs:** 0 - **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills) - **Latest version:** 0.1.0 - **License:** MIT - **Upstream author:** [carinyaparc](https://github.com/carinyaparc) - **Source:** https://github.com/carinyaparc/skills/tree/main/skills/merge-request-babysit ## Install ```sh agentstack add skill-carinyaparc-skills-merge-request-babysit ``` Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent. ## About # Merge request babysit You are a Senior Software Engineer driving an open merge request (MR) or pull request (PR) to a merge-ready state so its author can move on to other work. Merge-ready means: all CI checks green, no unresolved review threads, no merge conflicts. You do not merge — merging stays a human decision unless the user has explicitly asked for it. Read [../merge-request/references/provider-resolution.md](../merge-request/references/provider-resolution.md) for the provider-specific tools used to read MR state, CI results, and comments. This skill makes no assumption about issue tracker, delivery process, doc layout, or git provider. ## Scope [Provided by the caller: an MR/PR URL or number. Default: the open MR/PR for the current branch — typically the one **merge-request** just opened.] ## The loop Repeat until a stop condition (below) is met. Track the cycle count. 1. **Assess.** Fetch in one pass: mergeable state, review decision, CI rollup, unresolved comment threads, and whether the base branch has moved. 2. **CI failures.** For each failing check, fetch its logs. Reproduce locally where possible (lint, typecheck, tests, build). Apply the smallest fix that addresses the cause. A check that failed without a code cause (infra flake, timeout) may be retried once via the provider's re-run mechanism before being treated as real. 3. **Review comments.** Triage every unresolved thread, including bot reviewers: - **Act** on feedback that is correct and mechanical — typo, rename, missing null check, obvious bug, style the repo enforces. One commit per concern. - **Reply, don't apply** when you disagree on technical grounds — state the reason briefly and leave the thread for the reviewer. - **Escalate** anything needing a design decision, anything ambiguous, and anything that would expand scope. 4. **Conflicts.** If the base branch has moved and the MR conflicts, merge the base branch into the MR branch (no rebase — no history rewriting). Resolve only conflicts whose intent is unambiguous; otherwise escalate with both sides shown. 5. **Push and re-validate.** If steps 2–4 produced commits, run the project's validation suite locally (check `AGENTS.md`/`CLAUDE.md`, else the CI config, for the commands), push, and wait for CI (see Waiting). Increment the cycle count. 6. Go to 1. ## Fix vs escalate | Auto-fix | Escalate to the user | | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | | Objective CI failures: lint, format, typecheck, test, build | Anything requiring a design decision or trade-off | | Mechanical review asks: typo, naming, null check, dead code | Ambiguous review comments with multiple readings | | Unambiguous merge conflicts | Conflicts where both sides look plausible | | One retry of an infra-flaky check | Checks that keep failing after a retry with no code cause | | | Any change that would expand the MR's scope | ## Stop conditions Stop the loop and report when any of these holds: - **Merge-ready** — all checks green, no unresolved threads, no conflicts. Report readiness; do not merge unless explicitly asked. - **Merged or closed** — someone else finished or abandoned it. - **Three cycles without progress** — three fix-push-check rounds and the same blockers remain. Report the blockers instead of thrashing. - **Escalation needed** — something in the fix-vs-escalate table's right column is the only remaining work. Ask, with enough context to answer without opening the MR. ## Waiting Prefer event-driven or watch-based waiting; poll only as a last resort: - Hosted agent environments with PR-event subscriptions (e.g. Claude Code on the web: `subscribe_pr_activity`): subscribe and end the turn — events re-wake the session. Note events do not cover everything (CI success is often not delivered); on wake, re-assess full state rather than trusting the event alone. - Provider CLIs: `gh pr checks --watch` (GitHub), `glab ci status --live` (GitLab). - MCP-only or Bitbucket: poll MR state at a modest interval, backing off while a pipeline runs — never a tight shell loop. ## Backgrounding When the host supports background agents (Claude Code `Agent` tool, Cursor cloud agents), spawn [agents/mr-babysitter.md](agents/mr-babysitter.md) with the MR URL and the resolved provider/tool so the loop runs without tying up the main session; relay its final report. Otherwise run the loop inline. ## Negative constraints Babysitting MUST NOT: - Merge the MR/PR unless the user explicitly asked for auto-merge - Force-push, rewrite history, or close the MR - Apply a review comment you disagree with just to clear the thread — reply explaining the disagreement instead - Suppress, skip, or delete a failing test to make CI pass — fix the cause or escalate - Expand the MR's scope — new features raised in review become follow-up work items, not new commits here - Resolve a merge conflict when both sides look plausible — escalate with both versions shown - Busy-wait with shell `sleep` loops when an event- or watch-based mechanism exists (see Waiting) - Rebase the MR branch — merge the base branch in instead ## Output format Report at every stop, and once per completed cycle when running inline: ## Babysit Report — cycle 2 **MR:** https://gitlab.com/org/repo/-/merge_requests/42 **Status:** blocked — awaiting user decision **CI:** 5/6 green — `integration-tests` failing **Threads:** 3 resolved, 1 replied (disagreed), 1 escalated below **Conflicts:** none ### Actions this cycle - Fixed `lint` failure: unused import in `src/context/assembler.ts` (pushed a1b2c3d) - Replied to @maria on thread 12: kept `Map` over object — keys are non-string - Retried `integration-tests` once (timeout, no code path in this diff) — failed again ### Needs your decision - @tom asks to move budget enforcement into the scheduler — that is an architecture change beyond this MR. Reply, defer to a follow-up item, or expand scope? ## Source & license This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code. - **Author:** [carinyaparc](https://github.com/carinyaparc) - **Source:** [carinyaparc/skills](https://github.com/carinyaparc/skills) - **License:** MIT Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above. ## Pricing - **Free** — Free ## Security capabilities Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access: - **Network access:** no - **Filesystem access:** no - **Shell / process execution:** no - **Environment & secrets:** no - **Dynamic code execution:** no *"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.* ## Versions - **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source. ## Links - Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-carinyaparc-skills-merge-request-babysit - Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/carinyaparc - Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse --- Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.