diff --git a/.pr_trigger b/.pr_trigger
index 16c1e64fa..305ff4db4 100644
--- a/.pr_trigger
+++ b/.pr_trigger
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Last run: 2025-12-03 19:21:19
+Last run: 2025-12-03 20:10:02
diff --git a/pr_automation.sh b/pr_automation.sh
index ca2ffdb67..a909d6ee5 100755
--- a/pr_automation.sh
+++ b/pr_automation.sh
@@ -1,101 +1,192 @@
-#!/bin/bash
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# pr_automation.sh - safer automated PR creation/updating
+# Usage: ./pr_automation.sh   (interactive)
+# Optional env:
+#   DEFAULT_BASE_BRANCH (default: gh-pages)
+#   ALLOW_EMPTY_COMMIT (default: "no") -> set to "yes" to auto-create empty commits when nothing changed
+set -o errexit
+set -o pipefail
+set -o nounset
 
 # --- Configuration ---
-# File used to force a commit and update the PR
 TRIGGER_FILE=".pr_trigger"
-# Prefix for the new branch name
 BRANCH_PREFIX="feature/auto-"
-# Hard-coded base branch
-DEFAULT_BRANCH="gh-pages"
+DEFAULT_BASE_BRANCH="${DEFAULT_BRANCH:-gh-pages}"
+ALLOW_EMPTY_COMMIT="${ALLOW_EMPTY_COMMIT:-no}"  # set to "yes" to allow empty commits automatically
 
-# Get the current branch
-CURRENT_BRANCH=$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD 2> /dev/null)
-if [ "$?" -ne 0 ]; then
-    echo "❌ Error: Not in a Git repository."
-    exit 1
+log() { printf '\033[1;34m%s\033[0m\n' "$*"; }   # blue
+success() { printf '\033[1;32m%s\033[0m\n' "$*"; } # green
+warn() { printf '\033[1;33m%s\033[0m\n' "$*"; }    # yellow
+err() { printf '\033[1;31m%s\033[0m\n' "$*"; }     # red
+
+# --- sanity checks ---
+command -v git >/dev/null 2>&1 || { err "git not found in PATH. Install git."; exit 1; }
+command -v gh  >/dev/null 2>&1 || { err "GitHub CLI 'gh' not found in PATH. Install and authenticate."; exit 1; }
+
+# Ensure we're in a git repo
+if ! git rev-parse --git-dir >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  err "Not a git repository (or no .git found). cd into a repo and retry."
+  exit 1
 fi
-# --- Helper Functions ---
 
-# Function to generate a unique branch name
+# Get current branch
+CURRENT_BRANCH="$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD 2>/dev/null || true)"
+if [ -z "$CURRENT_BRANCH" ]; then
+  err "Couldn't detect current git branch."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# generate branch name
 generate_branch_name() {
-    TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)
-    counter=$(( (RANDOM % 26) ))
-    identifier=$(printf %c $((counter + 97)))
-    echo "${BRANCH_PREFIX}${identifier}-${TIMESTAMP}"
+  TIMESTAMP="$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"
+  # randomized letter suffix (a..z)
+  letter=$(printf "%c" $((97 + (RANDOM % 26))))
+  echo "${BRANCH_PREFIX}${letter}-${TIMESTAMP}"
+}
+
+# determine sensible remote base branch (fall back if DEFAULT_BASE_BRANCH not present remote)
+determine_remote_base() {
+  local preferred="$1"
+  # check remote branch existence
+  if git ls-remote --heads origin "refs/heads/${preferred}" | grep -q 'refs/heads/' ; then
+    echo "$preferred"
+    return 0
+  fi
+  # try main/master
+  for fallback in main master; do
+    if git ls-remote --heads origin "refs/heads/${fallback}" | grep -q 'refs/heads/'; then
+      warn "Preferred base branch 'origin/${preferred}' not found; using 'origin/${fallback}' instead."
+      echo "$fallback"
+      return 0
+    fi
+  done
+  warn "Preferred base branch 'origin/${preferred}' not found and no 'main'/'master' found. Using '$preferred' locally (may fail if remote missing)."
+  echo "$preferred"
+  return 0
 }
 
