Interactive Q&A (/ask)

Relevant source files

The following files were used as context for generating this wiki page:

• README.md
• scripts/autofix.py
• .github/workflows/pr_agent.yml
• .pr_agent.toml
• package.json

Interactive Q&A (/ask) is a command-driven feature of the PR-Agent that allows users to ask specific questions about changes within a Pull Request. It serves as a conversational interface for developers to gain deeper insights into code modifications, logic, or potential side effects directly within the GitHub comment interface.

This feature is part of a suite of interactive commands, including /review, /describe, and /improve, which trigger automated agent actions across repositories managed by the central configuration.
Sources: README.md:20-24

Command Execution Flow

When a user submits a comment starting with /ask <question>, the PR-Agent processes the request by analyzing the PR context and generating a targeted response. While the logic for processing the natural language question resides within the PR-Agent core, the automation and environment settings are governed by the central configuration files in this repository.

Workflow Integration

The command is typically processed through GitHub Actions. The repository provides a reusable workflow that monitors PR comments for specific triggers.

A sequence diagram showing the flow from a user comment to the agent's response on a Pull Request.
Sources: README.md:16-18, README.md:24

Configuration and Overrides

The behavior of the /ask command is influenced by the global configuration found in .pr_agent.toml. This file establishes the default settings for the agent's interaction across all repositories owned by the organization.

Configuration Hierarchy

1. Global Settings: Defined in JWEB0689/pr-agent-settings/.pr_agent.toml.
2. Repository Overrides: Defined in a local .pr_agent.toml within a specific repository.
3. Command Execution: The agent loads settings by inheriting from the global file and applying any local overrides.

Sources: README.md:6-14

Configuration Level	File Path	Impact
Global	JWEB0689/pr-agent-settings/.pr_agent.toml	Sets default behavior for /ask across all organization repos.
Local	{repo_root}/.pr_agent.toml	Overrides global settings for specific repository needs.

Sources: README.md:8-14

Integration with Autonomous Tools

The /ask feature operates alongside autonomous scripts like autofix.py. While /ask provides information to the user, the autofix.py script acts on findings that might be generated during code reviews or as a result of AI-human interactions.

Data Acquisition for Context

To provide accurate answers, the system must retrieve PR data. The scripts/autofix.py file demonstrates how the environment retrieves context via the GitHub API, which is a similar mechanism used by the agent to understand the PR before answering a /ask query.

def gh_api_get(path):
    """GET a GitHub REST API path with GH_TOKEN; follows pagination for lists."""
    token = os.environ.get("GH_TOKEN")
    # ... logic to fetch pull request data, comments, and file contents ...

Sources: scripts/autofix.py:118-121

Context Limitations

When processing requests, the system observes specific constraints to maintain performance and avoid API overloads. These limits apply to the file context available for analysis:

Variable	Value	Description
MAX_FILE_BYTES	80,000	Maximum size of a file the system will read for context.
MAX_CONTEXT_FILES	12	Maximum number of files processed in a single context window.

Sources: scripts/autofix.py:32-33

Summary

The /ask <question> command provides an interactive layer to the PR-Agent, enabling developers to query specific aspects of a Pull Request. It relies on the central configuration for baseline behavior while allowing repository-specific overrides. By integrating with the broader automation suite, it ensures that developers have immediate, AI-driven insights into code changes during the review process.