Iterate on PR Until CI Passes
Continuously iterate on the current branch until all CI checks pass and review feedback is addressed.
Requires: GitHub CLI (
) authenticated and available.
Process
Step 1: Identify the PR
bash
gh pr view --json number,url,headRefName,baseRefName
If no PR exists for the current branch, stop and inform the user.
Step 2: Check CI Status First
Always check CI/GitHub Actions status before looking at review feedback:
bash
gh pr checks --json name,state,bucket,link,workflow
The
field categorizes state into:
,
,
,
, or
.
Important: If any of these checks are still
, wait before proceeding:
- /
- / /
- Any linter or code analysis checks
These bots may post additional feedback comments once their checks complete. Waiting avoids duplicate work.
Step 3: Gather Review Feedback
Once CI checks have completed (or at least the bot-related checks), gather human and bot feedback:
Review Comments and Status:
bash
gh pr view --json reviews,comments,reviewDecision
Inline Code Review Comments:
bash
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/{pr_number}/comments
PR Conversation Comments (includes bot comments):
bash
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{pr_number}/comments
Look for bot comments from: Sentry, Codecov, Cursor, Bugbot, Seer, and other automated tools.
Step 4: Investigate Failures
For each CI failure, get the actual logs:
bash
# List recent runs for this branch
gh run list --branch $(git branch --show-current) --limit 5 --json databaseId,name,status,conclusion
# View failed logs for a specific run
gh run view <run-id> --log-failed
Do NOT assume what failed based on the check name alone. Always read the actual logs.
Step 5: Validate Feedback
For each piece of feedback (CI failure or review comment):
- Read the relevant code - Understand the context before making changes
- Verify the issue is real - Not all feedback is correct; reviewers and bots can be wrong
- Check if already addressed - The issue may have been fixed in a subsequent commit
- Skip invalid feedback - If the concern is not legitimate, move on
Step 6: Address Valid Issues
Make minimal, targeted code changes. Only fix what is actually broken.
Step 7: Commit and Push
bash
git add -A
git commit -m "fix: <descriptive message of what was fixed>"
git push
Step 8: Wait for CI
Use the built-in watch functionality:
bash
gh pr checks --watch --interval 30
This waits until all checks complete. Exit code 0 means all passed, exit code 1 means failures.
Alternatively, poll manually if you need more control:
bash
gh pr checks --json name,state,bucket | jq '.[] | select(.bucket != "pass")'
Step 9: Repeat
Return to Step 2 if:
- Any CI checks failed
- New review feedback appeared
Continue until all checks pass and no unaddressed feedback remains.
Exit Conditions
Success:
- All CI checks are green ()
- No unaddressed human review feedback
Ask for Help:
- Same failure persists after 3 attempts (likely a flaky test or deeper issue)
- Review feedback requires clarification or decision from the user
- CI failure is unrelated to branch changes (infrastructure issue)
Stop Immediately:
- No PR exists for the current branch
- Branch is out of sync and needs rebase (inform user)
Tips
- Use to focus only on required checks
- Use
gh run view <run-id> --verbose
- If a check is from an external service, the field in checks JSON provides the URL to investigate