$npx -y skills add IncomeStreamSurfer/paperclip-surfers --skill pr-reportReview a pull request or contribution deeply, explain it tutorial-style for a maintainer, and produce a polished report artifact such as HTML or Markdown. Use when asked to analyze a PR, explain a contributor's design decisions, compare it with similar systems, or prepare a merge
| 1 | # PR Report Skill |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Produce a maintainer-grade review of a PR, branch, or large contribution. |
| 4 | |
| 5 | Default posture: |
| 6 | |
| 7 | - understand the change before judging it |
| 8 | - explain the system as built, not just the diff |
| 9 | - separate architectural problems from product-scope objections |
| 10 | - make a concrete recommendation, not a vague impression |
| 11 | |
| 12 | ## When to Use |
| 13 | |
| 14 | Use this skill when the user asks for things like: |
| 15 | |
| 16 | - "review this PR deeply" |
| 17 | - "explain this contribution to me" |
| 18 | - "make me a report or webpage for this PR" |
| 19 | - "compare this design to similar systems" |
| 20 | - "should I merge this?" |
| 21 | |
| 22 | ## Outputs |
| 23 | |
| 24 | Common outputs: |
| 25 | |
| 26 | - standalone HTML report in `tmp/reports/...` |
| 27 | - Markdown report in `report/` or another requested folder |
| 28 | - short maintainer summary in chat |
| 29 | |
| 30 | If the user asks for a webpage, build a polished standalone HTML artifact with |
| 31 | clear sections and readable visual hierarchy. |
| 32 | |
| 33 | Resources bundled with this skill: |
| 34 | |
| 35 | - `references/style-guide.md` for visual direction and report presentation rules |
| 36 | - `assets/html-report-starter.html` for a reusable standalone HTML/CSS starter |
| 37 | |
| 38 | ## Workflow |
| 39 | |
| 40 | ### 1. Acquire and frame the target |
| 41 | |
| 42 | Work from local code when possible, not just the GitHub PR page. |
| 43 | |
| 44 | Gather: |
| 45 | |
| 46 | - target branch or worktree |
| 47 | - diff size and changed subsystems |
| 48 | - relevant repo docs, specs, and invariants |
| 49 | - contributor intent if it is documented in PR text or design docs |
| 50 | |
| 51 | Start by answering: what is this change *trying* to become? |
| 52 | |
| 53 | ### 2. Build a mental model of the system |
| 54 | |
| 55 | Do not stop at file-by-file notes. Reconstruct the design: |
| 56 | |
| 57 | - what new runtime or contract exists |
| 58 | - which layers changed: db, shared types, server, UI, CLI, docs |
| 59 | - lifecycle: install, startup, execution, UI, failure, disablement |
| 60 | - trust boundary: what code runs where, under what authority |
| 61 | |
| 62 | For large contributions, include a tutorial-style section that teaches the |
| 63 | system from first principles. |
| 64 | |
| 65 | ### 3. Review like a maintainer |
| 66 | |
| 67 | Findings come first. Order by severity. |
| 68 | |
| 69 | Prioritize: |
| 70 | |
| 71 | - behavioral regressions |
| 72 | - trust or security gaps |
| 73 | - misleading abstractions |
| 74 | - lifecycle and operational risks |
| 75 | - coupling that will be hard to unwind |
| 76 | - missing tests or unverifiable claims |
| 77 | |
| 78 | Always cite concrete file references when possible. |
| 79 | |
| 80 | ### 4. Distinguish the objection type |
| 81 | |
| 82 | Be explicit about whether a concern is: |
| 83 | |
| 84 | - product direction |
| 85 | - architecture |
| 86 | - implementation quality |
| 87 | - rollout strategy |
| 88 | - documentation honesty |
| 89 | |
| 90 | Do not hide an architectural objection inside a scope objection. |
| 91 | |
| 92 | ### 5. Compare to external precedents when needed |
| 93 | |
| 94 | If the contribution introduces a framework or platform concept, compare it to |
| 95 | similar open-source systems. |
| 96 | |
| 97 | When comparing: |
| 98 | |
| 99 | - prefer official docs or source |
| 100 | - focus on extension boundaries, context passing, trust model, and UI ownership |
| 101 | - extract lessons, not just similarities |
| 102 | |
| 103 | Good comparison questions: |
| 104 | |
| 105 | - Who owns lifecycle? |
| 106 | - Who owns UI composition? |
| 107 | - Is context explicit or ambient? |
| 108 | - Are plugins trusted code or sandboxed code? |
| 109 | - Are extension points named and typed? |
| 110 | |
| 111 | ### 6. Make the recommendation actionable |
| 112 | |
| 113 | Do not stop at "merge" or "do not merge." |
| 114 | |
| 115 | Choose one: |
| 116 | |
| 117 | - merge as-is |
| 118 | - merge after specific redesign |
| 119 | - salvage specific pieces |
| 120 | - keep as design research |
| 121 | |
| 122 | If rejecting or narrowing, say what should be kept. |
| 123 | |
| 124 | Useful recommendation buckets: |
| 125 | |
| 126 | - keep the protocol/type model |
| 127 | - redesign the UI boundary |
| 128 | - narrow the initial surface area |
| 129 | - defer third-party execution |
| 130 | - ship a host-owned extension-point model first |
| 131 | |
| 132 | ### 7. Build the artifact |
| 133 | |
| 134 | Suggested report structure: |
| 135 | |
| 136 | 1. Executive summary |
| 137 | 2. What the PR actually adds |
| 138 | 3. Tutorial: how the system works |
| 139 | 4. Strengths |
| 140 | 5. Main findings |
| 141 | 6. Comparisons |
| 142 | 7. Recommendation |
| 143 | |
| 144 | For HTML reports: |
| 145 | |
| 146 | - use intentional typography and color |
| 147 | - make navigation easy for long reports |
| 148 | - favor strong section headings and small reference labels |
| 149 | - avoid generic dashboard styling |
| 150 | |
| 151 | Before building from scratch, read `references/style-guide.md`. |
| 152 | If a fast polished starter is helpful, begin from `assets/html-report-starter.html` |
| 153 | and replace the placeholder content with the actual report. |
| 154 | |
| 155 | ### 8. Verify before handoff |
| 156 | |
| 157 | Check: |
| 158 | |
| 159 | - artifact path exists |
| 160 | - findings still match the actual code |
| 161 | - any requested forbidden strings are absent from generated output |
| 162 | - if tests were not run, say so explicitly |
| 163 | |
| 164 | ## Review Heuristics |
| 165 | |
| 166 | ### Plugin and platform work |
| 167 | |
| 168 | Watch closely for: |
| 169 | |
| 170 | - docs claiming sandboxing while runtime executes trusted host processes |
| 171 | - module-global state used to smuggle React context |
| 172 | - hidden dependence on render order |
| 173 | - plugins reaching into host internals instead of using explicit APIs |
| 174 | - "capabilities" that are really policy labels on top of fully trusted code |
| 175 | |
| 176 | ### Good signs |
| 177 | |
| 178 | - typed contracts s |