start-ticket

name	start-ticket
description	Initialize work on a Jira ticket. Creates a new branch with conventional commit prefix based on the ticket type. Use when starting work on a new ticket.
allowed-tools	Bash(git:*),Bash(~/.agents/skills/handoffs/scripts/list.sh:*),Read,Skill,mcp__jira__*
model-tier	economy
model	haiku
effort	medium
version	1.2.0
author	flurdy

Start Ticket

Initialize work on a Jira ticket by looking up the ticket details and creating an appropriately named branch.

Usage

/start-ticket AB-123

Instructions

1. Look Up the Jira Ticket

Use the /jira-ticket skill or the Jira MCP tools directly to fetch the ticket details:

mcp__jira__jira_get with:
  path: /rest/api/3/issue/{ticketNumber}
  jq: "{key: key, summary: fields.summary, type: fields.issuetype.name}"

2. Determine the Branch Prefix

Map the Jira issue type to a conventional commit prefix:

Issue Type	Branch Prefix
Story	feat
Task	feat
Bug	fix
Spike	chore
Sub-task	inherit from parent, or feat
Improvement	feat
Technical Debt	refactor
Documentation	docs
Default	feat

3. Generate Branch Name

Format: {prefix}/{TICKET-NUMBER}-{kebab-case-summary}

Rules:

• Convert summary to kebab-case (lowercase, hyphens instead of spaces)
• Remove special characters except hyphens
• Truncate to reasonable length (max ~50 chars for the summary portion)
• Keep the ticket number uppercase

Example: For ticket AB-123 with summary "Sanitize Input":

feat/AB-123-sanitize-input

3b. Resume awareness — check for a prior handoff

Before creating a fresh branch, check whether a previous session already worked this ticket and left a /wrap-up handoff. "Start ticket" is the new-work entry point, but the same ticket sometimes comes back — and a handoff means there's likely an existing branch plus open threads you'd otherwise re-create from scratch.

Two-step so the usual case (a genuinely new ticket) stays network-free:

1. Cheap pass (no network):

   ~/.agents/skills/handoffs/scripts/list.sh --ticket {TICKET-NUMBER}
   

   Read ---MATCHED-HANDOFFS--- (current-repo, supersede-filtered, newest first). Empty → skip to step 4 and create the branch normally. This is the usual path.
2. Confirm live (only if step 1 matched):

   ~/.agents/skills/handoffs/scripts/list.sh --check-branches --ticket {TICKET-NUMBER}
   

   Still empty → the earlier work shipped; create a fresh branch (step 4). Otherwise take the newest matched line: {filename}|{date}|{time}|{slug}|{branch}|{exists}|{pr-state}|{pr-number}|{pr-url}.

When a live handoff remains, ask with AskUserQuestion:

📥 You have a handoff {slug} ({date} {time}) for {TICKET-NUMBER} on branch {branch}. Resume it instead of creating a new branch?

• Resume handoff (recommended) — Read ~/.claude/handoffs/{filename} and render it verbatim in a fenced block as resume context. Then resume its branch rather than creating a new one: git checkout {branch} if it exists locally, else hand to /handoffs for the full (worktree-aware) resume flow. Skip step 4 — don't git checkout -b over an existing branch. If {exists}=Y and the recorded cwd differs from pwd, add **Switch directory:** cd {cwd}.
• Start fresh — ignore the handoff and continue to step 4 with a new branch.

If list.sh errors or there's no handoffs dir, proceed to step 4 silently — this is a courtesy, never a blocker.

4. Create the Branch

# Ensure we're on main and up to date
git checkout main
git pull origin main

# Create and switch to new branch
git checkout -b {branch-name}

5. Confirm to User

Output the created branch name and ticket summary so the user knows they're ready to start work.