Context Guidance

What is Context?

Context is custom style guidance you provide to influence how LazyPR generates PR descriptions. It's like giving the AI a "personality" or "instructions" for writing PRs.

Maximum length: 200 characters

Setting Global Context

Configure context that applies to all PR generations:

lazypr config set CONTEXT="Use conventional commits format and keep descriptions concise"

Every time you run lazypr, this guidance influences the output.

Per-Run Context

Override global context for a single generation:

lazypr main -c "Focus on security improvements"
lazypr main -c "Emphasize performance benefits"
lazypr main -c "Keep it brief, max 3 bullet points"

Per-run context takes precedence over global context.

Effective Context Examples

Focus on Style

# Concise, bullet-point style
lazypr main -c "Keep descriptions concise with bullet points"

# Detailed explanations
lazypr main -c "Provide detailed explanations for each change"

# Technical focus
lazypr main -c "Use technical terminology and avoid simplification"

Emphasize Specific Aspects

# Business value
lazypr main -c "Emphasize business value and user impact"

# Technical implementation
lazypr main -c "Focus on technical implementation details"

# Testing and quality
lazypr main -c "Highlight testing approach and quality improvements"

Audience-Specific

# Non-technical stakeholders
lazypr main -c "Write for non-technical stakeholders"

# Senior developers
lazypr main -c "Assume senior developer audience"

# Product managers
lazypr main -c "Focus on product features and user value"

Team Standards

# Conventional commits
lazypr main -c "Follow conventional commits specification"

# Include ticket numbers
lazypr main -c "Reference ticket numbers and user stories"

# Testing requirements
lazypr main -c "Always mention testing strategy"

Context Best Practices

Be Specific

Good (specific):

"Focus on security improvements and mention any vulnerabilities addressed"

Less effective (vague):

"Make it good"

Keep It Short

Remember the 200-character limit. Be concise:

Good (concise):

"Emphasize performance gains and include metrics"

Too long:

"I want you to really emphasize the performance gains we've made and include specific metrics wherever possible and also mention any trade-offs we had to make and explain the reasoning behind technical decisions"

Match Your Team's Voice

Analyze your team's existing PRs and create context that matches:

# Formal, corporate
lazypr main -c "Professional tone, formal language"

# Casual, startup
lazypr main -c "Casual tone, focus on impact"

# Technical, open-source
lazypr main -c "Technical detail, community-friendly"

Great context guidance aligns AI output with your team's existing PR style and standards.

Examples with Output

Without Context

lazypr main

Output:

feat: Add user authentication

## Changes
- Implement OAuth 2.0 authentication flow
- Add JWT token management
- Create login and logout endpoints
- Add session persistence

With "Keep it brief" Context

lazypr main -c "Keep descriptions very brief, max 3 points"

Output:

feat: Add user authentication

## Changes
- Implement OAuth 2.0 flow
- Add JWT token management
- Create authentication endpoints

With "Business focus" Context

lazypr main -c "Emphasize business value and user impact"

Output:

feat: Add user authentication

## Changes
- Enable secure user login via OAuth 2.0, improving security and user trust
- Implement session management for seamless user experience
- Support multiple OAuth providers, increasing user convenience

## Impact
Provides enterprise-grade security while reducing friction in the login process.

With "Technical detail" Context

lazypr main -c "Include technical implementation details"

Output:

feat: Add user authentication

## Changes
- Implement OAuth 2.0 authorization code flow with PKCE
- Add JWT token generation using RS256 algorithm
- Create RESTful endpoints: POST /auth/login, POST /auth/logout
- Implement Redis-based session store with 24h TTL

Common Use Cases

Security PRs

lazypr main -c "Highlight security improvements and vulnerabilities fixed"

Performance PRs

lazypr main -c "Focus on performance gains with specific metrics"

Refactoring PRs

lazypr main -c "Explain refactoring rationale and benefits"

Bug Fix PRs

lazypr main -c "Describe the bug, root cause, and fix approach"

Combining with Other Features

Context works alongside other LazyPR features:

# Context + Template + Language
lazypr main --template -l es -c "Enfoque en seguridad"

# Context + GitHub CLI + Token usage
lazypr main --gh -c "Keep it brief" -u

Managing Context

View Current Context

lazypr config get CONTEXT

Clear Context

Remove global context:

lazypr config set CONTEXT=""

Or just use per-run context to override:

lazypr main -c "Different guidance for this PR"

Limitations

Character limit: 200 characters maximum. LazyPR truncates longer context.

Not instructions: Context is guidance, not strict instructions. The AI interprets context creatively.

Commit-dependent: Output quality still depends on your commit messages. Great context can't fix vague commits.

Context influences but doesn't guarantee specific output. Review and edit generated PRs as needed.

Tips for Success

Experiment: Try different context styles to see what works for your team
Iterate: Refine your context based on results
Be consistent: Use similar context for similar types of PRs
Combine approaches: Use global context for team standards, per-run for special cases
Document: Share effective context examples with your team

Troubleshooting

Context not working: Ensure your context is clear and specific. Vague guidance produces minimal change.

Output too different: Your context may be too prescriptive. Try more general guidance.

Character limit: If truncated, prioritize the most important guidance first.

Context Guidance

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