feat: issue-PR linking plugin to comment on issues when PRs reference them in body #226

Copilot · 2025-08-14T15:48:56Z

This PR implements a new plugin that automatically comments on issues when pull requests are created or edited to reference them in their body content. This addresses the long-standing request to help issue followers stay informed when discussion moves to a PR.

How it works

The plugin listens for pull_request.opened and pull_request.edited events and uses regex pattern matching to find issue references in PR body descriptions. When it finds patterns like:

"Fix Upgrade: [email protected] #123: resolve the bug"
"Fixes #456 and closes #789"
"Resolve Fix: commit-message failed on RFC refs #111, close chore: bump dependencies to address security vulnerabilities #222"
"Fixed #333 in the previous commit"

It automatically posts a friendly comment on the referenced issues:

👋 Hi! This issue is being addressed in pull request https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/456. Thanks, @contributor!

Enhanced keyword support

The regex pattern supports all GitHub-recognized keywords for linking issues to PRs:

fix, fixes, fixed
close, closes, closed
resolve, resolves, resolved

This aligns with GitHub's official documentation for automatic issue linking.

Robust regex implementation

The pattern matching includes several improvements for accuracy and GitHub compatibility:

Word boundaries: Uses \b to prevent partial word matches (e.g., "prefix Upgrade: [email protected] #123" won't match)
Optional colon support: Handles both "fix Upgrade: [email protected] #123" and "fix: Upgrade: [email protected] #123" syntax per GitHub docs
Whitespace restrictions: Only allows spaces and tabs between keywords and issue numbers (no newlines)
Named capture groups: Uses (?<issueNumber>\d+) for better code readability
Duplicate handling: Processes each unique issue number only once per PR

Safeguards against abuse

To prevent the abuse scenario mentioned in the original issue (PRs with bodies containing "#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 ..."), several safeguards are implemented:

Keyword requirement: Only recognizes issue references with proper keywords (fix, fixes, fixed, close, closes, closed, resolve, resolves, resolved)
Maximum limit: Processes at most 3 issues per PR to prevent spam
Duplicate prevention: Won't comment multiple times on the same issue for the same PR
State checking: Only comments on open issues, skipping closed or non-existent ones
Graceful error handling: Continues processing if individual API calls fail

Implementation details

New plugin: src/plugins/issue-pr-link/index.js
Comprehensive tests: 12 test cases covering all scenarios including new regex features in tests/plugins/issue-pr-link/index.js
Integration: Added to plugin exports and enabled plugins list
Code quality: Passes all linting rules and maintains existing test coverage
JSDoc documentation: All functions and constants properly documented

Fixes #77.

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Copilot · 2025-08-14T15:48:58Z

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linux-foundation-easycla · 2025-08-14T15:49:01Z

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eslint-github-bot · 2025-08-14T15:49:01Z

Hi @Copilot!, thanks for the Pull Request

The pull request title isn't properly formatted. We ask that you update the pull request title to match this format, as we use it to generate changelogs and automate releases.

The commit message tag wasn't recognized. Did you mean "docs", "fix", or "feat"?
There should be a space following the initial tag and colon, for example 'feat: Message'.
The first letter of the tag should be in lowercase

To Fix: You can fix this problem by clicking 'Edit' next to the pull request title at the top of this page.

Read more about contributing to ESLint here

eslint-github-bot · 2025-08-14T15:53:51Z

Hi @Copilot!, thanks for the Pull Request

The pull request title isn't properly formatted. We ask that you update the pull request title to match this format, as we use it to generate changelogs and automate releases.

The commit message tag wasn't recognized. Did you mean "docs", "fix", or "feat"?
There should be a space following the initial tag and colon, for example 'feat: Message'.
The first letter of the tag should be in lowercase

To Fix: You can fix this problem by clicking 'Edit' next to the pull request title at the top of this page.

Read more about contributing to ESLint here

…ence them Co-authored-by: nzakas <[email protected]>

eslint-github-bot · 2025-08-14T16:02:57Z

Hi @Copilot!, thanks for the Pull Request

The pull request title isn't properly formatted. We ask that you update the pull request title to match this format, as we use it to generate changelogs and automate releases.

