Pull Requests And Checks

The Pull Request tool in the right panel follows the pull request for the workspace’s branch. Alera works through each forge’s own CLI and never holds a forge token.

Forges And CLIs#

Forge	CLI	Sign In
GitHub and GitHub Enterprise Server	gh	gh auth login
GitLab, including self-managed	glab	glab auth login
Azure DevOps	az with the azure-devops extension	az login

Alera detects github.com, gitlab.com, and Azure DevOps from the origin remote. For GitHub Enterprise Server or a self-managed GitLab, pick the forge under Hosting Provider in Settings → Projects, or in alera.toml. A missing or signed-out CLI shows CLI not found or Not authenticated with the command to run. A remote host workspace uses that host’s CLI and credentials.

Creating A Pull Request#

Without a pull request, the tool shows a form:

• Base Branch defaults to the workspace’s source branch, then main or master.
• The AI Assist button (Generate Title And Description With AI) fills Title, which starts as the branch name, and Description, as set in Settings → AI Assist → Pull Request Details.
• Create Pull Request pushes the branch, then creates and links the pull request. Its Create Options chevron switches to Draft Pull Request, and the choice sticks.
• Ship Changes needs AI Assist: it commits staged or all changes with a generated message, then opens the pull request with a generated title and description. On the base branch, main, or master, it first moves the work to a new ship/ branch.
• Restack Changes asks an agent to rewrite everything since the merge base into logical commits, without pushing.
• Link Existing Pull Request takes #123 or a URL instead.

The Summary#

A linked pull request shows its number, its state (Open, Draft, Merged, or Closed), and four buttons: Ask Agent, Edit Pull Request for the title and base branch, Open Pull Request Diff, and Open In Browser. The diff tab compares against the merge base; Mod+click puts it in the other panel (Mod is ⌘ on macOS and Ctrl on Windows and Linux).

Checks groups runs into failing, in progress, and successful. Expand a check for details, or open it on the forge with Open Check. GitLab reports the pipeline, and Azure DevOps its policy evaluations. When checks fail, Fix Failed Checks tells an agent you pick to fix them, without pasting logs.

Comments lists the conversation, review summaries, and diff threads, with resolved threads folded and an unresolved count. Post Comment adds a top-level comment, and ticking a task-list box edits its comment on the forge.

Merging#

The button under an open pull request runs the action picked in its Pull Request Actions menu, after confirming. GitHub offers Create Merge Commit, Squash and Merge, and Rebase and Merge as the repository and its branch rules allow. GitLab offers Merge Using Project Settings and Squash and Merge; Azure DevOps offers Create Merge Commit and Squash and Merge. The menu also has Mark Ready For Review or Convert To Draft, Close Pull Request, and Unlink Pull Request, which only drops the link. Drafts and conflicting pull requests cannot merge. After a merge it offers Archive Workspace and Remove Workspace.

Stacks On GitHub#

On GitHub the summary adds a stack section: Create From Workspaces stacks this project’s workspaces, creating missing pull requests, and Link Existing Pull Requests stacks numbers you list bottom to top. Merging then reads like Squash and Merge Stack Through #42: everything up to that pull request merges atomically, and the ones above stay open. Changing a stack needs gh extension install github/gh-stack.

Watch And Fix#

Ask Agent lists Failed Checks, Review Comments, and Merge Conflicts toggles, then Watch and Fix and Watch, Fix and Merge. Pick a running agent or a profile, and the watch prompts it about each new problem: failed checks, unresolved threads from anyone but the author, or conflicts with the base branch. It never repeats a request on the same commit. Watch, Fix and Merge also merges once the pull request is ready for review and mergeable, its checks have passed, and no watched thread is open. While it runs, the summary reads “Watching: Fix”, an eye marks the workspace in the sidebar, and Stop Watching or a merged or closed pull request ends it.

On GitHub, a current runtime checks every 30 seconds, even with the app closed, keeps the watch across restarts, and merges only the commit it checked. On GitLab and Azure DevOps the desktop app runs it, so it acts only while the app is open and resumes when it reopens. alera workspace pr-watch starts and stops watches from a terminal.

Linked Issues#

Link an issue in New Workspace or later with Link Issue on a workspace’s right-click menu, which then offers an Issue submenu to open, change, or unlink it. Alera reads GitHub, GitLab, and Azure DevOps issues through gh, glab, and az boards and shows their state in the sidebar. Other trackers’ URLs stay plain links, and a failed read never blocks linking.

Settings#

Under Settings → Application → Pull Requests, Show Pull Request Status (on by default) shows each workspace’s pull request and check state in the sidebar, and Notify When Checks Fail (off by default) sends one native notification when checks fail, even while Alera is hidden.