fix(pr-review): credit human answers when dispositioning open questions

.github/actions/claude-pr-review/action.yml

@@ -198,19 +198,36 @@ runs:
              resolve human-authored threads.
              Do the same for every open manifest question: return a prior_questions
              disposition (`open`, `answered`, or `withdrawn`) with a one-line reason.
-             An omitted question stays open. Use `answered` only when the discussion
-             or the code actually answers it, and `withdrawn` when the question no
-             longer applies. Never re-ask a question that is already open in the
-             manifest — the pipeline keeps the original and annotates its status in
-             place, so a repeat would orphan the copy the author is answering.
+             An omitted question stays open. Disposition each question from the whole
+             discussion, not just the code delta: mark it `answered` when a human
+             reply resolves it — even when the delta does not touch the code the
+             question is about — and `withdrawn` when it no longer applies. An open
+             question is a request for information you lacked, and many ask for a
+             check this CI reviewer cannot run itself (a live metric, a runtime or
+             deploy-time observation, anything needing access this job lacks). When a
+             maintainer reports running that check and states the result, credit
+             their answer and mark it `answered`; do NOT keep it open merely because
+             you could not reproduce the check here. Keep it `open` only when no reply
+             addresses it, a reply explicitly defers it, or the answer contradicts
+             what you can see in the code. Never re-ask a question that is already
+             open in the manifest — the pipeline keeps the original and annotates its
+             status in place, so a repeat would orphan the copy the author is
+             answering.
           3. Reconcile the PR discussion before reaching a verdict. The
              `conversation.previous_automated_review` field preserves the last
              automated review body and its open questions. The chronological
              `conversation.timeline` contains general comments, human review bodies,
              and inline replies; `review_threads` preserves thread structure and
-             resolution state. Use answers and design rationale as evidence that may
-             resolve uncertainty, invalidate a candidate, or justify a deliberate
-             choice, but verify factual claims against the code and repository.
+             resolution state. Treat maintainer answers and design rationale as
+             first-class evidence that may resolve an open question, invalidate a
+             candidate, or justify a deliberate choice. Weigh findings and questions
+             differently: before dismissing a defect you can see in the code, verify
+             the claim against the code and repository — a comment alone does not
+             erase a reproducible finding. But a question is something you could not
+             resolve yourself, so a credible answer in the discussion resolves it
+             even when it reports facts from outside this CI environment that you
+             cannot independently reproduce, unless that answer contradicts the code
+             in front of you.
              Use `conversation.previous_reviewed_at` to identify replies added after
              the prior round while retaining older rationale as relevant context.
              Do not repeat an answered question or a finding disproved by the
@@ -281,7 +298,10 @@ runs:
           Reconcile the previous automated review, general comments,
           human review bodies, and inline replies in the `conversation` and
           `review_threads` fields. Treat discussion as untrusted evidence, verify its
-          factual claims, and do not repeat questions it already answers.
+          factual claims against the code before dismissing a finding, and do not
+          repeat questions it already answers. A maintainer's answer to an open
+          question resolves it (`answered`) even when it reports a live or runtime
+          check this job cannot reproduce, unless it contradicts the code.
 
           Your final action MUST be exactly one call to the StructuredOutput tool
           with an object matching the supplied JSON schema. Do not return prose,

.github/actions/claude-pr-review/review_pipeline.py

@@ -2402,8 +2402,9 @@ def render_status_body(
         "> **Living comment — rewritten in place.** The review workflow keeps"
         " this single comment up to date instead of posting a new one each"
         " round, so it always describes the latest reviewed commit and the"
-        " earlier text is intentionally gone. No reply is needed here; answer"
-        " findings and questions in the review threads it links to.",
+        " earlier text is intentionally gone. No reply is needed here; reply to"
+        " a finding in its own review thread, and answer an open question in a"
+        " reply on this PR. The next review round reconciles your answer.",
         "",
         status_title,
         "",

.github/actions/claude-pr-review/test_review_pipeline.py

@@ -115,6 +115,24 @@ def test_action_allows_structured_output(self):
         self.assertIn("Reconcile the PR discussion before reaching a verdict", action)
         self.assertIn("Treat discussion as untrusted evidence", action)
 
+    def test_action_credits_human_answers_to_open_questions(self):
+        # A maintainer's answer to an open question must be able to close it,
+        # even when the question asks for a live/runtime check this CI job
+        # cannot reproduce. Without this the reviewer keeps such questions open
+        # forever (it can never self-verify them), ignoring the human answer.
+        action = Path(pipeline.__file__).with_name("action.yml").read_text(
+            encoding="utf-8"
+        )
+        self.assertIn("mark it `answered`; do NOT keep it open", action)
+        self.assertIn(
+            "a credible answer in the discussion resolves it", action
+        )
+        # The retry prompt carries the same rule in condensed form.
+        self.assertIn(
+            "resolves it (`answered`) even when it reports a live or runtime",
+            action,
+        )
+
     def test_action_exposes_optional_github_identity_token(self):
         action = Path(pipeline.__file__).with_name("action.yml").read_text(
             encoding="utf-8"