Positron PR Helper

This skill helps you create comprehensive PR bodies for the posit-dev/positron repository with up-to-date e2e test tags fetched directly from the source of truth.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

Creating a new PR and need a well-structured body
Updating an existing PR body with the correct format
You need the current list of e2e test tags for QA notes
You want to ensure your PR body follows Positron conventions

Prerequisites

GitHub CLI (
```
gh
```
) installed and authenticated
Working in the Positron repository
Access to the repository's test-tags.ts file

Workflow

I'll guide you through creating a comprehensive PR body:

Step 1: Gather Context

First, I'll ask you:

Issue number (if this PR addresses a specific issue)
PR type (bug fix, feature, UI change, maintenance, etc.)
Summary of what the PR does
Screenshots needed? (for UI changes)
Related PRs (e.g., in ark repository)

If you provide an issue number, I'll use

gh issue view

to fetch details and understand the context better.

Step 2: Fetch Current Test Tags

I'll dynamically fetch the current e2e test tags from

test/e2e/infra/test-runner/test-tags.ts

using our extraction script. This ensures we always have the complete, up-to-date list of tags including:

Feature tags (functionality-specific)
Platform tags (OS/environment control)
Performance tags
Special tags (critical, soft-fail)

Step 3: Generate PR Body

Based on the PR type and context, I'll create a structured PR body with:

Opening Line
- "Addresses #[issue]." if applicable
- Brief statement of what the PR does otherwise
Description/Summary
- Concise explanation of changes
- Technical context if needed
- Related PRs referenced
Screenshots (for UI changes only)
- Placeholder text or actual URLs if provided
Release Notes
- New Features (if applicable)
- Bug Fixes (if applicable)
- User-facing descriptions
QA Notes
- Relevant e2e test tags based on affected areas
- Testing instructions
- Code examples if helpful

Step 4: Output Options

Once the PR body is ready, you can choose:

Copy to clipboard (Mac only) - I'll use
```
pbcopy
```
Update existing PR - I'll use
```
gh pr edit
```
Save to file - I'll write to a file of your choice
Display only - I'll show it for manual copying

Helper Scripts

fetch-test-tags.sh

This script extracts and categorizes all test tags from the TypeScript enum:

bash

# Usage:
./scripts/fetch-test-tags.sh [format]
# format: markdown (default), json, or list

The script:

Parses
```
test-tags.ts
```
without needing TypeScript compilation
Categorizes tags automatically (feature, platform, performance, special)
Outputs in multiple formats for different use cases
Runs quickly (<1 second)

PR Body Templates

I use different templates based on PR type:

Bug Fix Template

markdown

Addresses #[issue].

[2-3 sentences explaining the fix]

### Release Notes

#### New Features
- N/A

#### Bug Fixes
- [User-facing description] (#[issue])

### QA Notes

[relevant tags]

[Simple test instructions]

New Feature Template

markdown

Addresses #[issue].

### Summary
[1-2 paragraphs explaining the feature]
[Technical implementation notes if relevant]
[Related PRs if applicable]

### Release Notes

#### New Features
- [User-facing description] (#[issue])

#### Bug Fixes
- N/A

### QA Notes

[relevant tags]

[Detailed test steps with code examples]

Examples

Example 1: Bug Fix PR

markdown

Addresses #8930.

This PR fixes the Data Explorer scrollbars snapping back to 0 on Safari. The issue was caused by incorrect event handling in the virtual scrolling implementation.

### Release Notes

#### New Features
- N/A

#### Bug Fixes
- Fix Data Explorer scrollbars snapping back to 0 on Safari (#8930)

### QA Notes

@:data-explorer

Open a large data frame in Data Explorer on Safari and verify scrollbars can be dragged without snapping back.

Example 2: New Feature PR

markdown

Addresses #8484.

### Summary
Adds support for native DuckDB connections in the Connections Pane. Users can now inspect DuckDB databases directly without needing external tools. This implementation uses the native DuckDB Python API for better performance.

Related PR: posit-dev/ark#456 (adds DuckDB kernel support)

### Release Notes

#### New Features
- Added support for inspecting native DuckDB connections in the Connections Pane (#8484)

#### Bug Fixes
- N/A

### QA Notes

@:connections @:duck-db

1. Install DuckDB: `pip install duckdb`
2. Create a new DuckDB connection using the modal
3. Run the following to create test data:

```python
conn.execute("""
    CREATE TABLE employees (
        id INTEGER,
        name VARCHAR,
        salary INTEGER
    )
""")
conn.execute("INSERT INTO employees VALUES (1, 'Alice', 75000)")

Verify tables appear in the Connections pane


## Tips

- Be concise but complete - no flowery language
- Use present tense ("fixes", "adds", "enables")
- Include issue references in parentheses in release notes
- Always include at least one e2e test tag in QA notes
- For complex changes, numbered test steps are better
- Keep release notes user-facing (avoid implementation details)

positron-pr-helper

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Positron PR Helper

When to Use This Skill

Prerequisites

Workflow

Step 1: Gather Context

Step 2: Fetch Current Test Tags

Step 3: Generate PR Body

Step 4: Output Options

Helper Scripts

fetch-test-tags.sh

PR Body Templates

Bug Fix Template

New Feature Template

Examples

Example 1: Bug Fix PR

Example 2: New Feature PR