Guide · Agent skill
How to use the External Contributor PR Helper agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The contrib-pr skill is a set of written instructions that an AI agent follows when you want to submit a change to the prisma/orm project from your own fork. It is meant for outside contributors, not Prisma maintainers. After reading this guide you will know how to install the skill, how to ask for it in plain language, and what the agent checks before it opens a pull request.
External Contributor PR Helperprisma/orm · Apache-2.0 Download the skill Quick start
- 1Install the skill. Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ or your project's .claude/skills/ folder, or upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills in the Claude apps.
- 2Fork and clone prisma/orm. Make sure you have a fork of prisma/orm and a GitHub account, and that git and gh are installed. Make your change on a branch in your fork.
- 3Ask the agent for a PR. Make a request such as 'Help me get this PR ready for review'. The agent reads CONTRIBUTING.md and checks the scope and tests of your change.
- 4Run the test suites. The agent runs pnpm typecheck, pnpm lint and pnpm test:packages at minimum, plus any suites that match your change.
- 5Fix DCO sign-off. The agent checks every commit for a Signed-off-by line and amends or rebases if one is missing.
- 6Review the title and body. The agent drafts a conventional-commit title and a structured description and shows them to you in full.
- 7Push and open the PR. After you confirm, the agent pushes to your fork and opens the pull request with gh.
What the skill makes the agent do
An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file. When the skill is installed and your request matches its description, the agent reads those instructions and follows them. The contrib-pr skill encodes the contribution flow from the project's CONTRIBUTING.md so that your pull request is shaped the way maintainers expect on the first review.
The skill has the agent read CONTRIBUTING.md, CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md and SECURITY.md first. It then checks that the change is focused on one concern, that tests are included for behaviour changes, and that the right test commands pass. It also makes sure every commit carries a Signed-off-by line, and it writes a conventional-commit title and a structured pull request description. The skill states that its goal is to help the pull request pass review on the first round.
Install the contrib-pr skill
Download the ZIP file for the skill from the page you are reading. Unzip it so that the skill folder ends up in one of two places. For a personal install that applies to all your projects, use ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, put it in that project's .claude/skills/ folder.
If you use the Claude apps instead, open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the skill there.
- Personal install: ~/.claude/skills/
- Project install: .claude/skills/ inside your project
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload
Ask for it with a natural request
You do not need a special command. The skill is triggered when your request matches its description, which covers an outside contributor who wants to submit a change as a pull request from a fork. The skill's own examples of phrases that trigger it are listed below.
If you are a maintainer with access to internal Linear tickets, the skill tells you to use the separate create-pr skill instead.
- Open a PR for this contribution
- Submit this as a PR to prisma/orm
- Help me get this PR ready for review
- I'm contributing to Prisma 8, finalize my change
Run the test and lint checks the skill requires
The skill maps the type of change to a test command in CONTRIBUTING.md. The minimum bar before any PR is a typecheck, a lint and the package unit tests. The agent is told not to open a PR with a known-failing test or lint error.
If the change touches the SQL runtime, the skill also asks for the integration and e2e suites. It says these suites are self-contained, using PGlite and mongodb-memory-server, so no external database is needed. The Vite plugin suite needs Docker.
- Type errors only: pnpm typecheck
- Lint and formatting: pnpm lint
- Unit tests in packages: pnpm test:packages
- Database integration: pnpm test:integration
- Postgres and SQLite e2e: pnpm test:e2e
- Vite plugin and Cloudflare Worker: pnpm test:vite-plugin (needs Docker)
- Everything: pnpm test:all
pnpm typecheck && pnpm lint && pnpm test:packagesSign off every commit (DCO)
Every commit on the pull request needs a Signed-off-by trailer whose name and email match the commit author. Without it, the DCO status check blocks the pull request from merging. The skill tells the agent to list your commits first and check each one.
If only the last commit is missing the trailer, the skill uses an amend. If several commits are affected, it uses a rebase. After either, the agent pushes with --force-with-lease to your fork.
- Last commit only: amend with signoff
- Multiple commits: rebase with signoff onto origin/main
git log origin/main..HEAD --format='%h %an <%ae>%n%b%n---'Write the title and description
The title uses conventional-commit form with a lowercase description, no trailing period and a length under about 60 characters. The allowed types are feat, fix, chore, docs, refactor and test. The description follows the project's pull request template and focuses on why the change exists rather than listing files.
The skill says not to include an AI-authored disclosure. Before pushing, the agent shows you the full title and body and waits for your confirmation.
- Linked issue: Fixes #N or Refs #N, or n/a for a small change
- Summary: one or two sentences on why
- Testing performed: the actual pnpm commands you ran
- Skill update: which skill the change teaches, or why none is needed
- Checklist: DCO, scope, tests, title
What people use it for
- Preparing a first small pull request to prisma/orm with the project's checks run before you open it.
- Fixing a missing Signed-off-by line on a branch with several commits.
- Writing a clear conventional-commit title and a why-focused description for a bug fix.
- Walking through CONTRIBUTING.md step by step when you have not contributed to this project before.
- Checking that a behaviour change includes tests before the pull request is opened.
Frequently asked questions
Is the contrib-pr skill free to use?
The skill is published under the Apache-2.0 licence. The source material given for this page does not mention any price, so check the licence and the repository before relying on it for other uses.
What do I need installed to use contrib-pr?
You need git, the GitHub CLI (gh) for opening the pull request, and pnpm for the test and lint commands. You also need a fork of prisma/orm and a GitHub account. Docker is only needed for the Vite plugin test suite.
Can I use contrib-pr if I work at Prisma?
No. The skill says that maintainers with access to internal Linear tickets should use the separate create-pr skill instead.
What should I do if I find a security vulnerability?
The skill tells the agent to stop and use the Private Vulnerability Reporting flow in SECURITY.md. It should not open a public pull request for a security fix.
Why does my pull request fail the DCO check?
The DCO check blocks merging when a commit lacks a Signed-off-by line matching the author's name and email. Amend the last commit with git commit --amend --signoff --no-edit, or rebase with signoff onto origin/main if there are several commits, then force-push with --force-with-lease.
Does the skill work for repositories other than prisma/orm?
No. The skill's commands, paths and conventions are specific to prisma/orm, so it is not meant for other repositories.
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Our verdict
Use contrib-pr if you are an outside contributor preparing a first or small pull request to prisma/orm and want an agent to follow CONTRIBUTING.md closely. Pick something else if you are a Prisma maintainer, if you are reporting a security issue, or if your project is not prisma/orm.
Download the skill