Gate merges on a review-fix-loop commit status

SOURCES.md

@@ -517,8 +517,10 @@ History-changing operations use the shared PR preservation reference to back up
 retained local files affected by tracking deletions and verify restoration.
 
 Scoped PR layers follow `pr`’s publish step, which links every layer in T3; CLI
-publication does not substitute for that link. Layers get `pr`’s review step before
+publication does not substitute for that link. Layers get `pr`’s Prepare and Review steps before
 `submit`, or `link` when it creates PRs or marks them ready, and `gh stack merge` runs only from `merge`’s land step.
+Each layer runs its held `review-fix-loop` status command unchanged once its SHA is pushed;
+after a restack, the loop reruns for that layer as a repair pass.
 
 Ordinary publication uses `submit --auto --open` or `link --open`, with drafts only
 on request, to match `pr`. Branch deletion after a merge goes through `repo-cleanup`
@@ -1068,10 +1070,12 @@ other nonignored untracked source.
 - [mattpocock/skills / skills/engineering/pr](https://github.com/mattpocock/skills/tree/d81f3a183412e71a5b1e84ca21bc1a35eea03a60/skills/engineering/pr) — PR-body structure, visual selection, evidence, and merge-risk guidance adapted into `references/pr-body.md`; import baseline `d81f3a183412e71a5b1e84ca21bc1a35eea03a60`. Upstream credits [HumanLayer / show-me](https://github.com/humanlayer/skills/tree/ca7c8088db69e315a8b2deea43820270457f8f3c/plugins/show-me/skills/show-me) for visual guidance; the origin revision used by Matt is unrecorded. HumanLayer MIT notice checked at `ca7c8088db69e315a8b2deea43820270457f8f3c` in `licenses/humanlayer-skills.txt`.
 
 The local name and UI are `pr`, with automatic discovery. It owns PR text, publication, and
-watching. Fixing feedback moved to `review-sweep` and merging to `merge`. Publishing reuses
-matching review evidence, and runs `show-dont-tell` then the review loop when there is none.
+watching. Fixing feedback moved to `review-sweep` and merging to `merge`. Publishing runs `show-dont-tell`, commits, then runs the review
+loop on that commit and pushes after it; earlier review counts only for the same commit.
 `scripts/pr_state.py` reads one head's checks, threads, comments, and reviews through every page,
 replacing hand-read readiness with `blockers`, `pending`, and `to_settle`.
+It also gates on the head's `review-fix-loop` commit status context, kept apart from CI
+checks, including a same-named check run: anything but success blocks.
 The body guide uses Summary/Evidence/Merge Danger by default, defers to project
 PR templates, and preserves local why/effect/root-cause/stack facts. It expands
 visual selection to algorithm, runtime, UI, file, interaction, diff, and complete

skills/gh-stack/SKILL.md

@@ -35,7 +35,11 @@ their callers and use separate stacks for independent work.
   [PR's publish step](../pr/SKILL.md#publish). A CLI operation doesn't link its layers
   to the thread.
 - Before `gh stack submit`, or `gh stack link` when it creates PRs or marks them ready, run
-  [PR's review step](../pr/SKILL.md#publish) on each layer against its immediate base.
+  PR's [Prepare and Review steps](../pr/SKILL.md#publish) on each layer against its immediate
+  base.
+  Run each layer's held `review-fix-loop` status command unchanged once its SHA is pushed, as
+  [Review Fix Loop's finish step](../review-fix-loop/SKILL.md#6-finish) says. After a restack,
+  rerun the loop for that layer as a [repair pass](../review-fix-loop/SKILL.md#4-route-repairs).
   Land through [Merge](../merge/SKILL.md): run
   `gh stack merge` only from its land step.
 

skills/implement/SKILL.md

@@ -168,9 +168,9 @@ reported as a gap, and the user can open what you showed.
   keep: go to Merge, which runs review, opens the PR, and lands it. Changes go
   back to stage 3. Scrap goes to [Repo Cleanup](../repo-cleanup/SKILL.md).
 - **PR:** PR runs review, publishes, and watches to the requested state.
-- **Land:** go to Merge; a stack lands bottom-up as one merge set. Until hard
-  gates exist, Merge's requirements are the gate: review of the current head,
-  required checks, and passing proof. Land is done when GitHub reports every PR
+- **Land:** go to Merge; a stack lands bottom-up as one merge set. Merge's
+  requirements are the gate: review of the current head, which `pr_state`
+  enforces, required checks, and passing proof. Land is done when GitHub reports every PR
   merged and the result is shown. A closed PR did not land.
 
 Provisional work never merges: Land becomes Try, and a requested draft or

skills/merge/SKILL.md

@@ -32,6 +32,12 @@ limits.
    PR open and use [Show Me](../show-me/SKILL.md) to show the user what happened, including
    anything that landed first.
 
