UI shows merged PRs as pending work items (false positives in suggested work view)

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/48694
2. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/25369
3. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/48527

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

🔍 Root Cause Analysis & Fix

Problem

Claude Code's suggested work / inbox view displays merged PRs as pending work items. Users confirmed via gh pr view that displayed PRs had state: MERGED and branches already deleted.

Root Cause

The PR query used for suggested work items filters by repository/branch but does not include a state: open filter. The GitHub API's default PR listing behavior (without explicit state filter) returns all PRs regardless of state.

The likely code path:

1. gh pr list --repo {repo} or GitHub API GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls without state=open
2. Results include merged and closed PRs
3. UI displays all returned PRs without checking state field

Fix Proposal

Quick Fix: Add state: open filter to the PR query

// Before:
const prs = await gh.pr.list({ repo })

// After:
const prs = await gh.pr.list({ repo, state: 'open' })

Robust Fix: Add state validation in the UI layer

// Filter merged/closed PRs before display
const suggestedWork = prs
  .filter(pr => pr.state === 'open' && pr.mergeable !== 'merged')
  .map(pr => ({ ...pr, status: 'pending' }))

Best Long-term: Use GitHub's is:pr is:open search query for suggested work

gh search prs "is:pr is:open author:@me" --json title,number,state,repo,url

Why This Works

• GitHub API state parameter is the canonical way to filter PRs
• Adding UI-layer validation ensures future API changes don't reintroduce the bug
• Search query approach is more efficient for large repositories

Impact

• Eliminates false positives in suggested work view
• Reduces user confusion about which PRs actually need attention
• Improves trust in the "suggested work" feature

Duplicate of #48694.

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