github-sync

name	github-sync
description	This skill should be used when syncing local tasks/*.md into a GitHub Project (one-way push), or when initializing the GitHub Project and its fields via --init.

GitHub Sync Skill

Scope and Invariants

• One-way push only: data flows tasks/*.md → GitHub Project. Never pull. Never conflict-resolve. Never delete.
• Source of truth: local markdown files are always the authority.
• Inbox exclusion: tasks/inbox.md is ALWAYS excluded by basename match — identical exclusion rule as gtd-prioritization.
• Parse regex: ^- \[([ x])\] (.+)$ — captures checkbox state (space = incomplete, x = complete) AND the task content.
• All tasks (complete and incomplete) are synced to GitHub. Checkbox state maps to Status field.

Field Mapping Table

Markdown source	GitHub Project field	Field type	Values / notes
filename stem	Domain	single-select	fulltime, side-projects, open-source, knowledge
prio: tag	Priority	single-select	fulltime, trust, side, long, short, tedious
due: tag	Due	date	ISO YYYY-MM-DD; empty if absent/malformed
checkbox state [ ] / [x]	Status	single-select	Todo (space) / Done (x)
task title (before first tag)	item title	built-in title	trimmed, internal whitespace collapsed
project: tag	Project/Area	text	omit field write if tag absent

Missing prio → set Priority to none + emit warning. Missing due → leave Due field empty + emit warning. Unknown domain (filename not in the four known domains) → skip item entirely + emit warning.

Idempotency

Composite dedupe key = domain + normalizedTitle

Title normalization: trim leading/trailing whitespace, collapse all internal whitespace runs to single space. Do NOT lowercase — title casing is preserved.

Algorithm:

1. Fetch all existing items from the GitHub Project.
2. Build a map: dedupe_key → {itemId, fieldValues}.
3. For each parsed task:
   • Compute dedupe_key.
   • If key exists in map → UPDATE the item's fields (title, Domain, Priority, Due, Status, Project/Area).
   • If key absent → CREATE a new draft issue item.

Known limitation (document in bold in output): Renaming a task in markdown creates a duplicate: the old GitHub item is orphaned. One-way push never deletes GitHub items. To remove an orphan, delete it manually in the GitHub Project UI.

Transport

Listing and creation (classic operations):

• List items: gh project item-list <number> --owner <owner> --format json
• Create draft issue: gh project item-create <number> --owner <owner> --title "<title>" → captures item ID
• Alternative: mcp__personal-github__* tools where they support these operations

Projects v2 field value mutations REQUIRE GraphQL — gh CLI item-edit does not support custom fields reliably:

# Create draft issue
mutation {
  addProjectV2DraftIssue(input: {projectId: "<projectId>", title: "<title>"}) {
    projectItem { id }
  }
}

# Set single-select field
mutation {
  updateProjectV2ItemFieldValue(input: {
    projectId: "<projectId>",
    itemId: "<itemId>",
    fieldId: "<fieldId>",
    value: { singleSelectOptionId: "<optionId>" }
  }) {
    projectV2Item { id }
  }
}

# Set date field
mutation {
  updateProjectV2ItemFieldValue(input: {
    projectId: "<projectId>",
    itemId: "<itemId>",
    fieldId: "<fieldId>",
    value: { date: "YYYY-MM-DD" }
  }) {
    projectV2Item { id }
  }
}

# Set text field
mutation {
  updateProjectV2ItemFieldValue(input: {
    projectId: "<projectId>",
    itemId: "<itemId>",
    fieldId: "<fieldId>",
    value: { text: "<value>" }
  }) {
    projectV2Item { id }
  }
}

Invoke GraphQL via: gh api graphql -f query='<mutation>'

Field IDs and option IDs are opaque strings — resolve them once during --init and cache in config. Never hardcode.

--init Flow (numbered, idempotent)

1. Resolve owner: query gh api graphql -f query='{ viewer { id login } }' or call mcp__personal-github__get_me. Record login and node id.

2. Check config: read .agentic-gtd.local.md at repo root. If projectId key is present and non-empty → report "already initialized (projectId: <id>)" and exit without any mutations.

3. Create project: run gh project create --owner @me --title "Agentic GTD" (private by default). Capture the project number and node ID from output.

