Public GitHub PR reader

CLI 0.9.0 adds explicit, read-only inspection of public pull requests. CLI 0.10.0 adds patch inspection and explicit selection into a Devdevian code review. This is separate from the local review source context: opening a PR fetches current public GitHub metadata, while publishing a Devdevian review does not automatically copy or synchronize the PR.

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Interactive workspace#

Open GitHub PR in navigation and paste the URL after /pr , or type /pr https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/42 in the command bar.
In a conversation with a linked PR, use X → Read linked GitHub PR, or find that action with Ctrl+K.
Read the title, open/closed/merged/draft status, author, head/base branches, head commit, description and change counts.
Up/down and Page Up/Down scroll. [ / ] paginate changed files, 20 per page. Shift+R explicitly refreshes. Esc returns to the forum and preserves its previous position. X → Open PR on GitHub opens the canonical URL in your browser.

From the PR overview, F or X → Choose a file / inspect diff opens a selectable file list. ↑/↓ chooses a file; Enter loads its patch. In the diff, [ / ] moves between hunks (complete blocks of changes), Space anchors/clears a contiguous hunk range, ↑/↓ / Page Up/Down scrolls the current hunk, and ←/→ pans long lines. Added/deleted lines have +/- markers and colors; old/new file line numbers remain separate.

C or X → Request review of selected hunks copies only the selected complete hunks to a local review draft. Choose topic/audience, write the review focus and context, then Ctrl+S previews the exact patch and source. Publication requires a separate confirmation. Escape returns to editing. Saved drafts retain the frozen patch and base/head commits: restoring one does not fetch newer GitHub code or read a local file. Normal account/community permissions apply; selecting public GitHub code does not automatically publish it.

CLI 0.11 adds a multi-file basket. In a diff, A adds the selected range (or replaces that file’s previous range). Esc returns to the file list; choose another file, including on another page, and repeat. The file list marks selected files. R from the diff or file list composes a single review from the basket; U removes the current file and Z clears the basket. C still composes only the current file. Preview shows all paths, published line ranges and exact code before confirmation.

A review contains up to 10 files, with one contiguous range of complete hunks per file and 20,000 total characters including headers. Every selected file must share the same repository, PR, head and base commits. If a PR changes between file reads, clear the basket and select the files again. The basket itself is session-only: R creates the normal saved draft. Publication does not fetch GitHub again; it deliberately publishes the frozen selection. In a published review workspace, { / } jumps between files without changing the comment line numbering. Review line numbers refer to the published patch, including headers, rather than original file lines. Removed and renamed paths are preserved in patch headers. Missing/binary, oversized, incomplete or control-character patches cannot be selected; open GitHub for full context. Partial-line selection and inline GitHub threads are future work.

Before accepting a patch, the reader fetches fresh metadata, the file page, then fresh metadata again and checks both base/head commits. If the PR changes during loading, it asks you to refresh and select again; it does not retry automatically. This checks for concurrent pushes, not an atomic GitHub snapshot or proof of author ownership. Stored metadata is author-provided and server-validated. The browser and CLI label PR snapshots separately from local Git changes. Published reviews and comments live in Devdevian; no GitHub comments, PR state changes or synchronization are performed.

Command and JSON#

hljs sh

devdevian github pr https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/42
devdevian github pr https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/42 --page 2 --json
devdevian github diff https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/42 --file src/retry.ts --json
devdevian github review https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/42 --file src/retry.ts \
  --hunks 1:2 --title "Review retry changes" --topic web \
  --focus "Check timeout handling" --body "Please review these two changes."

The github pr and github diff read commands work without a Devdevian login. Overview JSON contains no raw patches; explicit diff JSON includes parsed hunks or an unavailable reason. github review requires login, a file path from the chosen page, and an explicit --hunks N or --hunks START:END; its preview/confirmation works like other publishing commands (--yes explicitly confirms scripted publication). Use --page N for files beyond the first page. TUI use requires the usual Devdevian account/session.

For multiple files, use devdevian github review PR_URL --selections selections.json --title "Review source and tests" --topic web --focus "Check retry coverage" --body "Please review these related changes.". This replaces --file / --hunks; publication still requires preview or explicit --yes. The explicitly selected JSON file contains:

hljs json

[
  { "path": "src/retry.ts", "hunks": "1:2", "page": 1 },
  { "path": "test/retry.test.ts", "hunks": "1", "page": 2 }
]

Page defaults to 1 and refers to the 20-file GitHub list page. Only the chosen file patches are included. Each file costs three fresh GitHub reads; selecting ten files can therefore consume 30 requests. There is no background fetching to fill the basket.

Requests, limits and privacy#

Requests go directly from the CLI to the fixed https://api.github.com REST host. Only canonical public GitHub PR URLs are accepted. The reader sends GET requests with an explicit API version and no Authorization header, cookies, Devdevian session or environment-provided GitHub token. It does not route public reads through the forum backend or request new OAuth permissions.

Opening a diff costs three fresh requests (summary, files, summary), even when its overview was cached. Ordinary overview pagination keeps its existing cache. The initial overview page ordinarily costs two requests: PR summary and one page of files. Additional pages reuse the summary for up to 60 seconds. The cache is bounded to 24 responses in memory, with a 2 MiB response cap and a 15-second request deadline; it is not saved to disk. No background PR polling or automatic retry runs. Manual refresh clears cached data while respecting rate-limit cooldowns. GitHub's unauthenticated quotas apply; a 403/429 may require waiting before another refresh.

Private/missing PRs, redirects after repository moves, malformed responses, large bodies, network failures and quota errors produce messages without signing out of Devdevian or discarding a forum draft. GitHub exposes up to 3,000 files through this endpoint; the UI marks truncation and offers the browser URL when that boundary is reached. No GitHub credentials or private-repository authorization are configured in this stage.

Implementation references: PR endpoints, API versions, CLI guide.

Browser review workspace#

Open the published review in the browser app. Review file selects a file from the frozen snapshot; Review change, Previous hunk and Next hunk jump between its selected changes. Additions and removals retain their + / - markers and use different background colors. Long files show 100 published lines per page, with horizontal scrolling inside the code pane on narrow screens.

Select a numbered line or Shift-click a range, then add a remark (up to 50 lines). Numbers remain global to the exact published patch, including its file and hunk headers. Changing files does not renumber code, reload GitHub or clear your feedback text. Show in code returns from a current-version remark to its file, page and selected lines. Cross-file ranges keep their global numbers without a misleading single-file label.

Earlier-version remarks retain their saved quotes and do not offer a jump into changed code. Existing discussion links, status/version filters, replies and resolve/reopen controls continue to work. If author-provided file metadata is missing, malformed or no longer matches the patch, the complete plain snippet remains available with the same line numbers. Private-community permissions and paused-conversation rules are enforced by the existing API.

Terminal review queue#

CLI 0.14 adds /reviews and the Review queue section: open requests and involved remark discussions awaiting your reply. F/G filter status/version, and session memory restores code position without applying old anchors to changed code. Queue semantics and shortcuts. Requires API 0.1.10+.