fix(source-control): hold the babysit merge on a body line starting Hold:

.changes/source-control/fix-babysit-hold-line-1c7c3278.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+bump: patch
+---
+
+### Fixed
+
+- babysit-prs: the merge gate and the merge-entry hold also treat a PR body line starting `Hold:` (any case) as a human hold on the merge (the `pull-request ready` flip does not stop for it); before, only "do not merge" or "don't merge" in the body held the merge.

plugins/source-control/skills/babysit-loop/SKILL.md

@@ -219,10 +219,8 @@ and user settings itself.
 
 ## do-not-merge
 
-A do-not-merge label, or a PR body that says "do not merge", is respected by default in every tier
-and at every rung, the PR is reported, never merged, and the label is never removed. Stripping it happens only behind the explicit
-`--strip-do-not-merge` invocation flag: a per-invocation direct order, never a config key, never
-persisted.
+A do-not-merge label, or a PR body that says "do not merge" or has a line starting `Hold:`, is respected by default in every tier and at every rung: the PR is reported, never merged, and the label is never removed.
+Stripping it happens only behind the explicit `--strip-do-not-merge` invocation flag: a per-invocation direct order, never a config key, never persisted.
 
 ## Escalation
 

plugins/source-control/skills/babysit-prs/SKILL.md

@@ -146,8 +146,8 @@ never routed around. Advisory-only fix attempts are bounded per PR (the fix-roun
 never merged autonomously in ANY tier, the merge gate refuses it absent `--allow-dependency`,
 which is passed only on an explicit user instruction to merge that specific PR.
 
-**Do-not-merge hold:** a PR whose body says "do not merge" (or "don't merge") is held in ANY tier:
-the merge gate reads the live body and reports a blocker, and a PR carrying a `do-not-merge`
+**Do-not-merge hold:** a PR whose body says "do not merge" (or "don't merge"), or has a line
+starting `Hold:`, is held in ANY tier: the merge gate reads the live body and reports a blocker, and a PR carrying a `do-not-merge`
 label is held the same way: the gate blocks on that label unconditionally, and `--block-labels`
 adds further labels in the autopilot merge tier. The PR is reported and left unmerged. The
 hyphenated label name in a body is not a hold.

plugins/source-control/skills/babysit-prs/scripts/babysit_merge.py

@@ -187,11 +187,15 @@
 # merge) so ordinary prose does not false-block.
 HUMAN_MERGE_VETO_RE = re.compile(r"\bdo(?:n['’]?t| not|-not)[\s-]*merge\b", re.I)
 
-# The PR author's own hold, written in the body ("Do not merge this draft"):
-# the label is not the only way a PR says it must not merge. The hyphenated
-# form is the label's name and is not matched, so a body that merely names the
-# label does not block.
-BODY_MERGE_HOLD_RE = re.compile(r"\bdo(?:n['’]?t| not)\s+merge\b", re.I)
+# The PR author's own hold, written in the body ("Do not merge this draft", or
+# a line starting "Hold:"): the label is not the only way a PR says it must not
+# merge. The hyphenated form is the label's name and is not matched, so a body
+# that merely names the label does not block. A "Hold:" line may follow any
+# whitespace, NBSP included, and a bare CR counts as a line break. A "Hold:"
+# line holds the merge only: the pull-request ready flip ignores it.
+BODY_MERGE_HOLD_RE = re.compile(
+    r"\bdo(?:n['’]?t| not)\s+merge\b|(?:^|\r)[^\S\r\n]*hold:", re.I | re.M
+)
 # The label form of the same hold: blocks in every tier, whether or not the
 # autopilot merge tier is engaged. `--block-labels` only adds to it.
 MERGE_HOLD_LABEL = "do-not-merge"
@@ -1451,7 +1455,8 @@ def evaluate(
         blockers.append("PR is a draft -- mark ready first")
     if BODY_MERGE_HOLD_RE.search(str(pr.get("body") or "")):
         blockers.append(
-            "PR body says do not merge -- a human hold, report it and leave it"
+            "PR body holds the merge (do not merge, or a Hold: line) -- a human "
+            "hold, report it and leave it"
         )
     if any(str(name).casefold() == MERGE_HOLD_LABEL for name in labels):
         blockers.append(

plugins/source-control/skills/babysit-prs/scripts/tests/test_babysit_merge.py

@@ -670,10 +670,35 @@ def test_body_saying_do_not_merge_blocks_with_and_without_the_tier(self) -> None
                     result = self._evaluate(_pr(body=body), tier=tier)
                     self.assertFalse(result["ready"])
                     self.assertTrue(
-                        any("body says do not merge" in b for b in result["blockers"]),
+                        any("body holds the merge" in b for b in result["blockers"]),
                         result["blockers"],
                     )
 
+    def test_body_line_starting_hold_blocks_with_and_without_the_tier(self) -> None:
+        for body in (
+            "Refs: #1\r\n\r\nHold: a human merges this\r\n",
+            "## Summary\n  hold: until the release ships",
+            "Refs: #1\n Hold: pasted from a rich-text editor",
+            "Refs: #1\rHold: a bare CR line break",
+        ):
+            for tier in (TIER, None):
+                with self.subTest(body=body, tier=tier is not None):
+                    result = self._evaluate(_pr(body=body), tier=tier)
+                    self.assertFalse(result["ready"])
+                    self.assertTrue(
+                        any("body holds the merge" in b for b in result["blockers"]),
+                        result["blockers"],
+                    )
+
+    def test_hold_word_inside_a_line_does_not_block(self) -> None:
+        for body in (
+            "The merge lane reads a hold: label or body line.",
+            "Threshold: 3 retries",
+        ):
+            with self.subTest(body=body):
+                result = self._evaluate(_pr(body=body), tier=None)
+                self.assertTrue(result["ready"], result["blockers"])
+
     def test_do_not_merge_label_blocks_with_and_without_the_tier(self) -> None:
         for name in ("do-not-merge", "Do-Not-Merge"):
             for tier in (TIER, None):

plugins/source-control/skills/babysit-prs/scripts/tests/test_babysit_merge_policy.py

@@ -1303,6 +1303,10 @@ def test_a_body_hold(self) -> None:
         self.fake(body="Please do not merge until the release")
         self.assertEqual(self.hold(), "body-hold")
 
+    def test_a_body_hold_line(self) -> None:
+        self.fake(body="Refs: #1\r\n\r\nHold: a human merges this")
+        self.assertEqual(self.hold(), "body-hold")
+
     def test_a_human_blocking_comment(self) -> None:
         gh = self.fake()
         gh.rest[f"repos/{REPO}/issues/5/comments?per_page=100"] = [