Generate Pr Notes

Generate PR Notes

Install this skill globally

Install once — available in all projects.

# Claude
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/generate-pr-notes
cp /.agent-settings/skills/tools/generate-pr-notes/SKILL.md \
   ~/.claude/skills/generate-pr-notes/SKILL.md
# Add to ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md: - **generate-pr-notes** (`~/.claude/skills/generate-pr-notes/SKILL.md`)

# Copilot
mkdir -p ~/.copilot/skills/generate-pr-notes
cp /.agent-settings/skills/tools/generate-pr-notes/SKILL.md \
   ~/.copilot/skills/generate-pr-notes/SKILL.md

# Gemini
mkdir -p ~/.gemini/skills/generate-pr-notes
cp /.agent-settings/skills/tools/generate-pr-notes/SKILL.md \
   ~/.gemini/skills/generate-pr-notes/SKILL.md

Dependencies

No external skills or MCPs required. Requires git to be available in the shell.

---

Automatically generate pull request notes based on git changes.

Description

This skill analyzes git changes and generates comprehensive pull request notes. It can work with either a single commit or all changes in the current branch compared to the main/master branch.

Usage

/generate-pr-notes

Instructions

Use the Task tool with subagent_type="general-purpose" to spawn an agent that will generate pull request notes. Pass the following instructions to the agent.

CRITICAL: After the agent completes, follow these steps IN ORDER:

1. Output verbatim — display the agent's full response exactly as returned in the terminal. Do NOT summarize or modify it.

1. Extract content — strip the outer `markdown opening fence and the closing ` fence from the agent output to get the raw markdown text only.

1. Determine output path — before writing, run these two commands via Bash:

• Repo name: basename $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
• Short hash: git rev-parse --short HEAD

Construct the output path as /tmp/pr-notes--.md (e.g. /tmp/pr-notes-agent-skills-a1b2c3d.md). Use the Write tool to save the extracted markdown to that path.

1. Copy to clipboard — detect the OS by running uname -s via Bash, then use the appropriate command (substitute the computed path from step 3):

• macOS (Darwin): pbcopy
• Linux (Linux): try xclip -selection clipboard ; if that fails, try xsel --clipboard --input
• Windows / PowerShell (Windows_NT): try clip
• If all commands fail or the platform is unrecognized, skip silently.

1. Confirm to user — print exactly ONE line after the code block output (use the actual computed path from step 3):

• If clipboard copy succeeded: PR notes saved to and copied to clipboard.
• If clipboard copy failed or unavailable: PR notes saved to (clipboard unavailable — paste manually from the file).

---

You are a specialized agent for generating pull request notes. Follow these steps:

1. Determine the scope of changes:

• First, check the current git status and branch information
• Interactively ask the user the following THREE questions (use whatever input mechanism your agent supports — interactive prompt, structured options, or chat):

1. Which scope they prefer:

• "Single commit" (the most recent commit only)
• "Entire branch" (all changes compared to a base branch)

1. Which base branch to compare against (ask upfront regardless of scope, it applies when "Entire branch" is selected):

• "main"
• "master"
• "release"
• "Other" — if selected, follow up with a free-text prompt asking the user to type in the branch name or commit hash manually

1. Jira ticket ID (optional, free-text):

• Ask: "Jira ticket ID? Type the ID (e.g. PROJ-1234) or type n to skip"
• Treat any of the following as "no ticket": n, no, none, skip, n/a, -
• If a real ticket ID is given, prefix the Title with it in square brackets: [PROJ-1234] Your title here
• Otherwise omit any Jira reference entirely

1. Retrieve the diff:

• For single commit: Use git show HEAD or git diff HEAD~1 HEAD
• For branch changes:
• Use the base branch or commit hash selected by the user in step 1
• First run git fetch origin to ensure remote refs are up to date
• If the input is a branch name: Use git diff origin/...HEAD (with three dots for the merge base), substituting the user's chosen branch
• If the input looks like a commit hash: Use git diff ...HEAD
• Always prefer the remote branch (e.g. origin/main, origin/master, origin/release) as the base over local branches
• If the remote ref does not exist, fall back to the local branch and warn the user

1. Analyze the changes:

• Review all modified files
• Identify the nature of changes (new features, bug fixes, refactoring, etc.)
• Look for patterns and group related changes together

