| name | aw-refine |
| description | Rewrite a refine-flagged GitHub issue body into the outcome-oriented template (bug / enhancement / chore variants), preserving all reproduction details. Adds `refined` (state) + `slice` (action), removes `refine`. Runs after `aw-triage` has classified the issue. |
aw-refine
Rewrite a single GitHub issue body into the outcome-oriented template. The issue must already have a category label (bug, enhancement, or chore) and the refine action label — aw-triage is responsible for setting both.
Inputs
ISSUE_NUMBER — the issue to refine- The issue's current body, title, labels (read via
gh issue view)
Step 0 — Load accumulated rules (mandatory; before anything else)
Read .claude/feedback/INDEX.md then read every feedback_*.md whose row lists this skill (or all) in aw_applies_to. These are corrections from past interactive sessions; they override conflicting guidance in this SKILL.md when they conflict. Skipping this step is the single biggest cause of avoidable AW failures.
For aw_applies: with-modification rules, read "user" as the issue or PR thread you're working on — the rule's aw_note frontmatter explains the modification.
Process
- Read the issue, including comments.
gh issue view $ISSUE_NUMBER --json title,body,labels,comments- Verify exactly one of
bug / enhancement / chore is present AND refine is present. If not, post a clarification comment and stop.
- If
refined is already present, exit silently (idempotent).
1.5. Read human comments since the trigger marker — authoritative override material.
When the user resets a refined issue to refine (via aw-feedback's "Redo refined scope" / assumption-override path, or by manual label flip), they almost always leave a comment explaining what was wrong with the previous refine. That comment is the most important input to this run. Without reading it, this skill re-runs against the same body and predictably re-produces the same wrong refinement.
- Filter the
comments array to skip bot comments (any comment whose author is github-actions[bot], claude[bot], app/claude, or contains a > *Refined automatically by the / > *Read by marker line at the start).
- Of the remaining human comments, focus on those posted after the issue's most recent state-change event. If the issue currently carries
refine (was reset from refined), the relevant comments are everything posted after the most recent refined label was added to the issue (use gh issue view event history if needed, or simply: any human comment posted after the latest bot Refined automatically marker).
- Treat each such human comment as authoritative. What the human explicitly stated outweighs any conflicting interpretation you would otherwise derive from the issue body alone. Fold the corrections into the rewritten body's
## Assumptions section AND into the outcome / acceptance-criteria sections as needed — not just a passing mention, but a structural rewrite that makes the corrected scope impossible to re-derive wrong.
- If a human comment includes "Files explicitly NOT touched" / "DO NOT" / "Wrong path" sections, mirror them in the rewritten body so
aw-tdd can't miss them.
-
Pick the matching template (see Templates below) based on the category.
-
Rewrite the body. Default is assumption-and-proceed. Only bounce back (post a comment, leave refine in place) if the input is unintelligible — empty body, single-character title, no recoverable signal. "Vague but intelligible" is the common case; make defensible assumptions and proceed.
Preserve verbatim: reproduction steps, error messages, code blocks, environment / version, user-provided technical context, original outcome if already clear.
Improve: outcome focus, scope (in / out / non-goals), acceptance criteria (testable, observable). When you make assumptions because the original was silent or ambiguous, record them under ## Assumptions in the rewritten body — they're override-able by comment.
When step 1.5 found human override comments, the rewritten body is structurally different from the previous body, not a near-copy. Test: read the new body cold without seeing the comment, and ask "could I derive the override from this alone?" If no, expand the body until yes. The comment was a one-time correction; the body is the durable spec.
-
Update the body via gh issue edit $ISSUE_NUMBER --body-file <(...).
-
Update the title ONLY if the current title is genuinely not outcome-shaped (e.g. one-word, clickbait, or describes implementation). Otherwise leave it alone.
-
Update labels:
- Add
refined (persistent state marker — agent has refined this issue's body)
- Add
slice (action label — signals aw-slice to pick this up next)
- Remove
refine (the action label that triggered this run)
-
Post a brief comment (template below).
Templates
Bug template
## Outcome
<one-sentence description of the broken behavior the user wants fixed>
## Assumptions
<bulleted list of any decisions made because the original report was silent or ambiguous; omit the section entirely if none. Override-able by comment.>
## Reproduction
1. <step from the original report>
2. ...
