[prompt-analysis] Copilot PR Prompt Analysis - Feb 5, 2026

[github-actions[bot]]

Analysis Period: Last 30 days
Total PRs: 1,000 | Merged: 685 (68.5%) | Closed: 313 (31.3%) | Open: 2 (0.2%)

Prompt Categories and Success Rates

Category	Total PRs	Merged	Success Rate
Remove	277	213	77% ⭐
Update	737	522	71%
Feature	927	642	69%
Refactor	366	255	69%
Testing	769	535	69%
Bug Fix	980	672	68%
Documentation	862	587	68%

Prompt Analysis

✅ Successful Prompt Patterns

Common characteristics in merged PRs:

• Average prompt length: 394 words
• Code references: 100% (all PRs reference code)
• File mentions: 65% mention specific files
• Issue references: 41% link to issues
• Error messages: 29% include error details

Most common keywords in merged PRs:
test, should, files, file, code, update, error, tests

Example successful prompts:

• PR Expand test coverage for campaign injection logic #12310 (2001 words): Expand test coverage for campaign injection logic → Merged
• PR Improve test coverage and remove redundant tests in add_command_test.go #12529 (1827 words): Improve test coverage and remove redundant tests in add_command_test.go → Merged
• PR Refactor safe-outputs handler config using builder pattern and registry #11779 (1465 words): Refactor safe-outputs handler config using builder pattern and registry → Merged

❌ Unsuccessful Prompt Patterns

Common characteristics in closed PRs:

• Average prompt length: 404 words (slightly longer than merged)
• Code references: 100% (all PRs reference code)
• File mentions: 60% mention specific files (5% lower than merged)
• Issue references: 54% link to issues (13% higher than merged)
• Error messages: 35% include error details (6% higher than merged)

Keywords more common in closed PRs:
---- (template formatting), security, generated, engine

Example unsuccessful prompts:

• PR Delete .github/aw/*.md files now downloaded from GitHub #13860: Delete .github/aw/*.md files now downloaded from GitHub → Closed
• PR [WIP] Debug Copilot Agent prompt clustering analysis workflow failure #13855: [WIP] Debug Copilot Agent prompt clustering analysis workflow failure → Closed
• PR Remove Windows build support from release pipeline and install scripts #13849: Remove Windows build support from release pipeline and install scripts → Closed

Key Insights

1. "Remove" operations have highest success rate (77%) - Prompts focused on deletion/cleanup are most likely to be merged, possibly because they are more straightforward with clear scope.

2. File mentions correlate with success - Merged PRs are 5% more likely to mention specific files (65% vs 60%), suggesting specificity improves outcomes.

3. Closed PRs have more issue references (54% vs 41%) - This counterintuitively suggests that being assigned to an issue doesn't guarantee success. Possible explanations:

   • Issues may be too complex or ambiguous
   • Requirements may change during development
   • Issue-linked PRs may be more experimental (WIP markers observed)

4. Prompt length has minimal impact - Merged (394 words) vs closed (404 words) shows negligible difference. Quality over quantity matters.

5. WIP PRs frequently closed - Several closed PRs have [WIP] markers, indicating work-in-progress submissions that weren't completed.

Recommendations

Based on this analysis:

1. DO: Be specific about files and paths - PRs that mention specific files/directories have 5% higher success rates. Example: "Update pkg/cli/compile.go" vs "Update compile logic"

2. DO: Focus on test-related changes - Keywords like test, tests, testing are strongly correlated with merged PRs. Test additions/improvements are valued.

3. DO: Use remove/cleanup language when applicable - "Remove", "delete", "drop" operations have 77% success rate, highest of all categories.

4. AVOID: WIP/experimental submissions - Draft or work-in-progress PRs without clear completion criteria are more likely to be closed.

5. AVOID: Generic template language - The ---- separator pattern appears frequently in closed PRs, suggesting over-reliance on templates without customization.

Historical Trends

This is the first analysis run. Future reports will show week-over-week trends.

Date	Total PRs	Success Rate	Top Category
2026-02-05	1,000	68.5%	Remove (77%)

Baseline established: 68.5% overall merge rate with "remove" operations performing best at 77%.

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References:

• Run §21711314926

Analysis covers Copilot PRs from last 30 days. Statistics based on keyword pattern matching and prompt characteristic analysis.

AI generated by Copilot PR Prompt Pattern Analysis

• expires on Feb 12, 2026, 12:28 PM UTC

[github-actions[bot]]

This discussion was automatically closed because it expired on 2026-02-12T12:28:02.391Z.

Closed by Workflow