create-backlog-item

name	create-backlog-item
description	Create a new item in .claude/BACKLOG.md. No args: guided intake via AskUserQuestion. With 'quick {title}': inline capture from user description. With '--auto {title}': fully autonomous — derives all fields from research files and task context, skips all AskUserQuestion calls, logs decisions made. Writes item to correct priority section, updates frontmatter counts, offers GitHub Issue creation for P0/P1. Enforces required fields (title, priority, description) and duplicate detection before writing.
argument-hint	[quick {title} | --auto {title} | <empty for guided intake>]
user-invocable	true

Create Backlog Item

Capture a new backlog item and append it to .claude/BACKLOG.md in the correct priority section.

Arguments

$0 selects the operating mode:

$0 value	Mode	Remaining args
(empty)	Guided intake via AskUserQuestion	—
quick	Fast entry — skip title question	$1+ = title
--auto	Fully autonomous — no interactive prompts	$1+ = title

/create-backlog-item                                   # guided intake
/create-backlog-item quick GitHub milestone skill      # quick entry
/create-backlog-item --auto vercel skills npm package  # autonomous (agent use)

Workflow

Step 1: Collect Item Fields

If $0 is --auto:

Title = $1 onward (all remaining words joined). Do not call AskUserQuestion. Instead:

1. Search research/ recursively for any file whose name or content matches the title (case-insensitive). Read the best match.
2. Search .claude/BACKLOG.md for related items to understand existing priority patterns.
3. Derive all fields from the research file, task description, and available context:
   • Title: from $1 onward
   • Priority: infer from description urgency keywords (critical, required, must → P1; nice to have, optional → P2; default P1)
   • Description: summarize from research file overview + problem statement
   • Source: "Agent task — auto-derived from research/{filename}"
   • Type: infer from description (install, integrate, add → Feature; default Feature)
4. Log every decision:

[AUTO] Title: {title} — from $1 onward
[AUTO] Priority: P1 — inferred from description (no urgency keywords found, defaulting P1)
[AUTO] Description: derived from research/skill-generation-tools/vercel-labs-skills.md
[AUTO] Source: Agent task — auto-derived from research/skill-generation-tools/vercel-labs-skills.md
[AUTO] Type: Feature — inferred from "integrate" keyword

Proceed to Step 2 (validate). Skip Step 7 (GitHub issue) — auto mode does not create GitHub issues unless --create-issue is also passed.

If $0 is empty (guided intake):

Use AskUserQuestion with two questions:

Question 1: "What is the title of this backlog item?"
  header: "Title"
  options: (free text — no options; user will type)

Question 2: "What priority?"
  header: "Priority"
  options:
    - label: "P0 — Must have"
    - label: "P1 — Should have"
    - label: "P2 — Nice to have"
    - label: "Idea — Not yet sized"

Then ask:

Question 3: "Describe the item. Include: what the problem is, what success looks like, and any known constraints or research questions."
  header: "Description"

Then ask:

Question 4: "What is the source or trigger for this item? (e.g., code review, user request, session observation — or press Enter to skip)"
  header: "Source"
  options:
    - label: "Code review"
    - label: "User request"
    - label: "Session observation"
    - label: "Research finding"
    - label: "Skip"

Then ask:

Question 5: "What type of work is this?"
  header: "Type"
  options:
    - label: "Feature"
    - label: "Bug"
    - label: "Refactor"
    - label: "Docs"
    - label: "Chore"

If $0 is quick:

Title = $1 onward. Ask only:

• Priority (Question 2 above)
• Description (Question 3 above)

Source defaults to "Session observation". Type defaults to "Feature".

Step 2: Validate Inputs

Required fields: title, priority, description.

• If any required field is missing or empty: report which field is missing and stop.
• title must be non-empty after trimming whitespace.
• description must be non-empty after trimming whitespace.

Step 3: Duplicate Detection

Read .claude/BACKLOG.md. Search all H3 headings for case-insensitive overlap with title.

If a match is found within edit distance ≤ 2 tokens (same first 3 words), report:

Possible duplicate: "{existing title}" already exists in {section}.
Proceed anyway? (y/n)

Use AskUserQuestion with Yes / No options. If No: stop.

In --auto mode: if a duplicate is found, log [AUTO] STOP — duplicate detected: "{existing title}" in {section} and stop without writing. Do not ask.

Step 4: Compose Item Block

Format today's date as YYYY-MM-DD (use system date).

### {title}

**Source**: {source, or "Not specified" if skipped}
**Added**: {YYYY-MM-DD}
**Priority**: {P0|P1|P2|Idea}
**Type**: {type}
**Description**: {description}

If research questions were embedded in the description (lines starting with ? or Research:), extract them into a separate **Research first**: field:

**Research first**: {extracted questions}

Step 5: Write to BACKLOG.md

Read .claude/BACKLOG.md.

Locate the correct section heading:

• P0 → ## P0 - Must Have
• P1 → ## P1 - Should Have
• P2 → ## P2 - Nice to Have
• Idea → ## Ideas

Insert the item block:

• If section contains _(Empty)_: replace that line with the item block.
• Otherwise: append the item block after the last ### item in the section (before the next --- or ## heading).

Update the YAML frontmatter:

• Increment the count field for the relevant priority (p0-count, p1-count, p2-count, ideas-count).
• Set last-updated to today's date.

Step 6: Confirm Write

Report:

Backlog item created.

  Title:    {title}
  Priority: {priority}
  Section:  {section heading}
  Added:    {date}

Next steps:
  Groom:  /groom-backlog-item {title}
  Work:   /work-backlog-item {title}

Step 7: GitHub Issue (P0 and P1 only)

If priority is P0 or P1, ask:

Create a GitHub Issue for this item?
  options: Yes | No (skip)

If Yes:

Build a story-format issue body:

## Story

As a developer using this repository, I want {one-line goal derived from description}.

## Description

{description}

## Acceptance Criteria

- [ ] {inferred criterion 1 from description}
- [ ] {inferred criterion 2 from description}

## Context

- Priority: {priority}
- Type: {type}
- Added: {date}
- Source: {source}

Run:

gh issue create \
  -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills \
  --title "{title}" \
  --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
{issue body}
EOF
)" \
  --label "priority:{p0|p1|p2|idea}" \
  --label "type:{feature|bug|refactor|docs|chore}" \
  --label "status:needs-grooming"

Capture the returned issue number. Write **Issue**: #{N} back to the item in BACKLOG.md immediately after the **Type**: line.

If gh is not installed, report:

gh not available. Run: uv run .claude/skills/gh/scripts/setup_gh.py
Issue creation skipped.

If label not found, create it on the fly:

gh label create "priority:{value}" --color "#e4e669" -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills

then retry issue creation.

Error Handling

• Missing required field: report field name, stop.
• Duplicate detected and user says No: stop without writing.
• BACKLOG.md section not found: report section heading expected, stop.
• GitHub issue creation fails: report error, write item to BACKLOG.md anyway (do not block local write).
• gh not installed: skip GitHub step silently after reporting setup command.

Completion Criteria

• Item written to correct BACKLOG.md section
• Frontmatter counts updated
• last-updated set to today
• GitHub Issue created and **Issue**: #N written back (P0/P1 only, if user confirmed)
• Next-step commands shown to user