| name | sdlc:issue |
| description | Use when creating a GitHub issue from a brief (bug, feature, epic, or spike) against the repo's GitHub issue templates via gh CLI. |
/sdlc:issue
Create a well-structured GitHub issue using the repo's own templates and gh CLI.
Core principle: Templates own the format. Skill owns the behavior.
Core Pattern
- Classify: determine type from brief: bug / feature / epic / spike. If unclear, ask once.
- Read: load
.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/<type>.yml. Extract all fields, required vs optional, and label. Do this every time; never reconstruct from memory.
- Interview: ask only for missing required fields. If the brief already covers a field, don't re-ask. Scale ceremony to issue weight.
- Draft: build title and body. Sections follow template field order using
label as heading. Omit empty optional fields.
- Confirm: show full draft including labels. Wait for explicit approval. Iterate until approved.
- Create: write body to temp file, run
gh issue create with all labels, report issue URL.
Title Format
Issue titles must be natural language, sentence case (code terms and command names retain their canonical casing), no conventional commit prefixes, no scope tags.
Conventional commit format (type(scope): subject) is for commits and PR titles only. It is not appropriate for issue titles, which appear in GitHub's issue list and must be scannable at a glance.
Good:
Issue skill defaults to conventional commit format for titlesmktemp fails with .md suffixAdd natural language title guidance to issue skill
Bad:
fix(skills): mktemp fails with .md suffixfix: issue skill defaults to conventional commit formatfeat(issue): add title guidance
Rule: if a reader has to mentally strip a prefix to understand the title, the title is wrong.
Template Map
| Type | File | Type label | Additional labels |
|---|
| Bug | 1-bug.yml | bug | priority: <level> |
| Feature | 2-feature.yml | enhancement | priority: <level> |
| Epic | 3-epic.yml | epic | priority: <level> |
| Spike | 4-spike.yml | spike | n/a |
Labels
Priority is applied as a label, not a form dropdown. See the Label Conventions section in AGENTS.md for the full table and descriptions.
-
Bugs, features, and epics each get a priority: <level> label.
-
Spikes don't carry priority.
-
If the brief doesn't specify a level, ask once using a numbered list, never default silently:
- Critical
- High
- Medium
- Low
gh Command
BODY_FILE=$(mktemp /tmp/gh_issue_body_XXXXXX)
cat > "$BODY_FILE" << 'EOF'
<body>
EOF
gh issue create \
--title "<title>" \
--label "<type-label>" \
--label "<priority-label>" \
--body-file "$BODY_FILE"
Spike exception: omit the --label "<priority-label>" line; spikes carry only the spike type label.
Multiple --label flags can be chained. The type label is always present. The priority label is added for bugs, features, and epics; omit it for spikes.
Optional flags: --assignee "<username>", --milestone "<name>", --project "<name>"
Common Mistakes
- Skipping the template read: field names and order come from the YAML, not assumptions. Read it every time.
- Pre-emptively asking for optional fields: required fields are the floor. Let the user volunteer the rest.
- Creating before confirmation: never run
gh without explicit approval. Always show the full draft first.
- Omitting priority labels: form dropdowns do not survive
gh CLI creation. Always apply these as labels.
