start-issue

name	start-issue
description	Start work on a new GitHub issue. Fetches issue details, generates standard branch names, and sets up the branch.

Start Issue Skill

Standardized procedure to initialize work on a new issue branch.

When to use this skill

• Use this skill when the user requests to start work on a new issue, checkout a new issue branch, or when executing a command or intent like /start-issue <issue-number>.

How to use it

Steps

1. Sync main and check its CI status: Sync the local main branch first:

   git fetch origin main && git checkout main && git pull origin main
   

   Then check the CI status of the latest completed run on main:

   gh run list --branch main --status completed --limit 1 --json conclusion --jq '.[0].conclusion'
   

   If the output is not success, stop immediately, report the failure to the user, and ask for instructions before creating a branch from a broken main.

2. Look up the issue title dynamically using the GitHub CLI (gh):

   gh issue view <issue-number> --json title --jq .title
   

   (If the GitHub CLI is not authenticated or available, fall back to any available GitHub/MCP tool).

3. Derive a branch name from the issue title:

   • Format: issue-<N>_<short_description>
   • Short description: lowercase, underscores, 3–5 words max, no articles or filler words
   • Example: issue title "Add version to separator comment" → issue-306_version_separator_comment

4. Create and checkout the branch:

   git checkout -b <branch-name>
   

5. Confirm to the user: Report the issue title, the derived branch name, and that you are ready to start coding.