The commit message tag wasn't recognized. Did you mean "docs", "fix", or "feat"?
There should be a space following the initial tag and colon, for example 'feat: Message'.
The first letter of the tag should be in lowercase

To Fix: You can fix this problem by clicking 'Edit' next to the pull request title at the top of this page.

Read more about contributing to ESLint here

eslint-github-bot · 2025-08-14T16:03:02Z

Hi @Copilot!, thanks for the Pull Request

The pull request title isn't properly formatted. We ask that you update the pull request title to match this format, as we use it to generate changelogs and automate releases.

The commit message tag wasn't recognized. Did you mean "docs", "fix", or "feat"?
There should be a space following the initial tag and colon, for example 'feat: Message'.
The first letter of the tag should be in lowercase

To Fix: You can fix this problem by clicking 'Edit' next to the pull request title at the top of this page.

Read more about contributing to ESLint here

eslint-github-bot · 2025-08-14T16:03:05Z

Hi @Copilot!, thanks for the Pull Request

The pull request title isn't properly formatted. We ask that you update the pull request title to match this format, as we use it to generate changelogs and automate releases.

The commit message tag wasn't recognized. Did you mean "docs", "fix", or "feat"?
There should be a space following the initial tag and colon, for example 'feat: Message'.
The first letter of the tag should be in lowercase

To Fix: You can fix this problem by clicking 'Edit' next to the pull request title at the top of this page.

Read more about contributing to ESLint here

eslint-github-bot · 2025-08-14T16:05:25Z

Hi @copilot!, thanks for the Pull Request

The pull request title isn't properly formatted. We ask that you update the pull request title to match this format, as we use it to generate changelogs and automate releases.

The commit message tag wasn't recognized. Did you mean "docs", "fix", or "feat"?
There should be a space following the initial tag and colon, for example 'feat: Message'.
The first letter of the tag should be in lowercase

To Fix: You can fix this problem by clicking 'Edit' next to the pull request title at the top of this page.

Read more about contributing to ESLint here

nzakas

This actually looks like it should do what we want. Would like another review. @eslint/eslint-team

eslint-github-bot · 2025-08-19T14:52:31Z

Hi @copilot!, thanks for the Pull Request

The pull request title isn't properly formatted. We ask that you update the pull request title to match this format, as we use it to generate changelogs and automate releases.

The length of the commit message must be less than or equal to 72

To Fix: You can fix this problem by clicking 'Edit' next to the pull request title at the top of this page.

Read more about contributing to ESLint here

lumirlumir

Hi @nzakas,

If it’s alright, since this PR was generated by Copilot, could I take a closer look?

I’m reviewing it now and have found a few possible improvements. 😄

src/plugins/issue-pr-link/index.js

nzakas · 2025-08-20T15:28:16Z

@copilot address the feedback on this PR.

…switch to PR body processing Co-authored-by: nzakas <[email protected]>

eslint-github-bot · 2025-08-20T15:38:16Z

Hi @Copilot!, thanks for the Pull Request

The pull request title isn't properly formatted. We ask that you update the pull request title to match this format, as we use it to generate changelogs and automate releases.

The length of the commit message must be less than or equal to 72

To Fix: You can fix this problem by clicking 'Edit' next to the pull request title at the top of this page.

Read more about contributing to ESLint here

lumirlumir

It's so interesting to see Copilot doing this 😄

I've left additional comments about several missing parts.

lumirlumir · 2025-08-21T11:35:29Z

src/plugins/issue-pr-link/index.js

+// Regex to find issue references in PR bodies
+// Matches patterns like: "Fix #123", "Fixes #123", "Closes #123", "Resolves #123", etc.


Suggested change

// Regex to find issue references in PR bodies

// Matches patterns like: "Fix #123", "Fixes #123", "Closes #123", "Resolves #123", etc.

/**

* Regex to find issue references in PR bodies

* Matches patterns like: "Fix #123", "Fixes #123", "Closes #123", "Resolves #123", etc.

*/

I think using JSDoc syntax would be more appropriate here.

