awesome-copilot/skills/copilot-pr-autopilot/references/08-reply-resolve.md

Step 8: Reply (always) + resolve (conditional)

Sub-agent type: general-purpose drafts the reply bodies; the parent posts them (mutations stay parent-owned). Budget for the drafting sub-agent: 5 min.

Runs AFTER step 7 (commit + push) so every reply can cite the pushed commit SHA.

Inputs

• The full triage table from step 4 — { thread_id, action, rationale } per open thread (including escalate-to-user).
• The pushed HeadOid from step 7.
• The per-thread fix summary and files_touched from step 5 (for fix rows).

Return contract

One row per open thread:

{ thread_id, action, reply_body }

Where action ∈ fix | decline | escalate-to-user. The parent consumes this to drive the resolve/no-resolve decision (see Procedure).

Procedure

1. Drafting sub-agent produces a reply_body per thread by selecting the appropriate template (see #templates) based on the triage action. Cite the pushed SHA from step 7 in fix replies. For escalate-to-user, explain the disposition and the open question for the human merge owner; do not promise a resolve.

2. Parent posts each reply, choosing whether to resolve:

   pwsh ./scripts/08-reply-and-resolve.ps1 -ThreadId <id> -Body <text>
   

   • action ∈ { fix, decline } → run as above (resolve happens).

   • action == escalate-to-user → add -NoResolve so the thread stays open for the human:

     pwsh ./scripts/08-reply-and-resolve.ps1 -ThreadId <id> -Body <text> -NoResolve
     

Gotchas

• Reply to every open thread; resolve only when the loop owns the disposition (fix or decline). Resolving without a reply leaves no record of why the issue was considered addressed.
• Escalated threads stay open with our reply explaining the disposition. They're explicit hand-offs to the human merge owner, not loop failures — that's why convergence in step 9 can succeed with OpenThreadCount > 0.
• Mutations are parent-owned. The sub-agent only drafts; it never posts. This keeps the audit trail of mutations on the parent and avoids double-post races between concurrent sub-agents.
• Cite the pushed SHA, not a local commit. Step 7's recorded HeadOid is the only SHA reviewers can browse to.
• Reply hygiene matters for the next round. Declines that don't cite reasoning get re-raised by the next Copilot review. See 04-triage.md.

Templates

Pick by triage action:

Triage action	Template
fix	reply-fix.md
decline	reply-decline.md
PR-description / comment drift acknowledgement	reply-drift.md
Partial fix with deferred follow-up	reply-partial.md

For escalate-to-user, there is no template — write a bespoke reply explaining the disposition and the open question, then post with -NoResolve so the thread stays open.

Reply guidance

The reply has to do real work — it documents the decision for future maintainers and shapes what the next Copilot review will surface.

Be concrete (cite file paths, commit SHAs, function names), direct (no hedging when you have a position), and brief (2–4 sentences is typical). Long replies usually mean the round should have been broken up.

Anti-patterns — DO NOT use

• ❌ "Thanks!" / "Good point." with no substance.
• ❌ "Will fix later." Either fix it now or decline with rationale; deferred fixes that aren't tracked anywhere get lost.
• ❌ Resolve-without-reply. The next reviewer cannot reconstruct why the thread was closed.
• ❌ "I disagree." with no reasoning. State the actual technical disagreement.