Feedback resolution

Feedback Resolution

Domain skill for systematically addressing PR review comments.

Iron Law

EVERY FIX TRACES TO A SPECIFIC REVIEW COMMENT OR THE BOY SCOUT RULE. Untraceable changes that fail the proximity test are out-of-context changes.

If you can't point to the review comment or the Boy Scout proximity test that motivated a change, the change doesn't belong in this round.

Focused Change Principle

When addressing feedback, fix what the feedback requires — and apply the Boy Scout Rule to files you're already modifying:

• Each feedback fix should be traceable to a specific review comment
• Don't add features while addressing feedback
• Don't change formatting in files not mentioned in feedback
• Boy Scout cleanup in files being modified for feedback is allowed if it passes the proximity test (see code-quality-principles)
• Boy Scout fixes get separate improve: commits, never mixed with feedback fixes

Feedback Collection

Fetch all review feedback:

PR_NUM=$ARGUMENTS
REPO=$(gh repo view --json nameWithOwner --jq '.nameWithOwner')

# Review comments with file:line context
gh api repos/$REPO/pulls/$PR_NUM/comments --jq '.[] | {id: .id, path: .path, line: .line, body: .body, author: .user.login}'

# Review summaries and states
gh pr view $PR_NUM --json reviews --jq '.reviews[] | {state: .state, body: .body, author: .author.login}'

# Root conversation threads (for grouping replies)
gh api repos/$REPO/pulls/$PR_NUM/comments --jq '.[] | select(.in_reply_to_id == null) | .id'

Feedback Categorization

Categorize each comment:

Category	Action
P1 — Must fix	Code bug, security issue, logic error
P2 — Should fix	Convention violation, missing test, unclear code
P3 — Consider	Style preference, optimization suggestion
Question	Needs response, not necessarily a code change
Resolved	Already fixed or no longer relevant

Context Recovery

Don't trust line numbers from review comments — code may have changed since the review:

1. Search for the quoted code from the review comment
2. Search for the file path mentioned
3. Read the current state of the file
4. Match the feedback to the current code location

# Find current location of reviewed code
grep -n "quoted_code_snippet" $FILE_PATH

Fix Workflow

For each feedback item (as TaskCreate):

1. Read the review comment carefully
2. Find the current code location (context recovery)
3. Implement the minimal fix
4. Test — write or update tests that verify the fix:
   • Follow existing test patterns (co-located files, same framework)
   • At minimum, write a test that would have caught the issue
   • Test the specific edge case, not just the happy path
   • Only modify the fix target and its test file
5. Verify the fix addresses the specific feedback and tests pass
6. Commit with reference: fix(scope): address review — {summary}

Ambiguity Handling

When feedback is unclear:

1. Check if follow-up comments clarify
2. Check if similar patterns exist in the codebase for guidance
3. If still unclear, resolve with the most conservative interpretation
4. Note the interpretation in the response comment

Pushback Criteria

Pushback is a narrow, evidence-backed response — not a general "I disagree" escape hatch. Pushback is valid only when one of the following holds, and the response must cite the specific evidence:

• Factually incorrect feedback — the reviewer's claim about the code is wrong. Response must cite file:line showing the current state and explain why the feedback does not apply.
• Would break existing tests — the suggested change would cause a regression. Response must show the failing test (name and file:line) that the suggestion would break.
• Contradicts a CLAUDE.md rule — the suggestion violates a project convention documented in CLAUDE.md. Response must quote the rule and cite its location in CLAUDE.md.

"I disagree" alone is NOT valid pushback. Subjective preference differences resolve in favor of the reviewer — if you don't have factual evidence, a broken test, or a CLAUDE.md citation, apply the fix.

Always explain the reasoning when pushing back. Never ignore feedback silently. If pushback would require a judgment call beyond the three valid categories above, file a six-field Proactive-Autonomy escalation per references/escalation-format.md — but only if this is a genuine product/architecture decision. Finding triage (P1/P2/P3 disposition) is NEVER a valid escalation trigger; see skills/llm-operator-principles/SKILL.md.

Rationalization Prevention

Excuse	Response
"While fixing this, I noticed something else to improve"	Does it pass the proximity test? If yes, fix it in a separate improve: commit. If no AND it is cosmetic P3 in an untouched file: fix-if-bounded or document inline (default mode) — only create a follow-up issue under minimalScope mode. For P1/P2 anywhere: fix in this PR.
"The reviewer probably meant this broader change"	Don't guess. Address the literal comment. Clarify if unsure.
"I'll batch all fixes into one commit"	One commit per feedback item. Traceability requires it.

Re-Review Request

After all feedback is addressed:

Post structured resolution summary using the template structure from templates/resolution-comment.md:

# Post resolution comment
gh pr comment $PR_NUM --body "$BODY"

BLOCKING: The resolution comment MUST be posted before re-requesting review. Push + resolution comment + re-request review is an atomic sequence — never skip the middle step.

# Re-request review
gh pr edit $PR_NUM --add-reviewer @{reviewer}

Verification

Before re-requesting review:

1. All quality commands pass
2. Each feedback item has a corresponding commit or response
3. No out-of-context changes introduced (use change-classification)
4. Push changes (Tier 2)