Keep agent PRs small: one concern per branch
A developer's setup from r/ExperiencedDevs: the agent plans a feature into small chunks, writes the approved plan to the repo, and ships one stacked PR per concern.
Tools used
- Claude CodeCoding agent that reads, edits and tests the repo
- GitCheckpoints and small commits
- GitHubPull requests and CI
- CursorEditor agent with Plan Mode
Step navigator
A feature delivered as a short stack of small PRs that each take minutes to review, instead of one 40-file monster.
Developers who already use an agent for features and struggle to review its output.
Before you start
Coding agents tend to dump schema, business logic and route handlers into one giant diff. One developer on r/ExperiencedDevs described the workflow shift that fixed this for them: plan in chunks, save the plan in the repo, and ship one branch per concern as stacked PRs. Cursor's own docs recommend small, semantic commits for the same reason.
Step-by-step instructions
Ask the agent to plan the feature as ordered chunks
In plan mode, ask for the feature split into ordered chunks, one concern each. In the source post's FastAPI example: 1) schema and migrations only, 2) request/response schemas, 3) business logic only, 4) HTTP route handlers only.
Where this comes from: u/Potential-Box6221 in r/ExperiencedDevs: "Workflow setup to make your coding agent ship small reviewable PRs incrementally".
Plan this feature as an ordered list of chunks where each chunk touches one concern only (for example schema, validators, service layer, routes). For each chunk give a branch name and the files it will touch.
Why this works
Each chunk becomes a diff with one story, which a reviewer can follow.
Write the approved plan to a file in the repo
Once you approve the plan, have the agent write it to FEATURE_PLAN.md in the repo. The author does this so the agent "can remember it throughout and across sessions without any context drift."
Where this comes from: u/Potential-Box6221 in r/ExperiencedDevs: "Workflow setup to make your coding agent ship small reviewable PRs incrementally".
Write the approved plan to FEATURE_PLAN.md with the chunk order, branch names and what each branch contains.
Why this works
A file survives context resets; a chat message does not.
Execute one chunk per branch, each stacked on its parent
Run one chunk at a time: one branch, one concern, one PR. Each branch is stacked on the previous chunk and targets its immediate parent, not main. The author lets the agent manage the stacking with the Git Town tool.
Where this comes from: u/Potential-Box6221 in r/ExperiencedDevs: "Workflow setup to make your coding agent ship small reviewable PRs incrementally".
Why this works
Stacking lets later chunks build on earlier ones without waiting for merges.
Review and merge in order
Review PR 1 (for example just the schema, about five minutes), then PR 2, and so on, merging in the same order. If you would rather not stack, Cursor's docs suggest a lighter version: build freely, then ask the agent to rework the history into small semantic commits before review.
Where this comes from: u/Potential-Box6221 in r/ExperiencedDevs: "Workflow setup to make your coding agent ship small reviewable PRs incrementally".
Why this works
Small, ordered reviews replace one exhausting review of a giant diff.
End of guide · Reviewed Oct 26, 2026
Pro tips2
- Use this for multi-layer features; for a one-file fix it is overhead.
- Keep FEATURE_PLAN.md updated if a chunk changes scope.
Common mistakes2
- Letting a chunk touch two concerns "because it was easy".
- Targeting every stacked PR at main, which re-shows the earlier chunks in every diff.
FAQ1
Do I need Git Town?
Related field guides.
CodingReview AI-written pull requests against an acceptance contract
A reviewer's method from r/ExperiencedDevs: a short scope contract at the top of the PR, the diff checked against it first, no extra behavior, plus Copilot code review as a first pass.
CodingPlan in Obsidian, build with Claude Code: the PRD-to-tasks loop
How practitioners on r/hermesagent run projects: requirements and task lists in an Obsidian vault, small tasks handed to a coding agent, every diff reviewed by a human.
CodingShip a feature with a coding agent: spec, tests first, then review the diff
The loop experienced developers describe on r/ExperiencedDevs: write the spec, plan the smallest steps, have tests written from the spec, implement, then review against the spec before anything merges.