| name | gh-issue-specifier |
| description | Analyze a GitHub issue in depth and produce a detailed specification based on codebase analysis. Use when given a GitHub issue URL or number and asked to deeply analyze requirements, scan the repository, and write a structured spec (no code changes). |
Gh Issue Specifier
Overview
Build a deep, code-informed specification from a GitHub issue using gh CLI and targeted repository analysis. Ask clarifying questions when needed, then deliver a structured, implementation-ready spec.
Workflow
- Parse the issue target
- Accept a full GitHub issue URL or an issue number.
- Resolve owner/repo from the URL when provided.
- If only a number is provided, ask which repo to use.
- Fetch issue details via gh
- Always use
gh issue view <number> --repo <owner>/<repo>.
- Capture title, body, labels, and comments.
- Scan the codebase deeply
- Use
rg for fast discovery (types, references, UI strings, tests, configs).
- Open and read relevant files with
Get-Content.
- Trace the end-to-end flow: entry points -> services -> domain -> storage -> UI.
- Identify existing validations, error handling, localization, and logging patterns.
- Identify gaps and impacts
- What is missing relative to the issue requirements?
- Which modules and layers must change?
- What new tests are required and where?
- Identify risk areas and backward compatibility issues.
- Ask clarifying questions when needed
- Ask only the minimum set of questions to disambiguate scope, UX, or behavior.
- If no questions are needed, proceed directly to the spec.
- Produce the specification
- Provide a clear, structured spec with concrete behaviors and impacted areas.
- Do not propose code or patches.
Required Spec Format
Include these sections in order:
- Summary
- Scope (In/Out)
- Functional Requirements
- Non-Functional Requirements
- UX / Messaging / Localization
- Logging / Telemetry
- Edge Cases / Error Handling
- Affected Components (files/areas)
- Test Plan (unit/integration/e2e)
- Migration / Compatibility (if applicable)
- Open Questions
- Risks
Operational Notes
- Always use
gh issue view (no browser).
- Always use
rg for discovery before opening files.
- Prefer short file excerpts and paraphrase; avoid pasting large blocks.
- Keep the spec actionable and grounded in the current codebase.
Example Trigger Phrases
- "Analyze issue 260 and write a detailed spec"
- "Deeply analyze this GitHub issue and the codebase"
- "Create a specification from https://github.com///issues/"