+   `pr_state` blocks a head without a passing `review-fix-loop` status, including after a base
+   update or restack. A caller with its own repair owner gets the gap back. Without one, take
+   the head through PR's [Prepare and Review steps](../pr/SKILL.md#publish), publish any fixes,
+   and read the state again. A new head of reviewed work is a
+   [repair pass](../review-fix-loop/SKILL.md#4-route-repairs).
+
    A caller that keeps its own repair owner gets each failure, comment, and stop back, and resumes
    that owner. You repair nothing.
 
@@ -42,12 +48,10 @@ limits.
    branch, or for a stack layer its parent in the scoped set. A different base is a stop.
 
    Every PR, including docs-only changes, needs review of its current head that includes
-   [Show, Don't Tell](../show-dont-tell/SKILL.md), plus required verification. Reuse matching
-   evidence. A scoped rerun after a repair counts. So does review from before the base moved,
-   once you've read the new base commits and they don't affect the files or behavior this change
-   depends on. If evidence is missing or stale, a caller with its own repair owner gets the gap
-   back. Otherwise run [PR's review step](../pr/SKILL.md#publish), publish any fixes, and go back
-   to step 2.
+   [Show, Don't Tell](../show-dont-tell/SKILL.md), plus required verification. The head's
+   passing `review-fix-loop` status records the review and its Show, Don't Tell. Step 2 restores
+   a missing one. Route missing or stale verification the same way as a stale review, then go
+   back to step 2.
 
    A head you didn't verify holds commits nobody reviewed. Read them, then go back to step 2. It
    counts as verified once the evidence above covers it.

skills/pr/SKILL.md

@@ -24,17 +24,20 @@ remote description. Writing text commits and pushes nothing.
 
 ## Publish
 
-Watching an existing PR starts at step 3.
-
-1. **Get it reviewed.** Reuse review evidence that matches the complete diff against the
-   immediate base and included [Show, Don't Tell](../show-dont-tell/SKILL.md). Otherwise run
-   Show, Don't Tell on that diff, including docs-only changes, then
-   [Review Fix Loop](../review-fix-loop/SKILL.md) on the result. Continue once review and
-   verification pass.
-2. **Publish it.** Follow [publish](references/publish.md). Publish ready for review unless
-   the user asks for a draft. In T3, link each PR you create, push to, or take over, including
-   every stack layer.
-3. **Watch it.** Follow [watch](references/watch.md).
+Watching an existing PR starts at step 4.
+
+1. **Prepare it.** Run [Show, Don't Tell](../show-dont-tell/SKILL.md) on the complete diff
+   against the immediate base, including docs-only changes, unless earlier evidence covers
+   this change. Then [commit](references/publish.md#commit).
+2. **Get it reviewed.** Run [Review Fix Loop](../review-fix-loop/SKILL.md) on the committed
+   head. A new head of reviewed work, such as after a base update or restack, is a
+   [repair pass](../review-fix-loop/SKILL.md#4-route-repairs). Earlier review of this exact
+   commit [finishes it](../review-fix-loop/SKILL.md#6-finish) and posts the status. Continue
+   once review and verification pass.
+3. **Publish it.** Follow [publish](references/publish.md#push). Publish ready for review
+   unless the user asks for a draft. In T3, link each PR you create, push to, or take over,
+   including every stack layer.
+4. **Watch it.** Follow [watch](references/watch.md).
 
 ## Report
 

skills/pr/references/publish.md

@@ -1,17 +1,23 @@
 # Publish
 
-## Commit and push
+## Commit
 
-Inspect status, the complete diff, and staged files. Stage only owned paths and
-preserve unrelated work. Keep the feature branch; on the default branch, create
+Commit before review, so the review covers a committed head. Inspect status, the
+complete diff, and staged files. Stage only owned paths and preserve unrelated
+work. Keep the feature branch; on the default branch, create
 `agent/<short-description>` first. Use the caller's immediate base, including
 a parent layer for stacks.
 
-Commit owned edits with a terse subject, run checks needed by final staging,
-and push with upstream tracking. Push existing ahead commits without an empty
-commit; reuse an already published head when nothing changed. For a caller-owned
-restack, use force-with-lease only on the named branch after review. Return a
-lease failure to the caller as changed remote state.
+Commit owned edits with a terse subject, and run checks needed by final staging.
+
+## Push
+
+Push after review, with upstream tracking. Push existing ahead commits without an
+empty commit; reuse an already published head when nothing changed. Then run any
+held `review-fix-loop` status command as
+[Review Fix Loop's finish step](../../review-fix-loop/SKILL.md#6-finish) says. For a
+caller-owned restack, use force-with-lease only on the named branch after review.
+Return a lease failure to the caller as changed remote state.
 
