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pr-reference

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by microsoft · part of microsoft/hve-core

Generates PR reference XML containing commit history and unified diffs between branches with extension and path filtering. Includes utilities to list changed…

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#automation#git#security
🧩 One of 7 skills in the microsoft/hve-core package — works on its own, and pairs well with its siblings.

This is the playbook your agent receives when the skill activates — you don't need to read it to use the skill, but it's here to audit before installing.

by microsoft

Generates PR reference XML containing commit history and unified diffs between branches with extension and path filtering. Includes utilities to list changed… npx skills add https://github.com/microsoft/hve-core --skill pr-reference Download ZIPGitHub1.2k

PR Reference Generation Skill

Overview

Queries git for commit metadata and diff output, then produces a structured XML document. Both bash and PowerShell implementations are provided.

Use cases:

  • PR description generation from commit history

  • Code review preparation with structured diff context

  • Work item discovery by analyzing branch changes

  • Security analysis of modified files

After successful generation, include a file link to the absolute path of the XML output in the response.

Parameters Reference

Parameter Flag (bash) Flag (PowerShell) Default Description Base branch --base-branch -BaseBranch origin/main (bash) / main (PowerShell) Target branch for comparison. Use auto to detect remote default. Merge base --merge-base -MergeBase false Use git merge-base for three-way comparison Exclude markdown --no-md-diff -ExcludeMarkdownDiff false Exclude markdown files (*.md) from the diff Exclude extensions --exclude-ext -ExcludeExt (none) Comma-separated extensions to exclude (e.g., yml,yaml,json,png) Exclude paths --exclude-path -ExcludePath (none) Comma-separated path prefixes to exclude (e.g., docs/,.github/) Output path --output -OutputPath .copilot-tracking/pr/pr-reference.xml Custom output file path

Both defaults resolve to the same remote comparison. The PowerShell script automatically resolves origin/<branch> when a bare branch name is provided.

Additional Scripts Reference

After generating the PR reference, use these utility scripts to query the XML.

List Changed Files

Run the list script to extract file paths from the diff:

scripts/list-changed-files.sh # all changed files
scripts/list-changed-files.sh --type added # filter by single type
scripts/list-changed-files.sh --type added,modified,renamed # filter by multiple types
scripts/list-changed-files.sh --exclude-type deleted # exclude specific types
scripts/list-changed-files.sh --format markdown # output as markdown table

scripts/list-changed-files.ps1 # all changed files
scripts/list-changed-files.ps1 -Type Added # filter by single type
scripts/list-changed-files.ps1 -Type Added,Modified,Renamed # filter by multiple types
scripts/list-changed-files.ps1 -ExcludeType Deleted # exclude specific types
scripts/list-changed-files.ps1 -Format Json # output as JSON

Parameter Flag (bash) Flag (PowerShell) Default Description Input path --input, -i -InputPath (auto) Path to pr-reference.xml Type filter --type, -t -Type all Change types to include (comma-separated: added, modified, etc.) Exclude type --exclude-type -ExcludeType (none) Change types to exclude. Mutually exclusive with --type (non-all) Format --format, -f -Format plain Output format: plain, json, or markdown

Read Diff Content

Run the read script to inspect diff content with chunking for large diffs:

scripts/read-diff.sh --info # chunk info (count, line ranges)
scripts/read-diff.sh --chunk 1 # read a specific chunk
scripts/read-diff.sh --file src/main.ts # extract diff for one file
scripts/read-diff.sh --summary # file stats summary

scripts/read-diff.ps1 -Info # chunk info
scripts/read-diff.ps1 -Chunk 1 # read a specific chunk
scripts/read-diff.ps1 -File "src/main.ts" # extract diff for one file

Output Format

The generated XML wraps commit metadata and unified diff output in a <commit_history> root element. See the reference guide for the complete XML schema, element reference, output path variations, and workflow integration patterns.