github-labels

name	github-labels
description	Set up structured GitHub issue labels for any repository. Installs curated label groups (priority, clarity, risk, blast radius, size, parallelism, sequencing, type, and special labels) using the GitHub CLI. Use this skill when a user mentions "set up labels", "github labels", "label taxonomy", or wants to organise their issue tracker.
compatibility	Requires gh CLI installed and authenticated with write access to target repo
allowed-tools	Bash(gh:*) Bash(git:*)

Prerequisites

• gh CLI installed and authenticated (gh auth status should succeed)
• Write access to the target repository

How it works

1. Detect or ask for the target repository (owner/repo format)
2. Present available label groups and let the user pick
3. Create each label via gh label create with --force (idempotent — safe to re-run)

Label Groups

Present these groups to the user. Let them pick individually or say "all".

1. Priority (priority)

Label	Color	Description
P1	b60205	Must ship first, blocks other work
P2	d93f0b	Core features, ship after P1
P3	e99695	Polish and low-urgency items
P4	f9d0c4	Post-launch polish and enhancements
P5	fef2c0	Nice to have, no pressure

2. Clarity (clarity)

Label	Color	Description
clarity:1	5319e7	Vague idea — no spec, no definition of done, needs discussion
clarity:2	7b61ff	Problem defined, solution unclear — needs a design spike
clarity:3	a78bfa	Direction known, details TBD — can start with questions
clarity:4	c4b5fd	Clear spec, minor ambiguities — AI-shippable with light review
clarity:5	ddd6fe	Crystal clear, full definition of done — just execute

3. Risk (risk)

Label	Color	Description
risk:1	0e8a16	Isolated change, well-tested area, hard to break
risk:2	53d353	Small surface area, existing patterns, minor regression chance
risk:3	fbca04	Touches shared code, some edge cases, needs careful testing
risk:4	e99695	Cross-domain impact, state management, concurrency concerns
risk:5	b60205	Data model migration, navigation architecture, or seed data changes

4. Blast Radius (blast)

Label	Color	Description
blast:1	bfdadc	Single file — one view or one service, no ripple effects
blast:2	7ec8cb	Single domain — 2-5 files within one feature folder
blast:3	3bb3b8	Cross-domain — touches shared code or 2+ feature domains
blast:4	1d7a7e	Architectural — services, navigation, data flow changes
blast:5	0e4f52	Full-stack — data pipeline + app, or schema changes

5. Size (size)

Label	Color	Description
size:XS	c5def5	Trivial change, single file
size:S	85c1e9	Straightforward, few files
size:M	5dade2	Moderate scope, some design needed
size:L	2e86c1	Significant feature, many files
size:XL	1a5276	Epic-level, major cross-cutting work

6. Parallelism (parallelism)

Label	Color	Description
parallel:1	f0e68c	Lane 1 work stream
parallel:2	daa520	Lane 2 work stream
parallel:3	cd853f	Lane 3 work stream
parallel:4	b8860b	Lane 4 work stream
parallel:5	8b6914	Lane 5 work stream
serial	6c757d	Cross-cutting — touches 2+ lanes, run alone

7. Sequencing (sequencing)

Label	Color	Description
seq:01	006b75	Sequence step 1
seq:02	006b75	Sequence step 2
seq:03	006b75	Sequence step 3
seq:04	006b75	Sequence step 4
seq:05	006b75	Sequence step 5
seq:06	006b75	Sequence step 6
seq:07	006b75	Sequence step 7
seq:08	006b75	Sequence step 8
seq:09	006b75	Sequence step 9
seq:10	006b75	Sequence step 10

8. Type (type)

Label	Color	Description
type:bug	d73a4a	Something isn't working correctly
type:feature	0075ca	New functionality or capability
type:refactor	cfd3d7	Code improvement, no behaviour change
type:chore	ededed	Maintenance — deps, CI, config, docs
type:spike	d4c5f9	Research or time-boxed exploration

9. Special (special)

Label	Color	Description
ai-shippable	1d76db	Delegatable to AI agents — clarity:4+ and risk:2 or lower
needs-design	d4c5f9	Requires design work before implementation

Execution

For each selected group, run:

gh label create "<name>" --color "<hex>" --description "<description>" --repo "<owner/repo>" --force

Interaction Flow

1. Detect repo: Run gh repo view --json nameWithOwner -q .nameWithOwner. If it works, offer as default. Otherwise ask.

2. Present groups: Show numbered list:

   Available label groups:
     1. Priority (P1-P5) — triage priority
     2. Clarity (clarity:1-5) — issue definition quality
     3. Risk (risk:1-5) — change danger level
     4. Blast Radius (blast:1-5) — scope of impact
     5. Size (size:XS-XL) — effort estimation
     6. Parallelism (parallel:1-5 + serial) — lane assignment
     7. Sequencing (seq:01-10) — implementation order
     8. Type (type:bug, feature, refactor, chore, spike) — work category
     9. Special (ai-shippable, needs-design) — workflow flags
   
   Enter numbers (e.g. "1,3,4"), "all", or ask me about any group.
   

3. Confirm: Show total label count and target repo, ask for confirmation.

4. Execute: Create labels, reporting progress grouped by category.

5. Summary: Report what was created/updated, note any failures.