Iterating on PRs

Gitar provides AI-powered GitHub integration that helps developers throughout the pull request lifecycle. It automatically analyzes PRs, addresses feedback, and fixes CI failures to streamline the development process.

🚧 Note: PR interactivity is coming soon for GitLab!

Quick Start

For Gitar PRs

The GitHub integration is automatically activated for every pull request created through Gitar (app.gitar.ai). When Gitar starts processing a PR, you'll see a welcome message like this:

For Non-Gitar PRs

By default, Gitar will not participate in PRs not created by Gitar. Please contact your Gitar Customer Success Manager (CSM) to enable this feature if interested.

Disabling the Integration

If you need to disable the GitHub integration for a specific PR:

1. Check the box [x] Disable automatic comment and CI monitoring in the welcome message
2. Gitar will stop processing that PR

What Gitar Does

Core Capabilities

Gitar provides three main services on pull requests:

1. PR Summaries - Automatically generates comprehensive summaries of changes when a pull request is created or updated
2. Comment Response - Addresses feedback and questions from reviewers who have write access to the repository
3. CI Failure Fixing - Analyzes failing CI checks and attempts to implement fixes automatically

Automatic Actions

When the GitHub integration is active on a PR, Gitar will:

• Post a welcome message when it first encounters your PR
• Monitor CI status and attempt to fix failures automatically
• Respond to comments from users with repository write access
• Push fixes back to your PR branch

Working with Gitar

Comment Interactions

Gitar processes comments from users with write access to the repository. Here are guidelines for effective interactions:

• Start comments with "Gitar" - Begin your comment with "Gitar" to let Gitar know you want it to respond to your feedback or questions. Any other comments will not trigger Gitar.
• Be specific and actionable - Gitar works best with clear requests like "Gitar, add error handling to the parseData function" rather than vague feedback like "this could be better"
• Provide context and reasoning - When asking for changes, explain why the change is needed. For example: "Gitar, add null checking here because the API can return undefined values"

When Gitar receives your comment, Gitar reacts with 👀 to it, and will process it:

CI Failure Handling

When CI fails, Gitar follows this process:

1. Analyze the failure - Downloads and examines logs from GitHub Actions and other integrated CI or logging services
2. Diagnose root causes - Identifies the underlying issues causing the failures
3. Implement fixes - Makes the necessary code changes and commits them
4. Push changes - Updates your PR branch with the fixes

Actions Gitar May Take

Depending on the nature of comments and CI failures, Gitar may:

• Post a reply comment (when answering questions about a PR)
• Post a comment asking for additional clarification (if unsure how to address a comment or CI failure)
• Make code changes and commit them (for addressing comments and/or CI failures)

Gitar uses the full comment history of the pull request as context when responding.

Event Batching

Gitar collects PR events on a 10-minute interval and processes them together. This means:

• Gitar won't immediately respond to comments you just posted or to CI failures
• You have a 10-minute window to add additional comments or context that will be addressed understood collectively.
• This helps minimize the number of commits and CI runs triggered by Gitar's responses, and provides you an opportunity to write tips to Gitar for how to solve a CI error.

Troubleshooting

Gitar Isn't Responding to Comments

Start comments with "Gitar" - Make sure your comment begins with "Gitar" to trigger a response.

Check repository permissions - Ensure you have write access to the repository. Only users with write access can trigger Gitar responses.

Verify the integration is enabled - Check that the [x] Disable automatic comment and CI monitoring box isn't checked in the welcome message.

CI Still Failing After Gitar's Fixes

Multiple iterations may be needed - Complex CI failures sometimes require several rounds of fixes.

Provide additional context - If Gitar's fixes aren't working, add a comment with more details about the specific failure.

Getting Help

If you encounter issues with the GitHub integration, please reach out to us for support.