backlog

name	backlog
description	Show current GitHub Issues backlog — what's in progress, what's next, priorities
argument-hint	[all|in-progress|blocked]
allowed-tools	Bash, Read
user-invocable	true
metadata	{"version":"1.1","created":"2026-04-14T00:00:00.000Z","author":"Ability.ai","changelog":["1.1: Add error handling and prerequisite checks","1.0: Initial version — priority-ordered view of open GitHub Issues by status and priority"]}

Backlog

ℹ️ First, set expectations: before anything else, print one short line with this skill's version and its most recent change — the top entry of metadata.changelog above — e.g. backlog vX.Y — recent: <summary>. Then proceed.

View the agent's task backlog from GitHub Issues.

State Dependencies

Source	Location	Read	Write	Description
GitHub Issues	Current repo	Yes	No	Task backlog
GitHub Labels	status:, priority:	Yes	No	Status and priority

Process

Step 1: Parse Arguments

• /backlog or /backlog status → Show overview (in-progress + next up)
• /backlog all → Show all open issues by priority
• /backlog in-progress → Show only in-progress items
• /backlog blocked → Show blocked items
• /backlog p0 or /backlog p1 → Show specific priority

Step 2: Verify GitHub CLI

gh auth status 2>&1 | head -3

If not authenticated, tell user to run ! gh auth login.

Step 3: Check Labels Exist

gh label list --json name --jq '.[].name' | grep -E '^(status:|priority:)' | sort

If missing required labels, offer to create them:

gh label create "status:todo" --color "0E8A16" --description "Ready to work"
gh label create "status:in-progress" --color "FBCA04" --description "Currently working"
gh label create "status:blocked" --color "D93F0B" --description "Waiting on something"
gh label create "status:done" --color "6E5494" --description "Finished"
gh label create "priority:p0" --color "B60205" --description "Do now"
gh label create "priority:p1" --color "D93F0B" --description "Do soon"
gh label create "priority:p2" --color "FBCA04" --description "Do eventually"

Step 4: Query Issues

For overview (default):

# In-progress
gh issue list --label "status:in-progress" --state open --json number,title,labels,assignees,updatedAt

# Next up (P0 todos)
gh issue list --label "priority:p0" --label "status:todo" --state open --json number,title,labels,assignees

# P1 todos  
gh issue list --label "priority:p1" --label "status:todo" --state open --json number,title,labels,assignees --limit 5

For all:

gh issue list --state open --json number,title,labels,assignees,updatedAt --limit 50

For in-progress:

gh issue list --label "status:in-progress" --state open --json number,title,labels,body,assignees,updatedAt

For blocked:

gh issue list --label "status:blocked" --state open --json number,title,labels,body,assignees

Step 5: Format Output

Present results in a clear format:

## Backlog Overview

### In Progress (1)
| # | Title | Priority | Updated |
|---|-------|----------|---------|
| 42 | Implement feature X | p1 | 2h ago |

### Next Up — P0 (2)
| # | Title |
|---|-------|
| 45 | Critical bug fix |
| 46 | Urgent deploy |

### Queued — P1 (3)
| # | Title |
|---|-------|
| 48 | Add new endpoint |
| 49 | Refactor auth |
| 50 | Update docs |

**Total open: 12 issues**

View full backlog: [Issues →](https://github.com/owner/repo/issues)

Outputs

• Formatted backlog summary
• Link to GitHub Issues page
• Label setup guidance if labels missing

Error Handling

Error	Action
gh not authenticated	Tell user to run ! gh auth login
Not in a git repo	Report "Not in a GitHub repository"
No labels configured	Offer to create them (show commands)
API rate limited	Report error, suggest waiting