4. Create custom fields via GraphQL createProjectV2Field mutation:

   • Priority — single-select, options in ladder order: fulltime, trust, side, long, short, tedious
   • Domain — single-select, options: fulltime, side-projects, open-source, knowledge
   • Due — date field
   • Project/Area — text field
   • Status — built-in field (do not recreate). Ensure Todo and Done options exist; add Done if missing.

5. Resolve all field IDs and option IDs: query the project's field list via GraphQL to get each fieldId and each option's id.

6. Write config: save all IDs to .agentic-gtd.local.md (see Config File section).

7. Update .gitignore: append .agentic-gtd.local.md to the repo root .gitignore if not already present.

Config File

Location: .agentic-gtd.local.md at repo root (not inside .claude/).

This file is human-readable with a YAML-style key:value block:

# Agentic GTD — Local Config
# Auto-generated by /sync-github --init. Do not commit (add to .gitignore).

projectId: PVT_xxxxxxxxxxxx
projectNumber: 1
owner: josixwang

fields:
  Priority:
    fieldId: PVTSSF_xxxxxxxxxxxx
    type: single_select
    options:
      fulltime: xxxxxxxx
      side: xxxxxxxx
      trust: xxxxxxxx
      long: xxxxxxxx
      short: xxxxxxxx
      tedious: xxxxxxxx
  Domain:
    fieldId: PVTSSF_xxxxxxxxxxxx
    type: single_select
    options:
      fulltime: xxxxxxxx
      side-projects: xxxxxxxx
      open-source: xxxxxxxx
      knowledge: xxxxxxxx
  Status:
    fieldId: PVTSSF_xxxxxxxxxxxx
    type: single_select
    options:
      Todo: xxxxxxxx
      Done: xxxxxxxx
  Due:
    fieldId: PVTF_xxxxxxxxxxxx
    type: date
  Project/Area:
    fieldId: PVTF_xxxxxxxxxxxx
    type: text

Note: this file contains project-specific IDs and must not be committed. The .gitignore line is added during --init.

Sync Flow (Normal Mode)

1. Read config: parse .agentic-gtd.local.md. If file missing or projectId is empty/absent:

   FATAL: GitHub Project not initialized. Run /sync-github --init first.
   

   Exit immediately. Zero mutations.

2. Preflight auth: run gh auth status or call mcp__personal-github__get_me. On failure:

   FATAL: GitHub auth failed — <exact error message>. Run: gh auth login
   

   Exit immediately. Zero mutations.

3. Parse tasks: read all tasks/*.md except tasks/inbox.md. Parse all lines matching ^- \[([ x])\] (.+)$. Extract and normalize all tags.

4. Fetch existing items: gh project item-list <number> --owner <owner> --format json. Build dedupe map: normalizedKey → {itemId, currentFieldValues}.

5. Resolve create vs update: for each parsed task, compute dedupe key; look up in map.

6. Execute (skip if --dry-run):

   • For CREATE: addProjectV2DraftIssue → get itemId → set all field values via updateProjectV2ItemFieldValue.
   • For UPDATE: only set fields whose value has changed (diff against current).

7. Emit sync report.

Sync Report Format

Sync complete (2026-06-08T12:00:00Z):
  Created:   5
  Updated:   12
  Completed (Status=Done): 3
  Skipped:   0
  Warnings:
    - [tasks/knowledge.md: "some task"] Missing prio — Priority field left empty
    - [tasks/fulltime.md: "other task"] Malformed due date: "next week" — Due field left empty

On dry-run, every line is prefixed with [DRY-RUN] and the final line reads:

[DRY-RUN] No mutations were made.

Failure Handling

• Any transport failure, GraphQL error, or auth error aborts before further mutations.
• Push is non-transactional: if 10 items are being created and item 6 fails, items 1-5 are already in GitHub.
• Report truthfully which items were mutated before the abort:

  ABORT: GraphQL error on item "Task title": <error>
  Mutated before abort: Created 5, Updated 2
  

• Missing config → FAIL LOUDLY before any mutations (see sync step 1).
• Auth failure → FAIL LOUDLY before any mutations (see sync step 2).

Auth Ambiguity Note

Prefer ONE transport for identity resolution (use gh CLI to resolve owner; record owner login in config). At preflight, warn if gh auth status shows a different user than the recorded owner:

Warning: gh authenticated as "other-user", but config owner is "josixwang". Proceeding may create items under the wrong account.