# Github Pr Title

> Craft PR titles using conventional commits format.

Craft PR titles using conventional commits format. Use when creating PRs or
ensuring consistent PR naming. PR titles MUST follow conventional commits to
drive release-please automation and maintain consistent git history.

- Page: https://ss33.ai/skills/laurigates/github-pr-title-87876478247
- Publisher: laurigates
- Category: [Software Development](https://ss33.ai/skills/category/software-development-t44z8z) › [Source control & code review](https://ss33.ai/skills/category/software-development-t44z8z/source-control-and-code-review-jebezw)
- License: MIT
- Source: https://github.com/laurigates/claude-plugins/blob/f8dc5cd452a2ed3af86ab7e65949e0653e88127f/git-plugin/skills/github-pr-title/SKILL.md

## Skill

SKILL.md: https://ss33.ai/api/v1/ss33/download/laurigates/github-pr-title-87876478247

# GitHub PR Title

Craft clear PR titles using conventional commits format.

**CRITICAL:** PR titles must follow conventional commit format. This drives release-please version automation and ensures consistent git history when using squash-and-merge.

## When to Use This Skill

| Use this skill when... | Use the alternative when... |
|---|---|
| Authoring a `type(scope): subject` PR title that drives release-please automation | Use `git-pr` for the full PR creation workflow (body, labels, reviewers) |
| Renaming an existing PR title to fix release-please version-bump detection | Use `git-commit-workflow` to set the same conventions on commit messages |
| Selecting the right `feat`, `fix`, `perf`, `refactor`, `chore` type for a PR | Use `github-issue-writing` for issue titles (different `[Type] Component:` format) |
| Validating PR title format before merge to maintain clean git history | Use `git-commit` to fix already-committed message formats locally |

## Format

```
<type>(<scope>): <subject>
```

See [Conventional Commits Standards](../../../.claude/rules/conventional-commits.md) for comprehensive format guide.

### Type Selection

| Type | Use Case | Version Bump |
|------|----------|--------------|
| `feat` | New feature | Minor |
| `fix` | Bug fix | Patch |
| `perf` | Performance improvement | Patch |
| `refactor` | Code restructure (no behavior change) | None |
| `docs` | Documentation only | None |
| `test` | Tests | None |
| `build` | Build/deps | None |
| `ci` | CI config | None |
| `chore` | Maintenance | None |

**Decision tree:** Feature → `feat` | Bug → `fix` | Performance → `perf` | Restructure → `refactor` | Docs → `docs` | Everything else → `chore`

### Scope

**The scope is required.** The Conventional Commits spec lets you omit it; this house convention does not (`.claude/rules/conventional-commits.md`), and a squash-merge lands the PR title as the commit on `main`. Use the component or plugin the change touches:

```
feat(auth): add OAuth support
fix(api): handle null response
docs(readme): update install steps
refactor(core): simplify error handling
```

**Discover repo scopes:**
```bash
gh pr list --state merged -L 30 --json title | jq -r '.[].title' | grep -oE '\([^)]+\)' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn
```

Or from commits:
```bash
git log --format='%s' -n 50 | grep -oE '\([^)]+\)' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn
```

### Subject

- **Imperative mood**: "add" not "adds" or "added"
- **Lowercase**: Start with lowercase after colon
- **No period**: Don't end with punctuation
- **Under 50 chars**: Keep concise

**Examples:**

| ❌ Bad | ✅ Good |
|--------|---------|
| `Added login button` | `add login button` |
| `Fixes the bug.` | `fix null pointer in auth` |
| `Update` | `update dependencies` |
| `Resolved Performance Issues` | `improve query performance` |

### Breaking Changes

Append `!` before colon:

```
feat(api)!: remove deprecated endpoints
fix!: require Node.js 18+
refactor(db)!: change schema format
```

Breaking changes trigger major version bumps.

### Reverts

```
revert: feat(auth): add OAuth support
```

## Quick Reference

| Scenario | Template |
|----------|----------|
| Feature | `feat(<scope>): add <what>` |
| Bug fix | `fix(<scope>): resolve <what>` |
| Performance | `perf(<scope>): optimize <what>` |
| Docs | `docs(<scope>): update <what>` |
| Refactor | `refactor(<scope>): simplify <what>` |
| Deps | `build(deps): bump <pkg> to <ver>` |
| Breaking | `feat(<scope>)!: change <what>` |

## Merge Strategy and the PR Body

The title only drives release-please under **squash** merge. Under rebase or
merge-commit, each branch commit lands as-is and the PR title/body are discarded.
With the repo setting *squash → PR title and description*, the **PR body becomes
the commit body** and release-please parses it: a `BREAKING CHANGE:` footer
forces a major bump, a footer line shaped like `fix(x): …` adds an extra
changelog entry, and `Release-As:` pins the version. Write the body as a commit
body (prose + `Fixes #N` footers, no checklists).

Strategy table, body shape, and post-merge repair (`BEGIN_COMMIT_OVERRIDE`):
[merge-strategies.md](merge-strategies.md).

## Why This Matters

**Conventional commit PR titles ensure:**

1. **Accurate automation** - release-please reads PR titles to determine version bumps
2. **Clean git history** - squash-and-merge uses PR title as commit message
3. **Searchable commits** - type prefix makes filtering easy
4. **CHANGELOG accuracy** - commits are grouped by type in generated changelogs

## Agentic Optimizations

| Context | Command |
|---------|---------|
| Get commits | `git log origin/main..HEAD --format='%s' -n 10` |
| Changed dirs | `git diff origin/main..HEAD --name-only \| xargs dirname \| sort -u` |
| Update title | `gh pr edit N --title "new title"` |
| Repo merge settings | `gh api repos/{owner}/{repo} --jq '{squash: .allow_squash_merge, rebase: .allow_rebase_merge, title: .squash_merge_commit_title, message: .squash_merge_commit_message}'` |
| Discover scopes | `gh pr list --state merged -L 30 --json title \| jq -r '.[].title' \| grep -oE '\([^)]+\)' \| sort \| uniq` |

## Reference

For detailed rules, patterns, and troubleshooting, see [Conventional Commits Standards](../../../.claude/rules/conventional-commits.md).