{"slug": "i-built-an-ai-priority-inbox-for-github-pull-requests-and-went-byok-instead-of", "title": "I built an AI priority inbox for GitHub pull requests — and went BYOK instead of running my own AI backend", "summary": "A developer built PR Focus, a Chrome extension that prioritizes GitHub pull requests using AI signals and generates plain-English summaries from diffs. The extension uses a bring-your-own-key (BYOK) model for AI providers like OpenAI, Groq, Mistral, or local Ollama, avoiding the need for a custom AI backend. PR Focus is available as a free tier with basic features and a one-time PRO purchase for AI-powered capabilities.", "body_md": "GitHub shows your pull requests in whatever order they happened to be opened — not in the order they actually need your attention. A one-line typo fix and a PR touching authentication code get exactly the same visual weight in your inbox. Multiply that across a dozen open PRs and you spend more time deciding what to look at than actually reviewing.\n\nPR Focus is a Chrome extension (Manifest V3) that sits on top of GitHub's PR pages. It combines three signals into a single priority queue:\n\nEach PR also gets a plain-English summary generated from the actual diff (not the title someone wrote at 11pm), and you can generate an approve / request-changes draft review in one click, edit it, and send — without leaving the extension.\n\nThis was the decision I spent the most time on. Running my own AI backend would have meant:\n\nGoing BYOK (bring your own key — OpenAI, Groq, Mistral, or a local Ollama instance) flips both of those:\n\n`chrome.storage.local`\n\n. There's no server of mine in the path — PR diffs only ever go to the AI provider you explicitly configure.Free tier: multi-account GitHub switching, PR sorting/export, stale-PR notifications.\n\nPRO ($9.50 one-time, currently 50% off the $19 regular price): AI summaries, risk scoring, one-click draft reviews, full stats history, AI-based priority sorting. No subscription — pay once, own it.\n\nCurrently solo-maintained, iterating on feedback from the first wave of GitHub stars and a community-contributed PR that got merged — which, honestly, felt like a bigger validation moment than any launch metric so far. Performance-regression detection and broader language support (Python, Go) are next on the roadmap.\n\nTry it: [https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/pr-focus-ai-pro/ememaiabefeojkccjclglcmbjmdpnaoe](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/pr-focus-ai-pro/ememaiabefeojkccjclglcmbjmdpnaoe)\n\nLanding + demo: [https://projekta2.github.io/pr-focus-landing/](https://projekta2.github.io/pr-focus-landing/)\n\nFeedback welcome — especially from anyone who's built browser extensions against the GitHub API, or who has opinions on BYOK UX.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-built-an-ai-priority-inbox-for-github-pull-requests-and-went-byok-instead-of", "canonical_source": "https://dev.to/projekta2/i-built-an-ai-priority-inbox-for-github-pull-requests-and-went-byok-instead-of-running-my-own-ai-19ij", "published_at": "2026-06-20 15:32:36+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-20 15:36:46.032671+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["developer-tools", "artificial-intelligence", "ai-products"], "entities": ["PR Focus", "GitHub", "OpenAI", "Groq", "Mistral", "Ollama", "Chrome"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-built-an-ai-priority-inbox-for-github-pull-requests-and-went-byok-instead-of", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-built-an-ai-priority-inbox-for-github-pull-requests-and-went-byok-instead-of.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-built-an-ai-priority-inbox-for-github-pull-requests-and-went-byok-instead-of.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-built-an-ai-priority-inbox-for-github-pull-requests-and-went-byok-instead-of.jsonld"}}