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ci(workflows): retire auto-update-pr-branches - #12237
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The workflow merged main into every open PR with auto-merge after each push to main. The main ruleset's required checks are not strict, so no PR needs that to merge, and each update-branch merge commit, authored by github-actions[bot], put the PR's CI at action_required under the repository's Actions approval policy. PR #12229 collected eight such commits on 2026-10-22 and merged only after a hand approval of six runs. The workflow already skipped Dependabot and spec PRs for the same reason; the auto-polish PRs it still covered merge 19 to 49 seconds after they open, before its 30-second wait ever finishes. A second opinion from Gemini 4 Argon and Fable agreed on deleting it. The Dependabot command, the project guide, and the stale "strict policy" comment in the polish prompt follow, and the open-pr skill gains the rule: never update a PR branch with GITHUB_TOKEN when its CI has to run. impl-merge.yml keeps its own update-branch for implementation PRs; whether that goes too is a separate decision. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01GdMSqLR5ww4ji74EUSmk9M
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01GdMSqLR5ww4ji74EUSmk9M
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🔵 Needs a closer look
Removing repository-wide merge automation requires maintainer review because its safety depends on the live branch-protection and Actions approval configuration.
No open issues 🎉
What changed in this PR
This PR retires automatic PR branch updates to avoid disrupting CI with bot-authored merge commits. It relies on the existing non-strict required checks, which allow branches behind main to merge.
Changes:
- Deletes the repository-wide branch-update workflow, leaving
impl-merge.ymlunchanged. - Updates workflow documentation and adds a warning about token-driven branch updates.
- Adds a changelog fragment and corrects an illustrative comment without changing the spec-polish command.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
prompts/workflow-prompts/spec-polish-claude.md |
Corrects the comment describing auto-merge requirements. |
changelog.d/retire-auto-update-pr-branches.md |
Records the workflow retirement and its rationale. |
agentic/docs/project-guide.md |
Removes the retired workflow from the inventory. |
agentic/commands/dependabot.md |
Updates branch-update and recovery guidance. |
.github/workflows/auto-update-pr-branches.yml |
Deletes automatic branch updates after pushes to main. |
.claude/skills/open-pr/SKILL.md |
Adds a warning about branch updates that disrupt CI. |
Review effort: Balanced
Codecov Report✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests. 📢 Thoughts on this report? Let us know! |
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Summary
.github/workflows/auto-update-pr-branches.yml. Themainruleset's required checks are not strict (strict_required_status_checks_policy: false, checked 2026-10-22), so a PR behindmainmerges anyway, and everyupdate-branchmerge commit the workflow pushed asgithub-actions[bot]put that PR's CI ataction_required(Actions approval policyfirst_time_contributors). docs(skills): fold the first Gemini pilot's friction into gemini-task #12229 collected eight such commits on 2026-10-22 and needed six runs approved by hand. Dependabot and spec PRs were already excluded for this reason; the auto-polish PRs it still covered merge 19 to 49 s after opening, before its 30 s wait ends.prompts/workflow-prompts/spec-polish-claude.md(comment inside an illustrative block, no behaviour change), and a gotcha in theopen-prskill: never update a PR branch withGITHUB_TOKENwhen its CI has to run.workflow_dispatch. Not in scope (owner decision, 2026-10-22):impl-merge.yml's owngh pr update-branchbefore an implementation merge stays; whether it goes is a separate task.Plan
N/A. Follow-up task from the 2026-10-22 Dependabot batch, decided by the owner after the second opinion.
Test plan
uv run pytest tests/unit -n auto(12,186 passed); no test references the workflowgit grep auto-update-pr-branchesleaves only the historical CHANGELOG entries and the two new mentions that it was retireduv run python -m tools.changelog check --base origin/main.github/workflows/; the effect shows on the next PR with auto-merge that stays open whilemainadvances (its CI keeps running on its own head).🤖 Generated with Claude Code
https://claude.ai/code/session_01GdMSqLR5ww4ji74EUSmk9M