gallery/pr-babysitter-reference.md

PR Babysitter Reference Loop

Summary

This is a reference gallery entry for a loop that keeps one pull request moving toward merge readiness. It is based on the repository's PR babysitter pattern and pr-babysitter-loop.json contract, not a claimed production deployment.

Runtime Or Tooling

• Runtime: Codex, Claude Code, GitHub Agentic Workflows, or a custom GitHub Actions loop.
• Agent system: explorer, implementer, reviewer, judge.
• Integrations: GitHub pull requests, checks, comments, branch status.
• Repository or environment: open-source repository with required checks and review rules.

Loop Contract

• Objective: keep the PR merge-ready or clearly blocked.
• Trigger: every 1-2 hours during working hours, and after requested changes or failed checks.
• Discover / intake: PR comments, review threads, check status, mergeability, linked issues.
• Workspace: dedicated branch or worktree based on the PR branch.
• Context: AGENTS.md, contribution rules, acceptance criteria, last checked SHA.
• Delegation: explorer classifies blockers, implementer patches mechanical issues, reviewer checks scope, judge decides next action.
• Verification: required checks pass, comments are answered or resolved, conflicts are gone, diff remains scoped.
• State: PR progress comment or PROGRESS.md with blockers, commands, attempts, and next action.
• Budget: 3 retries per distinct blocker or 60 minutes per run.
• Escalation: architecture decisions, force-push needs, product ambiguity, reviewer disagreement, repeated failures.
• Exit: PR is merge-ready, waiting on human review, blocked, or out of budget.

Loop Instruction Or Automation

Every 2 hours during working hours, inspect PR <number>.
Load review comments, check status, mergeability, linked issues, and project instructions.
If there is a narrow mechanical blocker, patch it in an isolated worktree and run the smallest relevant checks.
Record commands, changed files, check URLs, and remaining blockers in a PR comment.
Stop when the PR is merge-ready, waiting only on human review, blocked, or out of retry budget.

Receipts

Public or anonymized receipts should include:

• PR URL or anonymized PR number;
• last checked SHA;
• failed or passed check URLs;
• commands run;
• changed files;
• unresolved comments or blocker summary.

Lessons Learned

• What worked: narrow blockers such as formatting, docs comments, merge conflicts, and test failures are good loop candidates.
• What failed: product questions and broad review disagreements should escalate quickly.
• What changed after the first run: the progress comment became the state artifact that prevents repeated work.

Safety Notes

• Sensitive actions: force-pushes, broad rewrites, dependency upgrades, migrations, secrets, and production changes.
• Human approvals: required for anything beyond narrow review or CI fixes.
• Data or privacy constraints: do not copy private review context into public gallery entries.