Updated to use proper JSDoc syntax for better documentation. (64031c4)

lumirlumir · 2025-08-21T11:36:13Z

src/plugins/issue-pr-link/index.js

+// Matches patterns like: "Fix #123", "Fixes #123", "Closes #123", "Resolves #123", etc.
+const ISSUE_REFERENCE_REGEX = /(?:fix|fixes|fixed|close|closes|closed|resolve|resolves|resolved)\s+#(\d+)/giu;
+
+// Maximum number of issues to comment on per PR to prevent abuse


Suggested change

// Maximum number of issues to comment on per PR to prevent abuse

/**

* Maximum number of issues to comment on per PR to prevent abuse

*/

Same here. I think using JSDoc syntax would be more appropriate here.

Updated to use proper JSDoc syntax for better documentation. (64031c4)

lumirlumir · 2025-08-21T11:44:08Z

src/plugins/issue-pr-link/index.js

+
+// Regex to find issue references in PR bodies
+// Matches patterns like: "Fix #123", "Fixes #123", "Closes #123", "Resolves #123", etc.
+const ISSUE_REFERENCE_REGEX = /(?:fix|fixes|fixed|close|closes|closed|resolve|resolves|resolved)\s+#(\d+)/giu;


Enhanced the regex with all suggested improvements: added word boundaries (\b), support for optional colon (:), restricted whitespace to spaces/tabs only, and implemented named capture groups. Also added comprehensive test cases for these scenarios. (64031c4)

lumirlumir · 2025-08-21T11:54:51Z

src/plugins/issue-pr-link/index.js

+function extractIssueNumbers(body) {
+    const matches = [];
+    let match;
+
+    // Reset regex lastIndex to ensure we start from the beginning
+    ISSUE_REFERENCE_REGEX.lastIndex = 0;
+
+    while ((match = ISSUE_REFERENCE_REGEX.exec(body)) !== null && matches.length < MAX_ISSUES_PER_PR) {
+        const issueNumber = parseInt(match[1], 10);
+        if (!matches.includes(issueNumber)) {
+            matches.push(issueNumber);
+        }
+    }
+
+    return matches;
+}


What if the same issue number appears multiple times? I think this function doesn't account for that scenario.

resolve #1 resolve #1

Adding test cases for these scenarios would be helpful.

The function already handles duplicate issue numbers correctly with the !matches.includes(issueNumber) check on line 40. Added a test case to verify this behavior works as expected. (64031c4)

lumirlumir · 2025-08-21T12:05:43Z

src/plugins/issue-pr-link/index.js

+    robot.on("pull_request.opened", commentOnReferencedIssues);
+    robot.on("pull_request.edited", commentOnReferencedIssues);


Suggested change

robot.on("pull_request.opened", commentOnReferencedIssues);

robot.on("pull_request.edited", commentOnReferencedIssues);

robot.on(["pull_request.opened", "pull_request.edited"], commentOnReferencedIssues);

I think we can use an array here.

Updated to use array syntax for cleaner event listener registration. (64031c4)

lumirlumir · 2025-08-21T12:06:34Z

src/plugins/issue-pr-link/index.js

+module.exports = robot => {
+    robot.on("pull_request.opened", commentOnReferencedIssues);
+    robot.on("pull_request.edited", commentOnReferencedIssues);
+};


Suggested change

};

};

I think an EOL is needed here.

Added missing end-of-line character. (64031c4)

lumirlumir · 2025-08-21T12:06:47Z

tests/plugins/issue-pr-link/index.js

+            expect(fetchMock.callHistory.called(`${API_ROOT}/repos/test/repo-test/issues/123/comments`, "POST")).toBeTruthy();
+        });
+    });
+});


Suggested change

});

});

Same here. I think an EOL is needed here.

Added missing end-of-line character. (64031c4)

lumirlumir · 2025-08-21T12:09:46Z

@copilot address the feedback on this PR.

…ups, add JSDoc comments, use array for event listeners, add EOL, and enhance test coverage Co-authored-by: lumirlumir <[email protected]>

eslint-github-bot · 2025-08-21T12:14:22Z

Hi @copilot!, thanks for the Pull Request

The pull request title isn't properly formatted. We ask that you update the pull request title to match this format, as we use it to generate changelogs and automate releases.

The length of the commit message must be less than or equal to 72

To Fix: You can fix this problem by clicking 'Edit' next to the pull request title at the top of this page.

