detecting-existing-threads

Testing & Quality

Detects existing PR review threads to prevent duplicate comments. Use BEFORE posting any inline comments. Fetches resolved and open threads, then matches against planned findings.

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry/blob/HEAD/skills/data/detecting-existing-threads/SKILL.md

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Detecting Existing Threads

Purpose

Prevent duplicate comments by detecting existing review threads before posting new findings.

Required Tools

Bash(gh pr view:*) - Get general PR comments
Bash(gh api graphql*reviewThreads*-f owner=*-f repo=*-F pr=*:*) - Get resolved threads
Bash(./scripts/get-review-threads.sh:*) - Script wrapper

Step 1: Determine PR Number

Use this priority order:

GitHub Actions environment:
- Check GITHUB_EVENT_PATH environment variable
- Extract PR number from event payload: .pull_request.number
- Get repo from GITHUB_REPOSITORY ("owner/repo" format)
Conversation context:
- Direct number: "123" → use 123
- PR URL: extract from https://github.com/org/repo/pull/456
- Text reference: "PR #789" → extract 789
Local review mode:
- No PR number available → skip thread detection entirely

Step 2: Fetch Thread Data

Capture BOTH comment sources:

# General PR comments
gh pr view <PR_NUMBER> --json comments

# Inline resolved review threads (REQUIRED - gh pr view misses these)
./scripts/get-review-threads.sh <PR_NUMBER> <OWNER> <REPO>

Step 3: Parse Into Structure

Build this JSON structure from merged results:

{
  "total_threads": 5,
  "threads": [
    {
      "location": "src/auth.ts:45",
      "severity": "CRITICAL",
      "issue_summary": "SQL injection risk in query builder",
      "resolved": false,
      "author": "claude",
      "path": "src/auth.ts",
      "line": 45
    }
  ]
}

Severity detection from emoji prefix:

❌ → CRITICAL
⚠️ → IMPORTANT
♻️ → DEBT
🎨 → SUGGESTED
❓ → QUESTION

Thread Matching Logic

Before creating any new comment, check for matches:

Match Type	Criteria	Action
Exact	Same file + same line	Use existing thread
Nearby	Same file + line within ±5	Use existing thread
Content	Body similarity >70%	Use existing thread
No match	None of above	Create new comment

Handling Matches

Issue persists unchanged → Respond in existing thread
Issue resolved → Note resolution, don't re-raise
Issue evolved → Create new comment explaining change