Is it possible for CI to auto-format code and push fixes to a PR using Spotless?

[YongGoose]

Hello Spotless community 👋

We’ve recently adopted Spotless in our project to enforce consistent code formatting.

• optimize: Apply Spotless with Palantir Java Format apache/incubator-seata#7223
  It’s working well so far, and now we’re looking into ways to make better use of it — especially in our CI workflows.

One improvement we’re considering is to have the CI not only check formatting but also automatically apply fixes using mvn spotless:apply, commit the changes, and push them back to the contributor’s PR branch.

• Improve Spotless Integration: Enhance CI Workflow apache/incubator-seata#7308

Before we try implementing this, I’d love to hear from the community:

• Is it technically feasible to have a CI workflow (e.g., GitHub Actions) apply Spotless formatting and push fixes directly to an open PR?
• Are there best practices or potential issues we should keep in mind?

Any advice or experience would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much 🙌
Yongjun Hong / YongGoose

[nedtwigg]

Spotless doesn't have anything out-of-the-box to support this. We have an open issue which frames this in a different way - rather than opening a new PR, spotless could create comments on the existing GitHub PR which have suggested fixes.

• spotlessCheck could add comments and suggested fix to GitHub PR #655

PRs welcome!