1. Generate comprehensive PR notes with the following sections:

## Title

• Provide a single short sentence that describes the overall change
• Maximum 128 characters (including any Jira prefix) — be concise and direct
• If a Jira ticket ID was provided, prefix the title with it in square brackets: [TICKET-ID] Your title here
• If no Jira ticket ID was provided, omit any prefix

## Summary

• Provide a concise overview of what changed and why (2-4 sentences)
• Focus on the "why" and business value, not just the "what"

## Changes

• List key changes organized by category:
• ✨ New Features (maximum 5 items - prioritize the most impactful features)
• 🐛 Bug Fixes
• 🔧 Configuration
• Use only categories that are relevant
• Be specific but concise for each item
• Avoid redundant information that's already mentioned in other sections

## Technical Details

• Highlight important implementation details (maximum 5 items - prioritize the most critical technical updates)
• Note any architectural changes or patterns introduced
• Mention dependencies added or updated
• Do not repeat information already covered in the Changes section

## Breaking Changes (if applicable)

• Clearly call out any breaking changes
• Provide migration guidance if needed

1. Format the output - CRITICAL FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

WORD COUNT LIMIT: The entire output must NOT exceed 3000 words. Keep the content concise and focused.

AVOID REDUNDANCY: Do not repeat information across sections. Each detail should appear only once in the most appropriate section.

YOUR ENTIRE RESPONSE MUST BE WRAPPED IN A MARKDOWN CODE BLOCK:

Output this exact structure:

``` ``markdown ## Title [TICKET-123] Single sentence describing the PR ← include Jira prefix if provided, omit entirely if not

## Summary [2-4 sentences about what changed and why]

## Changes

### ✨ New Features

• [item 1]
• [item 2]
• [maximum 5 items - only list the most important features]

### 🐛 Bug Fixes

• [item]

### 🔧 Configuration

• [item]

## Technical Details

• [item 1]
• [item 2]
• [maximum 5 items - focus on critical technical updates, no repetition from Changes section]

## Breaking Changes [if applicable, otherwise omit this section entirely] `` ```

ABSOLUTE RULES - NO EXCEPTIONS:

• First line MUST be exactly: ```markdown
• Second line MUST be exactly: ## Title
• Last line MUST be exactly: ````
• TITLE LENGTH: The title line must NOT exceed 128 characters — use a short, direct sentence
• STOP WRITING immediately after the closing ```
• Use ## for main sections (Title, Summary, Changes, Technical Details, Breaking Changes)
• Use ### ONLY for change categories under Changes section
• New Features section must have AT MOST 5 items
• Technical Details section must have AT MOST 5 items
• Each piece of information should appear in only ONE section - no redundancy
• LINE LENGTH: Every line must NOT exceed 250 characters. If a sentence is too long, split it into two separate bullet points or shorten it.

FORBIDDEN - NEVER INCLUDE THESE:

• Any text before ```markdown
• Any text after the closing ```
• Separators like --- or === anywhere in the markdown content
• Headers like "Pull Request Notes" or "PR Description"
• "Files Changed:" sections or file statistics
• Phrases like "Here are the notes:", "Based on...", "Perfect!", etc.
• Agent IDs or metadata

CRITICAL: Your response must be ONLY the markdown code block. The user should be able to copy everything between (and including) the ```markdown and closing ``` for use in their PR description.

1. OUTPUT TO TERMINAL - MANDATORY:

• After you generate the PR notes, they MUST be displayed in the terminal
• The calling assistant will output your response verbatim to the user, then also write the content to a /tmp/pr-notes--.md file and attempt to copy it to the clipboard
• Do NOT add any additional commentary after generating the notes

Important Notes

• Always read the actual diff before generating notes - never make assumptions
• If the diff is very large, summarize thoughtfully rather than listing every change
• MANDATORY: The total output must not exceed 3000 words - be concise and prioritize the most important information
• MANDATORY: New Features section must contain at most 5 items - focus on the most impactful features
• MANDATORY: Technical Details section must contain at most 5 items - focus on the most critical technical updates
• MANDATORY: Avoid redundant information - each detail should appear in only ONE section
• MANDATORY: Every line must NOT exceed 250 characters — split long sentences into separate bullet points or shorten them
• DO NOT include a Testing section in the output
• Tailor the tone and detail level to the size and complexity of the changes
• If there are no changes to analyze, inform the user clearly
• Output must be clean markdown with no wrapper text for easy copy/paste
• MANDATORY: The generated notes MUST be displayed in the terminal output for the user to copy/paste directly

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: jamesyang124
• Source: jamesyang124/agent-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.