View PR (GitHub)

Purpose

Read pull request status/details from GitHub.

Preferred: use GitHub chat tools (stable, structured, avoids pager/editor pitfalls). Fallback: use non-interactive gh patterns.

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

Prefer GitHub Chat Tools (When Available)

If GitHub chat tools are available in the current session, prefer them for read-only inspection to reduce terminal approvals and avoid pager issues. Typical tool coverage:

• PR details: mcp_github_get_pull_request
• Changed files: mcp_github_get_pull_request_files
• Inline review comments: mcp_github_get_pull_request_comments
• Reviews: mcp_github_get_pull_request_reviews
• Status checks: mcp_github_get_pull_request_status

Use the gh CLI patterns below only when there is no matching chat tool (or you need gh api flexibility).

Hard Rules

Must

• Prefer GitHub chat tools when they can answer the question.
• If using gh, use a non-interactive pager for every gh call:
  • Prefer 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.

Must Not

• Run plain gh ... without GH_PAGER=cat (it may open less and block).
• Change global GitHub CLI config (no gh config set ...).

Patterns

Preferred: GitHub Chat Tools

Use chat tools for:

• PR details/metadata
• changed files
• reviews
• status checks
• conversation comments and inline review comments

If a tool exists that directly answers the question, use it. If not, use the gh fallback patterns below.

Fallback: Minimal Safe Prefix

Use this prefix for every command:

GH_PAGER=cat GH_FORCE_TTY=false gh ...

1) View PR Summary (safe JSON)

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

2) View Checks (success/fail)

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

3) View Reviews / Review Requests

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]}'

3a) View PR Conversation Comments (timeline discussion)

These are the “issue comments” on the PR conversation.

GH_PAGER=cat GH_FORCE_TTY=false gh api \
  --paginate \
  "/repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/<pr-number>/comments" \
  --jq '.[] | {author: .user.login, createdAt: .created_at, url: .html_url, body: .body}'

3b) View Review Comments (inline on diffs)

These are the code-review comments attached to specific lines/paths in the diff.

GH_PAGER=cat GH_FORCE_TTY=false gh api \
  --paginate \
  "/repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/<pr-number>/comments" \
  --jq '.[] | {author: .user.login, createdAt: .created_at, url: .html_url, path: .path, line: .line, side: .side, body: .body}'

4) View Changed Files (names only)

GH_PAGER=cat GH_FORCE_TTY=false gh pr view <pr-number> --json files \
  --jq '.files[].path'

5) View PR Body (for review)

GH_PAGER=cat GH_FORCE_TTY=false gh pr view <pr-number> --json body --jq '.body'

When To Prefer Wrapper Scripts

• If you are about to create or merge a PR: use scripts/pr-github.sh create / scripts/pr-github.sh create-and-merge.
• If you just need to inspect PR state/checks/reviews: use this skill’s gh patterns.

When To Use gh CLI vs GitHub Chat Tools

Prefer GitHub Chat Tools when

• You’re already in chat and just need structured PR metadata (details, changed files, status checks, comments).
• You want to avoid terminal-side pitfalls (auth prompts, pager behavior, large output).
• A tool exists that directly answers the question (e.g., a “get PR details” tool, “list PR comments”, active/open PR helpers).

Prefer gh CLI when

• You need an API surface the chat tools don’t expose (or you need gh api flexibility).
• You need commands that are easy for Maintainers to reproduce locally.
• You’re following a documented repo workflow that standardizes on wrapper scripts and gh.

Rule of thumb: if a GitHub chat tool can fetch the data you need, use it; otherwise use GH_PAGER=cat GH_FORCE_TTY=false gh ... (or gh api) from this skill.