-# --- Main Script Logic ---
+# interactive menu
+PS3="Select action: "
+options=("Create New Pull Request (New Branch)" "Update Existing Pull Request (Current Branch)")
+echo
+select opt in "${options[@]}"; do
+  case $REPLY in
+    1) ACTION="CREATE"; break;;
+    2) ACTION="UPDATE"; break;;
+    *) echo "Invalid option. Choose 1 or 2.";;
+  esac
+done
+
+# ensure git user config exists (helpful failure point)
+if ! git config user.email >/dev/null 2>&1 || ! git config user.name >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  warn "Git user.name or user.email not set. Commits may fail. Set with 'git config user.name \"Your Name\"' and 'git config user.email you@example.com'."
+fi
+
+# create/update branch if requested
+if [ "$ACTION" = "CREATE" ]; then
+  NEW_BRANCH_NAME="$(generate_branch_name)"
+  log "Creating and switching to new branch: $NEW_BRANCH_NAME"
+  git checkout -b "$NEW_BRANCH_NAME"
+  BRANCH_TO_USE="$NEW_BRANCH_NAME"
+else
+  BRANCH_TO_USE="$CURRENT_BRANCH"
+  log "Using current branch: $BRANCH_TO_USE"
+fi
 
-# 1. Force a change by updating a hidden file (silent)
-CURRENT_TIME=$(date +'%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')
+# 1) update trigger file so there's always something to commit if desired
+CURRENT_TIME="$(date +'%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')"
 echo "Last run: $CURRENT_TIME" > "$TRIGGER_FILE"
 
-# 2. Stage and commit all changes (silent)
-git add -A > /dev/null 2>&1
+# 2) Stage all changes
+log "Staging changes..."
+git add -A
 
+# 3) Try commit; if nothing to commit and ALLOW_EMPTY_COMMIT=yes, create empty commit
 COMMIT_MESSAGE="Auto-commit: $CURRENT_TIME - Automated PR update."
-git commit -m "$COMMIT_MESSAGE" > /dev/null 2>&1
-
-# 3. Interactive Menu (The ONLY prompt shown before the URL)
-echo ""
-PS3="Select action: "
-options=("Create New Pull Request (New Branch)" "Update Existing Pull Request (Current Branch)")
-select opt in "${options[@]}"
-do
-    case $opt in
-        "Create New Pull Request (New Branch)")
-            # Create New PR flow: Create and switch to a new branch (silent)
-            NEW_BRANCH_NAME=$(generate_branch_name)
-            git checkout -b "$NEW_BRANCH_NAME" > /dev/null 2>&1
-            BRANCH_TO_USE="$NEW_BRANCH_NAME"
-            ACTION="CREATE"
-            break
-            ;;
-        "Update Existing Pull Request (Current Branch)")
-            # Update Existing PR flow: Stay on current branch
-            BRANCH_TO_USE="$CURRENT_BRANCH"
-            ACTION="UPDATE"
-            break
-            ;;
-        *) echo "Invalid option $REPLY. Please select 1 or 2.";;
-    esac
-done
+if git commit -m "$COMMIT_MESSAGE"; then
+  success "Commit created."
+else
+  # commit failed; check if it's because nothing to commit
+  if git status --porcelain | grep -q '^'; then
+    warn "Warning: commit returned non-zero. Check hooks or configuration."
+  fi
+  # detect "nothing to commit" case by checking status
+  if [ -z "$(git status --porcelain)" ]; then
+    warn "Nothing to commit."
+    if [ "${ALLOW_EMPTY_COMMIT}" = "yes" ]; then
+      log "Creating an empty commit because ALLOW_EMPTY_COMMIT=yes..."
+      git commit --allow-empty -m "${COMMIT_MESSAGE} (empty)"
+      success "Empty commit created."
+    else
+      warn "No commit created and ALLOW_EMPTY_COMMIT is not enabled. Continuing without new commit."
+    fi
+  else
+    # There are staged/unstaged changes but commit failed (likely hook): show last commit error and exit
+    err "git commit failed. Hooks may have rejected the commit. Aborting."
+    # give hint and show git status
+    git status --short || true
+    exit 1
+  fi
+fi
 
-# 4. Push the changes to the remote repository
-echo "🚀 Pushing changes to remote branch 'origin/$BRANCH_TO_USE'..."
-# The redirection to /dev/null has been removed to allow the SSH passphrase prompt to be visible.
+# 4) Push
+log "Pushing to remote branch 'origin/${BRANCH_TO_USE}'..."
 if ! git push -u origin "$BRANCH_TO_USE"; then
-    echo "----------------------------------------------"
-    echo "❌ **FATAL ERROR: Git push failed.**"
-    echo "Please ensure your SSH key is loaded (try 'ssh-add' if prompted for a passphrase)."
-    echo "----------------------------------------------"
-    exit 1
+  err "git push failed. Make sure remote 'origin' is reachable and you have permission."
+  exit 1
 fi
+success "Pushed branch to origin/${BRANCH_TO_USE}."
 