 Before rebasing or restacking, follow [Preserve local files](preserve-local-files.md)
 for retained files affected by tracking deletions. Verify restoration after the

skills/pr/references/watch.md

@@ -33,6 +33,10 @@ when a result looks wrong.
   fixes something, check that review evidence covers the change. If it's missing or stale,
   rerun [review](../SKILL.md#publish) on the affected scope. Then [publish](publish.md), post
   held replies, and read the state again.
+- **No passing review status:** take the head through PR's
+  [Prepare and Review steps](../SKILL.md#publish), unless posting its status already failed;
+  then report that blocker. A new head of reviewed work is a
+  [repair pass](../../review-fix-loop/SKILL.md#4-route-repairs).
 - **A missing check:** explain it, including workflows filtered out by a stacked PR's base or
   by draft status.
 - **Behind or conflicted:** read what the new base commits touch, then decide with
@@ -64,6 +68,9 @@ Ready means `pr_state` reports `ready`, every `to_settle` item has a decision, a
 [feedback handling](../../review-sweep/references/pr-feedback.md#finish) is complete. Report
 any unmet repository requirement.
 
+`pr_state` blocks until the head has a passing `review-fix-loop` commit status. It reports that
+status under `review_status`, apart from `checks`.
+
 GitHub stops nothing on a repo with no required checks, so `pr_state` then holds every check to
 that bar: a failure blocks, and a head with workflows but no checks waits. One of these still
 counts as ready once Review Sweep dismissed it for this head with evidence, such as the same

skills/pr/scripts/pr_state.py

@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@
 PROVISIONAL_HEADING = "## Provisional"
 PROVISIONAL_BLOCKER = (f"the body has an open '{PROVISIONAL_HEADING}' section; "
                        "it must not merge until that section is removed")
+REVIEW_CONTEXT = "review-fix-loop"
+REVIEW_BLOCKER = f"no passing '{REVIEW_CONTEXT}' status on this head; run Review Fix Loop on it"
 
 # baseRefOid stops at the PR's last sync with its base, so read the branch's live tip instead.
 SUMMARY_QUERY = """
@@ -210,6 +212,10 @@ def check_result(node):
     return {"name": name, "state": state, "required": node["isRequired"], "url": url}
 
 
+def is_review_record(node):
+    return node["__typename"] == "StatusContext" and node["context"] == REVIEW_CONTEXT
+
+
 def has_workflows(gh, pr, head):
     pages = graphql_pages(gh, WORKFLOWS_QUERY, owner=pr["owner"], name=pr["name"],
                           expression=f"{head}:.github/workflows")
@@ -227,7 +233,9 @@ def read_state(gh, pr):
     """Read until the PR holds still, so every part describes one state of it."""
     for _ in range(READ_ATTEMPTS):
         summary = read_summary(gh, pr)
-        checks = [check_result(node) for node in all_nodes(gh, CHECKS_QUERY, pr, checks_page)]
+        nodes = all_nodes(gh, CHECKS_QUERY, pr, checks_page)
+        records = [check_result(node) for node in nodes if is_review_record(node)]
+        checks = [check_result(node) for node in nodes if not is_review_record(node)]
         state = {
             "summary": summary,
             "behind_by": commits_behind_base(gh, pr, summary),
@@ -236,6 +244,7 @@ def read_state(gh, pr):
             "comments": all_nodes(gh, COMMENTS_QUERY, pr),
             "reviews": all_nodes(gh, REVIEWS_QUERY, pr),
             "checks": checks,
+            "review_status": records[0] if records else None,
             "expects_checks": bool(checks) or has_workflows(gh, pr, summary["headRefOid"]),
         }
         if read_summary(gh, pr) == summary:
@@ -274,7 +283,9 @@ def assess_merge_state(state, blockers, pending):
         blockers.append("the branch is behind its base")
     elif merge_state == "BLOCKED" and not (pending or blockers):
         blockers.append("GitHub reports an unmet merge requirement")
-    elif merge_state == "UNSTABLE" and all(check["state"] == "pass" for check in state["checks"]):
+    elif merge_state == "UNSTABLE" and all(
+            check["state"] == "pass" for check in [*state["checks"], state["review_status"]]
+            if check):
         blockers.append("GitHub reports a failing status that no check here shows; "
                         "read the head and test-merge targets")
 
@@ -293,6 +304,8 @@ def assess(state, expected_head=None):
 
     if state.get("provisional"):
         blockers.append(PROVISIONAL_BLOCKER)
+    if (state["review_status"] or {}).get("state") != "pass":
+        blockers.append(REVIEW_BLOCKER)
     if summary["isDraft"]:
         blockers.append("the PR is a draft")
     if summary["reviewDecision"] == "CHANGES_REQUESTED":