Every code change deserves review - including changes made by automation. The PR-based maintenance workflow ensures that all maintenance work flows through the same review process as feature development. Nothing merges without review. Nothing surprises the team.
This approach provides safety, visibility, and auditability. You get the benefits of automation with the control of manual review.
Why PR-Based Maintenance
PRs provide structure and safety for maintenance work.
Visibility
Everyone sees what's changing:
@devonair create PR for all maintenance changes
No hidden modifications to the codebase.
Reviewability
Changes can be scrutinized:
Maintenance PRs go through normal code review
Someone confirms changes are correct.
Reversibility
Easy to roll back:
PRs can be reverted if problems appear
Auditability
Track what changed when:
Git history shows all maintenance with context
Consistency
Same workflow for everything:
Maintenance uses the same CI checks, review process, and merge rules
PR Creation Strategies
One PR Per Task
Focused, reviewable PRs:
@devonair create separate PRs for:
- Dependency updates
- Lint fixes
- Dead code removal
- Documentation updates
Small PRs are easier to review.
Grouped PRs
Related changes together:
@devonair group dependency updates by ecosystem:
- All React packages in one PR
- All testing packages in one PR
Scheduled PRs
Predictable timing:
@devonair create dependency update PR every Tuesday morning
Teams know when to expect maintenance PRs.
On-Demand PRs
Triggered by events:
@devonair on security vulnerability: create immediate patch PR
PR Content
Descriptive Titles
Clear titles explain changes:
@devonair use title format: [Maintenance] Category: Description
Examples:
[Maintenance] Dependencies: Update React to 18.2.0
[Maintenance] Lint: Fix unused variable warnings
[Maintenance] Security: Patch CVE-2024-1234 in lodash
Detailed Descriptions
Context for reviewers:
@devonair include in PR description:
- What changed and why
- Any risks or considerations
- Testing performed
- Related issues or documentation
Change Summaries
Digestible overview:
@devonair summarize changes:
- Files changed: 12
- Packages updated: 5
- Breaking changes: None
Links
Connect to context:
@devonair include links to:
- Related issues
- Relevant documentation
- Changelog entries
Review Process
Automatic Assignment
Assign reviewers:
@devonair assign maintenance PRs based on:
- Code ownership
- Team rotation
- Expertise matching
Review Requirements
Set review policies:
@devonair configure review requirements:
- Security PRs: Security team review required
- Dependency updates: Any team member
- Code changes: Code owner review
Review Guidance
Help reviewers:
@devonair highlight areas needing attention
@devonair note any unusual changes
Time Expectations
Set expectations:
@devonair set review SLA:
- Security: same day
- Dependencies: within 2 days
- Other: within 5 days
Automated Checks
CI Integration
Run standard CI:
@devonair maintenance PRs run:
- All tests
- Lint checks
- Type checking
- Security scans
- Build verification
Additional Checks
Maintenance-specific validation:
@devonair verify:
- Lock files are consistent
- No unintended changes
- Documentation updated if needed
Status Reporting
Clear status:
@devonair show check results in PR
Merge Strategies
Auto-Merge for Safe Changes
Reduce friction for low-risk changes:
@devonair enable auto-merge when:
- All checks pass
- One approval received
- Change is low-risk (patch update, lint fix)
Manual Merge for Risky Changes
Require explicit action:
@devonair require manual merge for:
- Major dependency updates
- Security patches
- Code behavior changes
Merge Queue
Orderly merging:
@devonair use merge queue for maintenance PRs
Branch Protection
Enforce policies:
@devonair enforce branch protection on maintenance PRs
PR Organization
Labels
Categorize PRs:
@devonair apply labels:
- maintenance
- dependencies
- security
- code-quality
- documentation
- auto-merge-ready
Projects
Track maintenance work:
@devonair add maintenance PRs to maintenance project board
Milestones
Version tracking:
@devonair associate security fixes with version milestones
Handling Review Feedback
Automatic Updates
Incorporate feedback:
@devonair if reviewer requests changes:
- Update the PR if possible
- Comment if manual intervention needed
Discussion
Engage with reviewers:
@devonair respond to review questions with context
Conflict Resolution
Handle disagreements:
@devonair if review blocked: escalate to team lead
Stale PR Management
Stale Detection
Find aging PRs:
@devonair identify maintenance PRs open > 7 days
Reminders
Prompt action:
@devonair remind reviewers of pending maintenance PRs
Auto-Update
Keep PRs current:
@devonair rebase maintenance PRs when base branch changes
Closure
Clean up abandoned PRs:
@devonair close maintenance PRs unmerged for > 30 days
Conflict Management
Early Detection
Catch conflicts early:
@devonair check for conflicts daily
Resolution
Handle conflicts:
@devonair attempt automatic conflict resolution for simple cases
@devonair alert when manual resolution needed
Rebase Strategy
Keep PRs current:
@devonair rebase maintenance PRs onto latest main
Notifications
PR Created
Alert team:
@devonair notify Slack when maintenance PR created
Review Needed
Prompt reviewers:
@devonair notify assigned reviewers
PR Merged
Confirm completion:
@devonair announce merged maintenance PRs
Metrics
PR Lifecycle
Track PR health:
@devonair track:
- Time to review
- Time to merge
- Number of review rounds
Review Load
Balance effort:
@devonair track review assignments per team member
Merge Rate
Measure throughput:
@devonair track maintenance PRs merged per week
Configuration
PR Templates
Standardize format:
@devonair use maintenance PR template
Branch Naming
Consistent naming:
@devonair use branch format: maintenance/type/description
Default Settings
Organization defaults:
@devonair configure default reviewers, labels, and settings
Getting Started
Enable PR creation:
@devonair create PRs for all maintenance changes
Configure review process:
@devonair set up automatic reviewer assignment
Enable auto-merge for safe changes:
@devonair enable auto-merge for passing low-risk PRs
Set up notifications:
@devonair notify team of new maintenance PRs
PR-based maintenance gives you automation with accountability. Every change is visible, reviewable, and reversible. The codebase improves continuously while the team maintains full control.
FAQ
Won't this create too many PRs?
Group related changes and batch low-priority items. Configure auto-merge for routine changes. The goal is visibility, not overhead.
Should maintenance PRs block other work?
Configure CI to allow parallel PRs. Maintenance PRs shouldn't block feature development. Use merge queues to manage ordering.
How do I handle urgent maintenance?
Urgent PRs (security patches) get expedited review. Configure notification urgency based on PR type. Some changes merit same-day review.
What if a maintenance PR breaks something?
Revert the PR like any other bad merge. Investigate, fix, and re-submit. PRs make reverting simple.