respond-to-review
/octopus:respond-to-review drives the PR-feedback protocol
explicitly for a single comment or thread — the same discipline the
agent applies automatically on every PR feedback loop, surfaced as a
command for when you want deliberate, step-by-step control.
What it solves
The default response to a review comment is often either blind
deference (“changed”) or reflexive pushback. Both are wrong.
Blind deference applies changes without understanding them; reflexive
pushback rejects feedback without reading the code. respond-to-review
enforces a middle path: verify first, then engage with the actual
substance of the critique.
The command also handles the mechanics after the fixes land — batching the commit, deciding whether to push, composing inline replies, and resolving threads — so none of those steps get forgotten or done out of order.
How it works
The skill runs a five-rule protocol on every comment, in order:
- Verify the critique — read the code the reviewer pointed at before accepting the feedback as correct. If the critique doesn’t hold, say so with evidence; if it does, proceed to the next rules.
- Ask for evidence on generic comments — “this is ugly” or “seems wrong” cannot be acted on. Ask for specificity before touching code.
- Separate reasoned feedback from preference — technical reasons (performance, correctness, consistency) get weight; preferences are a negotiation, not an instruction.
- Never make performative changes — a change made to close a thread without understanding the concern is an anti-pattern. If the feedback is unclear, use Rule 2 or Rule 5 instead.
- Ask for clarification on ambiguity — when a comment allows more than one reading, one clarifying question saves a second review round.
Once the right changes are applied, the skill opens a single post-fix turn that proposes commit, push, inline thread replies, and thread resolution in one consolidated menu. Threads still waiting on clarification are left open.
Usage & parameters
/octopus:respond-to-review <pr-or-comment-ref><pr-or-comment-ref>— a PR number, a comment URL, or a quoted snippet of the reviewer’s comment. Tells the skill which feedback thread to process.
Relationship to the skill
The respond-to-review skill is active by default on every PR
feedback loop — the agent engages it automatically when the task
involves processing review comments. This command drives it explicitly
for a single item the user describes inline, which is useful when
you want a step-by-step walk rather than implicit engagement.
Pairing
/octopus:pr-review— writing a review for someone else’s PR, not processing incoming feedback./octopus:codereview— self-review of uncommitted changes before the PR exists.