-# 5. Execute PR Action (Create or Update)
+# 5) Prepare PR creation/update
+BASE_BRANCH="$(determine_remote_base "$DEFAULT_BASE_BRANCH")"
 PR_TITLE="[Auto-PR] ${COMMIT_MESSAGE}"
+PR_BODY="**Automated Pull Request**\n\nTriggered: ${CURRENT_TIME}"
+
 PR_URL=""
 
-if [ "$ACTION" == "CREATE" ]; then
-    # Create PR (silent)
-    PR_URL=$(gh pr create --title "$PR_TITLE" --body "**Automated Pull Request**" --head "$BRANCH_TO_USE" --base "$DEFAULT_BRANCH" --fill)
-    
-elif [ "$ACTION" == "UPDATE" ]; then
-    # Get existing PR URL (silent)
-    PR_URL=$(gh pr view "$BRANCH_TO_USE" --json url -q .url 2>/dev/null)
-    
+if [ "$ACTION" = "CREATE" ]; then
+  log "Creating Pull Request (head: ${BRANCH_TO_USE} -> base: ${BASE_BRANCH})..."
+  # Use explicit title/body to avoid relying on gh --fill
+  PR_URL="$(gh pr create --head "${BRANCH_TO_USE}" --base "${BASE_BRANCH}" --title "$PR_TITLE" --body "$PR_BODY" 2>/dev/null || true)"
+  if [ -z "$PR_URL" ]; then
+    # Try verbose mode to show gh error
+    warn "gh pr create failed; showing gh diagnostics:"
+    gh pr create --head "${BRANCH_TO_USE}" --base "${BASE_BRANCH}" --title "$PR_TITLE" --body "$PR_BODY" || true
+    # After printing diagnostics, attempt to find an existing PR or fail
+    PR_URL="$(gh pr view --head "${BRANCH_TO_USE}" --json url -q .url 2>/dev/null || true)"
+  fi
+
+elif [ "$ACTION" = "UPDATE" ]; then
+  log "Looking for an existing PR for branch '${BRANCH_TO_USE}'..."
+  PR_URL="$(gh pr view --head "${BRANCH_TO_USE}" --json url -q .url 2>/dev/null || true)"
+  if [ -n "$PR_URL" ]; then
+    success "Found PR: $PR_URL"
+    # Optionally add a comment to indicate update
+    gh pr comment --body "Automated update: ${CURRENT_TIME}" "${PR_URL}" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+  else
+    log "No existing PR found; creating one..."
+    PR_URL="$(gh pr create --head "${BRANCH_TO_USE}" --base "${BASE_BRANCH}" --title "$PR_TITLE" --body "$PR_BODY" 2>/dev/null || true)"
     if [ -z "$PR_URL" ]; then
-        # Create new PR if none found (silent)
-        PR_URL=$(gh pr create --title "$PR_TITLE" --body "**Automated Pull Request**" --head "$BRANCH_TO_USE" --base "$DEFAULT_BRANCH" --fill)
+      warn "gh pr create failed; showing gh diagnostics:"
+      gh pr create --head "${BRANCH_TO_USE}" --base "${BASE_BRANCH}" --title "$PR_TITLE" --body "$PR_BODY" || true
+      PR_URL="$(gh pr view --head "${BRANCH_TO_USE}" --json url -q .url 2>/dev/null || true)"
     fi
+  fi
 fi
 
-# 6. Display Result (Only the URL)
+# 6) Output result
 echo "----------------------------------------------"
 if [ -n "$PR_URL" ]; then
-    echo "🔗 **Pull Request URL:** $PR_URL"
+  success "🔗 Pull Request URL: $PR_URL"
+  echo
+  # print short helpful info
+  echo "Branch: ${BRANCH_TO_USE}"
+  echo "Base:   ${BASE_BRANCH}"
+  echo "Title:  ${PR_TITLE}"
 else
-    echo "❌ **Action Failed.** Could not determine or create the Pull Request URL."
+  err "❌ Action Failed. Could not determine or create the Pull Request URL."
+  warn "Useful diagnostics:"
+  git status --short || true
+  git log --oneline "origin/${BASE_BRANCH}..${BRANCH_TO_USE}" || true
 fi
 echo "----------------------------------------------"
-