How to Display Comments in the Sidebar

Oct 13, 2025 by talynt.org 41 views

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Introduction

When working on a pull request (PR) in a collaborative development environment, it's essential to keep track of all the comments and discussions related to the PR. This helps ensure that everyone is on the same page and that the PR is thoroughly reviewed before it's merged into the main codebase. In this article, we'll explore how to display all comments for a PR in the sidebar, making it easier to manage and review the PR.

Why Display Comments in the Sidebar?

Displaying comments in the sidebar provides several benefits, including:

Improved collaboration: By having all comments in one place, team members can easily review and respond to comments without having to navigate through multiple threads or files.
Enhanced transparency: Displaying comments in the sidebar helps to ensure that everyone is aware of the discussions and decisions related to the PR, reducing the risk of misunderstandings or miscommunications.
Increased productivity: With all comments in one place, team members can quickly review and respond to comments, reducing the time spent on reviewing and discussing the PR.

How to Display Comments in the Sidebar

To display comments in the sidebar, you'll need to use a combination of GitHub's API and a JavaScript library to fetch and render the comments. Here's a step-by-step guide to get you started:

Step 1: Set up a GitHub API Token

To access the GitHub API, you'll need to create a personal access token. Follow these steps to create a token:

Log in to your GitHub account.
Click on your profile picture in the top right corner and select Settings.
Click on Developer settings.
Click on Personal access tokens.
Click on Generate new token.
Give your token a name and select the repo scope.
Click on Generate token.

Step 2: Fetch Comments using the GitHub API

To fetch comments for a PR, you'll need to use the GitHub API's issues endpoint. Here's an example of how to fetch comments using the fetch API:

const token = 'your-github-api-token';
const repo = 'your-repo-name';
const prNumber = 'your-pr-number';

fetch(`https://api.github.com/repos/${repo}/issues/${prNumber}/comments`, {
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`,
  },
})
  .then((response) => response.json())
  .then((comments) => {
    console.log(comments);
  })
  .catch((error) => console.error(error));

Step 3: Render Comments in the Sidebar

To render comments in the sidebar, you'll need to use a JavaScript library like React or Vue.js. Here's an example of how to render comments using React:

import React from 'react';

const Comment = ({ comment }) => {
  return (
    <div>
      <strong>{comment.user.login}</strong>
      <p>{comment.body}</p>
    </div>
  );
};

const Comments = ({ comments }) => {
  return (
    <div>
      {comments.map((comment) => (
        <Comment key={comment.id} comment={comment} />
      ))}
    </div>
  );
};

const App = () => {
  const [comments, setComments] = React.useState([]);

  React.useEffect(() => {
    fetchComments();
  }, []);

  const fetchComments = () => {
    fetch(`https://api.github.com/repos/${repo}/issues/${prNumber}/comments`, {
      headers: {
        Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`,
      },
    })
      .then((response) => response.json())
      .then((comments) => {
        setComments(comments);
      })
      .catch((error) => console.error(error));
  };

  return (
    <div>
      <Comments comments={comments} />
    </div>
  );
};

Conclusion

Displaying all comments for a PR in the sidebar is a simple yet effective way to improve collaboration, enhance transparency, and increase productivity. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily display comments in the sidebar using a combination of GitHub's API and a JavaScript library. Whether you're working on a small project or a large enterprise, displaying comments in the sidebar is a must-have feature for any collaborative development environment.

Future Improvements

While displaying comments in the sidebar is a great feature, there are several ways to improve it further. Here are a few ideas:

Filtering comments: Allow users to filter comments by author, date, or keyword.
Comment threading: Display comments in a threaded format, making it easier to follow discussions.
Comment notifications: Send notifications to users when someone comments on a PR.
Comment analytics: Provide analytics on comment activity, such as comment frequency and author engagement.

By implementing these features, you can take your comment display to the next level and provide an even better experience for your users.

Example Use Cases

Here are a few example use cases for displaying comments in the sidebar:

Code review: Display comments in the sidebar while reviewing code to ensure that all comments are addressed.
Project planning: Display comments in the sidebar while planning a project to ensure that all stakeholders are aware of the discussions and decisions.
Bug tracking: Display comments in the sidebar while tracking bugs to ensure that all comments are addressed and resolved.

