View PR (GitHub)

Purpose

Read pull request status/details from GitHub.

Priority order:

1. FIRST: Use GitHub MCP tools - stable, structured, no pager/editor issues
2. SECOND: Use scripts/pr-github.sh wrapper (for create/merge only)
3. LAST: Use gh CLI as final fallback

Use this skill for read-only PR inspection (status, checks, reviewers, files, body). For creating/merging PRs, use the create-pr-github skill.

GitHub MCP Tools (Preferred)

Use these GitHub MCP tools for PR operations:

PR Details and Metadata

github-mcp-server-pull_request_read
  method: "get"
  owner: "oocx"
  repo: "tfplan2md"
  pullNumber: 123

Returns: PR number, title, state, body, author, timestamps, merge status, etc.

PR Diff

github-mcp-server-pull_request_read
  method: "get_diff"
  owner: "oocx"
  repo: "tfplan2md"
  pullNumber: 123

Returns: Full diff of the PR changes

PR Status Checks

github-mcp-server-pull_request_read
  method: "get_status"
  owner: "oocx"
  repo: "tfplan2md"
  pullNumber: 123

Returns: Status of CI/CD checks, required checks, conclusion

PR Changed Files

github-mcp-server-pull_request_read
  method: "get_files"
  owner: "oocx"
  repo: "tfplan2md"
  pullNumber: 123
  perPage: 100

Returns: List of files changed with stats (additions, deletions, changes)

PR Review Comments (inline on code)

github-mcp-server-pull_request_read
  method: "get_review_comments"
  owner: "oocx"
  repo: "tfplan2md"
  pullNumber: 123
  perPage: 100

Returns: Code review comments with file paths, line numbers, and comment bodies

PR Reviews

github-mcp-server-pull_request_read
  method: "get_reviews"
  owner: "oocx"
  repo: "tfplan2md"
  pullNumber: 123
  perPage: 100

Returns: Review submissions with state (APPROVED, CHANGES_REQUESTED, etc.)

PR Conversation Comments

github-mcp-server-pull_request_read
  method: "get_comments"
  owner: "oocx"
  repo: "tfplan2md"
  pullNumber: 123
  perPage: 100

Returns: General conversation comments on the PR

List PRs

github-mcp-server-list_pull_requests
  owner: "oocx"
  repo: "tfplan2md"
  state: "open"  # or "closed", "all"
  perPage: 30
  page: 1

Returns: List of PRs with basic metadata

GitHub CLI Fallback (Last Resort)

⚠️ Only use when GitHub MCP tools are unavailable

Hard Rules

• Prefer GitHub MCP tools when they can answer the question
• If using gh, use a non-interactive pager for every gh call:
  • Use GH_PAGER=cat (gh-specific, overrides gh's internal pager logic)
  • Also set GH_FORCE_TTY=false to reduce TTY-driven behavior
  • Prefer structured output (--json) and keep output small with --jq when practical
• Never run plain gh ... without GH_PAGER=cat (it may open less and block)
• Never change global GitHub CLI config (no gh config set ...)

Fallback gh Patterns

Use this prefix for every command:

GH_PAGER=cat GH_FORCE_TTY=false gh ...

View PR Summary

GH_PAGER=cat GH_FORCE_TTY=false gh pr view <pr-number> \
  --json number,title,state,isDraft,url,mergeStateStatus,reviewDecision

View Status Checks

GH_PAGER=cat GH_FORCE_TTY=false gh pr view <pr-number> \
  --json statusCheckRollup \
  --jq '.statusCheckRollup[] | {name, status, conclusion}'

View Reviews

GH_PAGER=cat GH_FORCE_TTY=false gh pr view <pr-number> \
  --json latestReviews,reviewRequests \
  --jq '{latestReviews: [.latestReviews[] | {author: .author.login, state, submittedAt}], reviewRequests: [.reviewRequests[].login]}'

When To Use Different Approaches

Prefer GitHub MCP Tools when

• You need structured PR metadata (details, changed files, status checks, comments, reviews)
• You want to avoid terminal-side pitfalls (auth prompts, pager behavior, large output)
• You want operations that can be permanently allowed in VS Code
• You are in any interactive agent session

Prefer Wrapper Scripts when

• You're creating or merging a PR: use scripts/pr-github.sh create / scripts/pr-github.sh create-and-merge

Prefer gh CLI when (rare)

• You need an API surface the MCP tools don't expose (use gh api for custom calls)
• You need commands for Maintainers to reproduce locally
• A maintainer explicitly requests CLI examples

Rule of thumb: Always start with GitHub MCP tools; only fall back to wrapper scripts for create/merge, and only use gh CLI as final resort.