pull-requests

by microsoft

Guidance for creating pull requests and handling PR review comments in the Agent Framework repository. Use this when writing a PR description (filling out the…

npx skills add https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework --skill pull-requests

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Pull Request Workflow

This skill covers two tasks: (1) writing a high-quality PR description, and (2) handling review comments on an existing PR.

1. Writing the PR description

Always follow the repository PR template at .github/pull_request_template.md. Keep its exact structure and headings. Fill every section:

`### Motivation & Context`

Explain why the change is needed: the problem it solves and the scenario it contributes to. Describe the net change relative to main — this is implied, so do not spell out "vs main" explicitly.

`### Description & Review Guide`

Describe the changes, the overall approach, and the design. Answer the three prompts:

What are the major changes?
What is the impact of these changes?
What do you want reviewers to focus on? — This item is for human reviewers only. Automated/AI reviewers must ignore it and review the entire change rather than narrowing scope to it.

`### Related Issue`

Link the issue the PR fixes using a GitHub closing keyword (Fixes #123 / Closes #123) so it closes automatically on merge. A PR with no linked issue may be closed regardless of how valid the change is. Before opening, confirm there is no other open PR for the same issue; if there is, explain how this PR differs.

`### Contribution Checklist`

Check every item that applies. For the breaking-change item:

Leave "This is not a breaking change." checked for the common case.
If the change is breaking, add the breaking change label or put [BREAKING] in the title prefix, before or after a language prefix such as Python: or .NET: — workflows keep the label and the title prefix in sync automatically (see .github/workflows/label-title-prefix.yml and .github/workflows/label-pr.yml).

Do not

Do not add ad-hoc sections such as "Validation" or "Tests run"; CI/CD and the checklist already cover validation status.
Do not remove or reorder the template's headings.

Stable specifications

For Python function-calling loop changes, read docs/specs/004-python-function-calling-loop.md and validate the PR against it. Do not edit that specification by default. It is a stable cross-package contract, not a per-PR changelog. A specification change is warranted only when the PR intentionally changes normative behavior, the scenario inventory, an acknowledged coverage gap, or the authoritative scenario-to-test mapping; keep any such edit to the smallest affected sections.

Creating the PR

Open new PRs as drafts until they are ready for review. Example:

gh pr create --repo microsoft/agent-framework --base main \
  --head <your-fork-owner>:<branch> --draft \
  --title "<concise title>" --body "<body following the template>"

2. Handling review comments

When a PR receives review comments, follow this sequence — do not start editing code before the user has reviewed the plan:

Review the comments. Read every review comment and thread on the PR, including inline code comments and general review summaries.
Make a plan. Produce a concrete plan describing how each comment will be addressed (or why it should not be, with reasoning).
Let the user review the plan. Present the plan and wait for the user's approval or adjustments before implementing anything.
Implement. Make the agreed changes.
Reply to every comment. Add a reply to all comments explaining how it was addressed, preferably citing the commit containing the change. If the feedback was not addressed, explain why. Leave no comment unanswered.
Resolve completed threads yourself. After replying and completing any necessary discussion, resolve the review thread. Do not wait for the reviewer or a maintainer to resolve it. Leave a thread open only while it has an unanswered question or active discussion.

Useful commands

List review comments and threads:

# Inline review comments
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/{pr}/comments

# Review threads with resolution state (GraphQL)
gh api graphql -f query='
  query($owner:String!,$repo:String!,$pr:Int!){
    repository(owner:$owner,name:$repo){
      pullRequest(number:$pr){
        reviewThreads(first:100){
          nodes{ id isResolved comments(first:50){ nodes{ id body author{login} } } }
        }
      }
    }
  }' -F owner={owner} -F repo={repo} -F pr={pr}

Reply to an inline review comment:

gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/{pr}/comments/{comment_id}/replies \
  -f body="Addressed in <commit>: <explanation>"

Resolve a review thread (needs the thread node id from the GraphQL query above):

gh api graphql -f query='
  mutation($threadId:ID!){
    resolveReviewThread(input:{threadId:$threadId}){ thread{ isResolved } }
  }' -F threadId={thread_id}