PR Size (Files)
Pull Request Lifecycle
files
Shows the average number of files changed per merged pull request.
💡 Like a home renovation proposal, the more rooms being changed at once, the harder it is for anyone to fully review the impact.
What It Measures
Shows the average number of files changed per merged pull request.
Why It Matters
Contextualizing review effort and change scope
Understanding typical PR complexity
How It's Calculated
Calculates the average files touched for merged pull requests.
AVG(files_touched WHERE pr_status = merged)Concrete Example
If your average PR touches 8 files, reviewers must context-switch across 8 different areas of the codebase, consider whether scope can be reduced.
What Does a Healthy Score Look Like?
Lower is better, smaller file scope means more focused, reviewable PRs.
Healthy
1–5 files per PR
Watch Out
5–15 files per PR
Needs Attention
Over 15 files. PRs are too broad for effective review
What Moves This Metric?
Goes up when…
Large features touching multiple layers of the codebase
Refactoring work spreading across many files
Cross-cutting concerns like logging or auth impacting many files
Goes down when…
Breaking large changes into smaller, focused PRs
Using feature flags to incrementally land code
Keeping frontend and backend changes in separate PRs
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