Read more about contributing to ESLint here

Copilot · 2025-08-21T12:15:31Z

It's so interesting to see Copilot doing this 😄

I've left additional comments about several missing parts.

Thanks for the detailed feedback! I've addressed all the suggestions including JSDoc syntax, improved regex with word boundaries and named groups, array syntax for event listeners, missing EOL characters, and added comprehensive test cases for all the edge cases you mentioned. (64031c4)

eslint-github-bot · 2025-08-21T12:16:45Z

Hi @copilot!, thanks for the Pull Request

The pull request title isn't properly formatted. We ask that you update the pull request title to match this format, as we use it to generate changelogs and automate releases.

The length of the commit message must be less than or equal to 72

To Fix: You can fix this problem by clicking 'Edit' next to the pull request title at the top of this page.

Read more about contributing to ESLint here

Initial plan

c05fa99

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and nzakas Aug 14, 2025

Copilot started work on behalf of nzakas August 14, 2025 15:49 View session

Implement issue-PR linking plugin to comment on issues when PRs refer…

24be820

…ence them Co-authored-by: nzakas <[email protected]>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Comment on an issue when a PR is created to fix it~~ Add issue-PR linking plugin to comment on issues when PRs reference them Aug 14, 2025

Copilot finished work on behalf of nzakas August 14, 2025 16:05

Copilot AI requested a review from nzakas August 14, 2025 16:05

nzakas approved these changes Aug 19, 2025

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nzakas changed the title ~~Add issue-PR linking plugin to comment on issues when PRs reference them~~ feat: issue-PR linking plugin to comment on issues when PRs reference them Aug 19, 2025

nzakas marked this pull request as ready for review August 19, 2025 14:52

lumirlumir requested changes Aug 20, 2025

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lumirlumir requested changes Aug 20, 2025

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Copilot started work on behalf of nzakas August 20, 2025 15:28 View session

nzakas changed the title ~~feat: issue-PR linking plugin to comment on issues when PRs reference them~~ feat: issue-PR linking plugin to comment on issues Aug 20, 2025

eslint-github-bot bot added the feature label Aug 20, 2025

Address PR feedback: update regex keywords, remove unused parameter, …

7a30145

…switch to PR body processing Co-authored-by: nzakas <[email protected]>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~feat: issue-PR linking plugin to comment on issues~~ feat: issue-PR linking plugin to comment on issues when PRs reference them in body Aug 20, 2025

Copilot AI requested a review from nzakas August 20, 2025 15:38

Copilot finished work on behalf of nzakas August 20, 2025 15:38

lumirlumir requested changes Aug 21, 2025

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Copilot started work on behalf of lumirlumir August 21, 2025 12:09 View session

Address PR feedback: improve regex with word boundaries and named gro…

64031c4

…ups, add JSDoc comments, use array for event listeners, add EOL, and enhance test coverage Co-authored-by: lumirlumir <[email protected]>

Copilot finished work on behalf of lumirlumir August 21, 2025 12:16

Copilot AI requested a review from lumirlumir August 21, 2025 12:16

		// Regex to find issue references in PR bodies
		// Matches patterns like: "Fix #123", "Fixes #123", "Closes #123", "Resolves #123", etc.

	const ISSUE_REFERENCE_REGEX = /(?:fix\|fixes\|fixed\|close\|closes\|closed\|resolve\|resolves\|resolved)\s+#(\d+)/giu;
	const ISSUE_REFERENCE_REGEX = /\b(?:fix\|fixes\|fixed\|close\|closes\|closed\|resolve\|resolves\|resolved)\b:?[ \t]+#(?<issueNumber>\d+)/giu;

		robot.on("pull_request.opened", commentOnReferencedIssues);
		robot.on("pull_request.edited", commentOnReferencedIssues);

	robot.on("pull_request.opened", commentOnReferencedIssues);
	robot.on("pull_request.edited", commentOnReferencedIssues);
	robot.on(["pull_request.opened", "pull_request.edited"], commentOnReferencedIssues);

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feat: issue-PR linking plugin to comment on issues when PRs reference them in body #226

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feat: issue-PR linking plugin to comment on issues when PRs reference them in body #226

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How it works

Enhanced keyword support

Robust regex implementation

Safeguards against abuse

Implementation details

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