By displaying comments in the sidebar, you can improve collaboration, enhance transparency, and increase productivity, making it easier to manage and review PRs.

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Introduction

In our previous article, we explored how to display all comments for a pull request (PR) in the sidebar, making it easier to manage and review the PR. In this article, we'll answer some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about displaying comments in the sidebar.

Q: What is the benefit of displaying comments in the sidebar?

A: Displaying comments in the sidebar provides several benefits, including:

Improved collaboration: By having all comments in one place, team members can easily review and respond to comments without having to navigate through multiple threads or files.
Enhanced transparency: Displaying comments in the sidebar helps to ensure that everyone is aware of the discussions and decisions related to the PR, reducing the risk of misunderstandings or miscommunications.
Increased productivity: With all comments in one place, team members can quickly review and respond to comments, reducing the time spent on reviewing and discussing the PR.

Q: How do I set up a GitHub API token?

A: To set up a GitHub API token, follow these steps:

Log in to your GitHub account.
Click on your profile picture in the top right corner and select Settings.
Click on Developer settings.
Click on Personal access tokens.
Click on Generate new token.
Give your token a name and select the repo scope.
Click on Generate token.

Q: How do I fetch comments using the GitHub API?

A: To fetch comments using the GitHub API, you'll need to use the fetch API and make a GET request to the issues endpoint. Here's an example of how to fetch comments:

const token = 'your-github-api-token';
const repo = 'your-repo-name';
const prNumber = 'your-pr-number';

fetch(`https://api.github.com/repos/${repo}/issues/${prNumber}/comments`, {
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`,
  },
})
  .then((response) => response.json())
  .then((comments) => {
    console.log(comments);
  })
  .catch((error) => console.error(error));

Q: How do I render comments in the sidebar?

A: To render comments in the sidebar, you'll need to use a JavaScript library like React or Vue.js. Here's an example of how to render comments using React:

import React from 'react';

const Comment = ({ comment }) => {
  return (
    <div>
      <strong>{comment.user.login}</strong>
      <p>{comment.body}</p>
    </div>
  );
};

const Comments = ({ comments }) => {
  return (
    <div>
      {comments.map((comment) => (
        <Comment key={comment.id} comment={comment} />
      ))}
    </div>
  );
};

const App = () => {
  const [comments, setComments] = React.useState([]);

  React.useEffect(() => {
    fetchComments();
  }, []);

  const fetchComments = () => {
    fetch(`https://api.github.com/repos/${repo}/issues/${prNumber}/comments`, {
      headers: {
        Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`,
      },
    })
      .then((response) => response.json())
      .then((comments) => {
        setComments(comments);
      })
      .catch((error) => console.error(error));
  };

  return (
    <div>
      <Comments comments={comments} />
    </div>
  );
};

Q: Can I filter comments by author, date, or keyword?

A: Yes, you can filter comments by author, date, or keyword. To do this, you'll need to modify the fetchComments function to include a query parameter for filtering. For example:

const fetchComments = () => {
  const filter = {
    author: 'johnDoe',
    date: '2022-01-01',
    keyword: 'bug',
  };

  fetch(`https://api.github.com/repos/${repo}/issues/${prNumber}/comments`, {
    headers: {
      Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`,
    },
    params: {
      author: filter.author,
      date: filter.date,
      keyword: filter.keyword,
    },
  })
    .then((response) => response.json())
    .then((comments) => {
      setComments(comments);
    })
    .catch((error) => console.error(error));
};

Q: Can I display comments in a threaded format?

A: Yes, you can display comments in a threaded format. To do this, you'll need to modify the Comments component to include a recursive function that renders comments in a threaded format. For example:

const Comments = ({ comments }) => {
  return (
    <div>
      {comments.map((comment) => (
        <Comment key={comment.id} comment={comment} />
      ))}
      {comments.map((comment) => (
        <Thread key={comment.id} comment={comment} />
      ))}
    </div>
  );
};

const Thread = ({ comment }) => {
  return (
    <div>
      <strong>{comment.user.login}</strong>
      <p>{comment.body}</p>
      {comment.replies.map((reply) => (
        <Thread key={reply.id} comment={reply} />
      ))}
    </div>
  );
};