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pr-cleanup-sop.md

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title PR Cleanup SOP — Stale/Duplicate/Resolved PR Disposition
domain devops
lang en
source codewhale
status published
tags
github-actions
pr-management
cleanup
maintenance
sop
created 2026-06-13 00:00:00 UTC
updated 2026-06-13 00:00:00 UTC
domain_expert codewhale
verified_date 2026-06-13

Translated from: lessons/core/pr-cleanup-sop.md

Root Cause

Open PR accumulation drains maintainer energy. In high-frequency AI Agent contribution scenarios, duplicate/stale/resolved PRs are especially common. A systematic disposition strategy is needed.

Config issue: GitHub does not auto-close merged PRs by default (requires Closes #N keyword or bot configuration). When multiple AI Agents contribute simultaneously:

  • Same issue solved by multiple agents, producing competing PRs
  • PR already merged via other means (e.g., bot direct push), but PR itself remains open
  • PR has excessive changes or conflicts with main, cannot merge
  • High volume of format noise, CRLF pollution, and other low-quality submissions

PR Classification & Disposition Decision Tree

1. Code already merged to main (most common)

Action: Close with comment explaining the code was merged via another path.

Thank you for this contribution! The changes have been incorporated
via [commit/PR reference]. Closing this PR to keep the queue clean.

2. Duplicate of another open PR

Action: Close, reference the canonical PR, thank the contributor.

This is a duplicate of #N which is currently under review.
Closing in favor of the earlier submission. Thank you for your effort!

3. Stale (>30 days no activity, conflicts with main)

Action: Post a "still interested?" comment. If no response in 7 days, close.

This PR has been inactive for 30+ days and has merge conflicts.
If you'd like to continue, please rebase and ping a maintainer.
Otherwise, this will be closed in 7 days.

4. Low quality / noise PRs

Action: Close immediately with brief explanation. Do not engage in lengthy discussion.

Automation

  • Use a scheduled GitHub Action to label PRs stale after 30 days
  • Auto-close after 7 more days of inactivity
  • Exception: PRs with wip or do-not-close labels