## Expected vs actual
- **Expected:** <what should happen>
- **Actual:** <what does happen>
## Environment
- <OS, app version, relevant config from the original report>
## Acceptance criteria
- [ ] <observable test that proves the bug is fixed>
- [ ] <regression tests are added or updated>
## Out of scope
- <related issues / behaviors that are NOT part of this fix>
Enhancement (feature) template
## Outcome
<one-sentence description of the user-facing capability or improvement>
## Problem
<the user need or pain point this addresses; quote the original report where helpful>
## Assumptions
<bulleted list of any decisions made because the original report was silent or ambiguous; omit the section entirely if none. Override-able by comment.>
## Scope
### In scope
- <what this issue covers>
### Out of scope
- <related work not covered by this issue>
## Acceptance criteria
- [ ] <observable user-facing behavior>
- [ ] <regression tests cover the new path>
## Open questions
- <decisions that still need a human call; if these are blocking, `aw-slice` will create a research subtask first>
Chore template
## Outcome
<one-sentence description of the non-functional improvement (refactor / docs / tooling / dependency bump)>
## Motivation
<why now? what does this enable or unblock?>
## Assumptions
<bulleted list of any decisions made because the original report was silent or ambiguous; omit the section entirely if none. Override-able by comment.>
## Scope
### In scope
- <files / modules / packages affected>
### Out of scope
- <related work not part of this chore>
## Acceptance criteria
- [ ] <observable verification — tests still pass, no behavior change, etc.>
Output rules
- Never rewrite the body if
refined is already present. Exit silently.
- Never modify the title unless it is genuinely not outcome-shaped — most titles are fine.
- Preserve all technical details from the original report verbatim. Quote in code blocks if needed.
refined is the state marker; slice is the action label that triggers aw-slice. Both must be set after a successful run.- Assumption-and-proceed is the default; bounce back with
refine left in place only when the input is unintelligible. Humans override assumptions by comment; aw-feedback routes back here.
Comment template
Default (assumptions-and-proceed):
> *Refined automatically by the `aw-refine` skill. Reply with corrections or additional context.*
Restructured the body into the outcome-oriented `<category>` template. Reproduction steps and technical details preserved verbatim.
<IF assumptions were made>
Recorded the following assumptions in the issue body to fill silence in the original report:
- <assumption 1>
- <assumption 2>
Comment to override any assumption — `aw-feedback` will route the comment back here.
</IF>
Bounce-back (rare — unintelligible only):
> *Read by the `aw-refine` skill — could not extract a recoverable outcome.*
The original report is missing enough context that I can't form a defensible interpretation. Could you say what user behaviour this should change? A one-sentence "User should be able to X" or "X is broken: Y happens instead of Z" is enough.
Constraints from the dev process
- After this skill: issue should have
<category> + refined (state) + slice (action). The refine action label is gone.
aw-slice is the next workflow in line. It triggers on the slice label and decides per-issue whether to create a research subtask first or break straight into implementation subtasks.- There is no separate
feature-research skill — research becomes a regular subtask when aw-slice decides the parent is under-specified.
Most-relevant feedback rules for this skill
When context budget is tight, prioritise loading these rules from
.claude/feedback/ (the full set is in .claude/feedback/INDEX.md).
Universal (load for every skill):
.claude/feedback/feedback_delete_old_skills.md — Never ask the user to run commands or do mechanical steps — just do them yourself.claude/feedback/feedback_generic_voice.md — Never name the operator, contributors, or individuals when writing rules, READMEs, skill prompts, or commit messages intended to live in the repo. The text must be copy-pasteable to another repo without rewording..claude/feedback/feedback_write_feedback_to_repo.md — When saving a memory in a project that has .claude/feedback/, behavioural-correction rules (anything that should change future behaviour on the same task class) MUST go in the repo so they're visible to AW agents and travel with the project. Local ~/.claude/projects/<project-slug>/memory/ is only for project-state memories (in-flight work, branch state, scratch notes).
Specific to aw-refine:
.claude/feedback/feedback_attach_docs_to_issue.md — When a GitHub issue references docs files, ensure they are committed to the repo AND posted as collapsible comments on the issue.claude/feedback/feedback_issue_titles_plain.md — The repo follows Conventional Commits (feat(area):, fix(area):, etc.) for commit messages and PR titles, but ISSUE titles should remain plain descriptive — no verb-prefix, no scope. The verb prefix can be presumptuous at the issue stage (you don't yet know if it's a fix vs feat) and the type often drifts through triage/refine anyway.
