working-on-an-issue

name	working-on-an-issue
description	Use when asked to work on, read, or implement a GitHub issue - structured understand, plan, verify, implement, verify workflow with developer approval gates and mandatory verification

Working on an Issue

Announce at start: "I'm using the working-on-an-issue skill to implement this GitHub issue."

Overview

A structured workflow for implementing GitHub issues with verification.

Core Principle: Understand → Plan → Verify → Implement → Verify Again

When to Use

• Developer asks to work on a GitHub issue
• Developer asks to implement an issue
• Developer provides an issue URL or number

Pre-flight Checklist

Before starting:

• Issue URL or number obtained
• Repository cloned and on correct branch
• CLAUDE.md exists (or run setting-up-a-project first)
• Developer available for questions (or async mode agreed)

The Process

1. Read and Understand the Issue

Get the issue content via:

• GitHub CLI: gh issue view <number>
• Ask user to paste the issue content
• Use GitHub MCP tools if available

Clarify before proceeding:

• If requirements are ambiguous, ask specific questions
• If acceptance criteria are missing, propose them
• If scope is unclear, confirm boundaries

Do not assume or invent requirements not in the issue.

2. Write an Implementation Plan

Use the superpowers:writing-plans skill (if available) or create a brief plan covering:

1. What changes are needed
2. Which files will be modified/created
3. Order of implementation
4. Risks or unknowns

Save to docs/plans/issue-<number>-plan.md and get developer approval before proceeding.

3. Write a Verification Plan

Use the writing-verification-plans skill to create acceptance tests for the issue.

4. Implement

• Follow TDD practices if TDD.rules.md is present (a project-level TDD rules file, if the repo defines one)
• Commit after each logical change
• Pause and ask if you hit unexpected complexity

5. Execute Verification

Run the verification plan. Report results using the verification log format from the writing-verification-plans skill.

Absolute Rules

• No assumptions: Ask if anything is unclear
• No scope creep: Only implement what's specified
• Verification required: Task is incomplete until verification passes or developer confirms manual verification
• Blocked = Stop: If blocked, stop and ask the developer — do not guess.