Issue Creation

When To Use

Use this skill when creating, drafting, triaging, or approving an issue in the current GitHub repository.

Core Rule

Discover the repository's actual contribution workflow before proposing or publishing an issue. Templates, labels, approval gates, and Discussions support are repository policy, not universal GitHub behavior.

Safe Discovery

Run read-only checks first:

gh auth status
REPO="$(gh repo view --json nameWithOwner -q .nameWithOwner)"
REPO_URL="$(gh repo view --json url -q .url)"
HOST="${REPO_URL#*://}"
HOST="${HOST%%/*}"
gh repo view --json nameWithOwner,url,hasDiscussionsEnabled,hasIssuesEnabled,isBlankIssuesEnabled
git ls-files CONTRIBUTING.md CONTRIBUTING.* .github/CONTRIBUTING.md .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE
gh api --hostname "$HOST" --paginate "repos/$REPO/labels?per_page=100" --jq '.[].name'

Also inspect:

• repository instructions such as CONTRIBUTING.md and README.md;
• files under .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE;
• .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/config.yml when present;
• issue forms, required fields, and labels declared by each template;
• existing open and closed issues for duplicates and established wording.

Stop and ask for repository context if authentication, repository resolution, verification that REPO and HOST are non-empty, required metadata is unavailable, hasIssuesEnabled is false, or policy discovery fails. Never continue from failed discovery into issue publication.

A no-template fallback is allowed only when isBlankIssuesEnabled is explicitly true. Otherwise follow discovered contact links or stop and ask; never publish.

After discovery and review, build optional label arguments using only labels that exist and repository policy permits the actor to apply:

LABEL_ARGS=()
# Repeat for each reviewed, permitted discovered label.
LABEL_ARGS+=(--label "$LABEL")

An empty array applies no label; do not invent labels.

Workflow

1. Describe the problem or request in one sentence and derive a short search query.

2. Search open and closed issues:

   gh issue list --repo "$HOST/$REPO" --state all --search "$QUERY" --limit 1000
   

   If 1000 results are returned or completeness remains uncertain, narrow the search, use read-only API discovery, or stop and ask before publishing.

3. If an issue already covers the same behavior, comment there instead of creating a duplicate.

4. Choose a repository-provided template only when its purpose matches the report.

5. Fill every required template field from known evidence. Ask for missing facts rather than inventing them.

6. Apply labels only when they exist and repository guidance establishes who should apply them.

7. Publish only after the title, body, target repository, and selected template or fallback have been reviewed, and the pre-submission privacy review below has passed.

Pre-submission Privacy Review

Pre-submission privacy review is mandatory. Scan every issue body immediately before gh issue create. The scan replaces — never deletes — environment-specific data with explicit placeholders so the reproduction still teaches:

Do NOT redact intentionally public identifiers: tool names (gentle-ai, engram, go, node, python), package names, public documentation URLs, generic example domains (example.com, localhost). Keep reproduction structure with placeholders — never redact an example into nothingness.

Rule of thumb: if the reader can run the reproduction step after you replace every identifier with its placeholder, the sanitization is correct. If a step becomes impossible (because the placeholder consumed a needed value), that step needs the value — and you should mark it <value-required> and explain in the body what the user should fill in.

Template Paths

Do not guess a template filename. If multiple templates could apply and repository guidance does not distinguish them, stop and ask which one to use.

• .yml and .yaml files are GitHub Issue Forms. Do not parse or render their schema. Open the web issue chooser and stop for human completion:

  gh issue create --repo "$HOST/$REPO" --web "${LABEL_ARGS[@]}"
  

• .md files are Markdown templates. Read the matching template, complete it from known evidence into a reviewed BODY_FILE, then publish it:

  gh issue create --repo "$HOST/$REPO" --title "$TITLE" --body-file "$BODY_FILE" "${LABEL_ARGS[@]}"
  

No-Template Fallback

When the repository permits issue creation, provides no matching template, and isBlankIssuesEnabled is explicitly true, prepare a structured body with these sections:

• problem or requested outcome;
• reproduction or motivating example;
• expected behavior;
• actual behavior or current limitation;
• environment and relevant evidence;
• alternatives or workarounds, when applicable.

Publish the reviewed fallback explicitly:

gh issue create --repo "$HOST/$REPO" --title "$TITLE" --body "$BODY" "${LABEL_ARGS[@]}"

If blank issues are not explicitly enabled, follow discovered contact links or stop and ask. Never publish a no-template fallback.

Labels And Approval

Treat labels and approval gates as conditional:

• use only labels returned by repository discovery;
• follow contribution guidance for who may apply each label;
• wait when repository policy requires maintainer approval before implementation;
• do not invent a status or priority taxonomy when none is documented.

Questions And Discussions

Use Discussions only when hasDiscussionsEnabled is true and repository guidance routes the question there. Otherwise follow documented support/contact links or ask the user where the question belongs. Never link to another repository's Discussions page.

Triage Decision

Before approving or closing an issue, verify:

• it describes a concrete bug or scoped improvement rather than an unsupported question;
• it is not a duplicate;
• the report contains enough evidence for an implementation decision;
• the requested behavior is in repository scope;
• labels and status changes follow the current repository's policy.

If any point is uncertain, keep the issue in the repository's review state and request the smallest missing evidence.