arc-prs 0.3.0

Local CLI for managing stacked pull requests

arc

Your PR has 47 files changed. Nobody's going to review that.

Stacked PRs fix this — break a large change into a chain of small, focused diffs that reviewers can actually follow. The problem is that managing a stack by hand is painful. Every time main moves, you cascade rebases through four branches manually. Every merged PR means retargeting the one above it. So you skip the stacking and ship the monster PR anyway.

arc removes that friction.

$ arc status

main
└── feat/auth        PR #42  ✓  2 commits  (rev 3)
    └── feat/api     PR #43  ✗  3 commits  (rev 1)  ← needs rebase
        └── feat/ui  no PR   ✓  1 commit

→ Run 'arc sync' to rebase feat/api onto feat/auth.

One command keeps the whole stack current. Another opens all the PRs — with a stack map in each description so reviewers can navigate. When a PR merges, arc land rebases everything above it and removes it from the stack.

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Install

pipx install arc-prs
# or
uv tool install arc-prs

Requires: Python 3.11+, git, gh CLI (authenticated via gh auth login)

First time on a new machine:

arc setup   # checks git, gh auth, and configures git rerere

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Building a stack

Initialize arc in your repo once:

arc init --base main --prefix feat

This creates .arc/state.json (git-ignored, per-clone) and adds it to .gitignore. The --prefix is optional — if set, arc new auth creates feat/auth instead of auth.

Then build your stack branch by branch as you work:

arc new auth
# write code, run tests
git add . && git commit -m "Add auth middleware"

arc new api
# write code
git add . && git commit -m "Add API routes"

arc new ui
git add . && git commit -m "Add frontend"

Each arc new creates a branch from your current HEAD and registers it in the stack. arc status shows you where you are at any point.

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The daily loop

When main moves or you amend a lower branch, run:

arc sync

This fetches the latest from remote and cascades a rebase bottom-up through the stack — feat/auth onto main, feat/api onto feat/auth, feat/ui onto feat/api. If there's a conflict, arc aborts the rebase, resets every branch to where it was before, and tells you exactly which files to fix:

Conflict in feat/api. Resolve: src/api.py
Then run 'arc rebase --continue' or 'arc rebase --abort'.

When the stack is clean, push everything and open PRs:

arc push                  # force-pushes all branches atomically
arc submit --draft        # creates or updates PRs for each branch

Each PR targets the branch below it, not main directly. Reviewers see only the diff for that layer. arc submit also injects a stack map into every PR description:

---
Stack (base: main):
  1. feat/auth - PR #42 [this PR]
  2. feat/api  - PR #43
  3. feat/ui   - no PR

Reviewers can navigate the whole stack from any PR without hunting for context.

When you're ready to open for review, arc submit --open marks all drafts as ready at once.

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When a PR merges

Once feat/auth is approved and merged on GitHub:

arc land feat/auth

arc verifies the PR is merged, detects whether it was a squash-merge or a regular merge, rebases feat/api and feat/ui onto main correctly (using git rebase --onto for squash-merges, which would otherwise leave duplicate commits), removes feat/auth from the stack, and deletes the local branch.

You can land branches in order as they get approved. The rest of the stack stays coherent throughout.

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Other useful things

If a lower branch needs changes after review feedback:

arc checkout feat/auth   # or: arc checkout 1
# fix the issue, amend your commit
arc sync                 # cascades the change up through api and ui
arc push && arc submit

arc checkout 2 navigates to the second branch in the stack. arc up / arc down / arc top / arc bottom move you through the stack without remembering branch names.

Remove a branch from the stack without touching the others:

arc drop feat/api -f     # restacks feat/ui onto feat/auth

Keep commit messages useful after a PR is created:

arc amend   # appends the PR link and stack position to the HEAD commit message

This means git log on the landed commits still traces back to the PR.

Gate submissions on local checks — configure .arc/config.json (committed, shared with your team):

{
  "hooks": {
    "pre-submit": ["npm run lint", "npm test"]
  }
}

arc submit runs these before touching GitHub. Any non-zero exit aborts. Pass --skip-hooks to bypass.

Preview destructive operations before running them:

arc sync -n    # shows the rebase plan without executing
arc push -n    # shows which branches would be pushed
arc land -n    # shows which branches would be restacked

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Scripting and agents

Every command is non-interactive by default. --json sends structured output to stdout; status messages go to stderr. Exit codes carry meaning.

# Find branches that need rebasing
arc status --json | jq '.branches[] | select(.needs_rebase) | .name'

# Get all branch names for a script
arc status --plain

# Full dry-run before committing
arc sync -n && arc push -n && arc submit -n

arc status --json output:

{
  "base": "main",
  "prefix": "feat",
  "current_branch": "feat/api",
  "branches": [
    {
      "name": "feat/auth",
      "index": 1,
      "pr_number": 42,
      "pr_url": "https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/42",
      "pr_state": "OPEN",
      "commits": 2,
      "revision": 3,
      "needs_rebase": false,
      "is_current": false,
      "is_merged": false
    }
  ]
}

Exit codes:

Code	Meaning	What to do
0	Success	—
1	Error	Read stderr
2	Not in a stack	arc init
3	Rebase conflict	Resolve, then arc rebase --continue or --abort
4	GitHub API failure	gh auth status, retry
5	Invalid arguments	Read stderr
6	Setup check failed	arc setup
7	Pre-submit hook failed	Fix the check or --skip-hooks

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Reference

All commands accept -q (--quiet) to suppress hints and -n (--dry-run) where the operation is destructive. --json is available on any command that produces data.

Command	What it does
arc setup	Verify environment, configure git
arc init [--base B] [--prefix P]	Initialize a stack
arc new <branch>	Create branch from HEAD, add to stack
arc add <branch>	Adopt an existing local branch
arc status [--json|--plain]	Show the stack
arc sync	Fetch + cascade rebase
arc restack [<branch>]	Restack a single branch onto its parent without full sync
arc push	Force-push all branches, increment revision
arc submit [--draft|--open] [--skip-hooks]	Create or update PRs
arc land [<branch>] [-f]	Land a merged PR, restack above
arc amend	Append PR link to commit message
arc drop <branch> [-f]	Remove branch, restack above
arc rebase [--upstack|--downstack|--continue|--abort]	Fine-grained rebase
arc checkout <name|index>	Switch to branch by name or position
arc up [n] / arc down [n]	Move through the stack
arc top / arc bottom	Jump to ends of the stack
arc stack analyze [--json]	Show critical path, safe-to-land branches, and blockers
arc doctor	Check environment: git, gh, auth, stack validity

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License

MIT