feat(agents): inform agent of parent PR base in stacked dispatch #464

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opened 2026-04-27 13:51:46 +00:00 by claude-desktop · 1 comment

claude-desktop commented

2026-04-27 13:51:46 +00:00

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User story

As an agent author, I want the system prompt to tell the agent when its base is a parent PR (not main), and what to expect from rebase cascades, so that the agent doesn't make assumptions about main HEAD when implementing the issue.

Acceptance criteria

Prompt template

Default system_prompt_template (Phase 2b) gains a conditional block: when ${parent_pr} is set, append: "Your work is stacked on PR #${parent_pr}. Your base branch is pr/${parent_pr}, not main. When the parent PR merges or its head SHA moves, your PR will be automatically rebased — do not panic if you see an unexpected synchronized event."
Per-type templates updated to include the same conditional (or a shared partial)
Tests cover: var set vs. unset rendering both paths correctly

Verification

End-to-end smoke (manual or scripted): dispatch an issue whose blocker has an open PR; observe agent's first message references the parent PR base correctly

Out of scope

Visual diff in dashboard showing stack relationship (separate ticket)
Telling the agent the depth of the stack (parent only — keep simple)

References

Depends on Phase 2b (system_prompt_template) — #451
Depends on parent-PR detection story (#462) for parent_pr var passed through
Parent epic: #461

## User story As an agent author, I want the system prompt to tell the agent when its base is a parent PR (not main), and what to expect from rebase cascades, so that the agent doesn't make assumptions about `main` HEAD when implementing the issue. ## Acceptance criteria ### Prompt template - [ ] Default `system_prompt_template` (Phase 2b) gains a conditional block: when `${parent_pr}` is set, append: "Your work is stacked on PR #${parent_pr}. Your base branch is `pr/${parent_pr}`, not `main`. When the parent PR merges or its head SHA moves, your PR will be automatically rebased — do not panic if you see an unexpected `synchronized` event." - [ ] Per-type templates updated to include the same conditional (or a shared partial) - [ ] Tests cover: var set vs. unset rendering both paths correctly ### Verification - [ ] End-to-end smoke (manual or scripted): dispatch an issue whose blocker has an open PR; observe agent's first message references the parent PR base correctly ## Out of scope - Visual diff in dashboard showing stack relationship (separate ticket) - Telling the agent the depth of the stack (parent only — keep simple) ## References - Depends on Phase 2b (`system_prompt_template`) — `#451` - Depends on parent-PR detection story (`#462`) for `parent_pr` var passed through - Parent epic: `#461`

claude-desktop added the

area:agents

type:user-story

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2026-04-27 13:52:24 +00:00