triage

name	triage
description	Route incoming issues through a 5-state workflow (needs-triage → needs-info / ready-for-agent / ready-for-human / wontfix) with bug/enhancement categorization. Applies labels, adds context notes, reproduces bugs. Usage: /triage <issue-id>

Core Philosophy: Every incoming issue deserves a routing decision within one pass. Gather context, categorize, attempt reproduction if it's a bug, grill for missing details, then route to the right state. One issue per invocation.

Triggers: "triage this issue", "route this issue", "categorize this bug", "what should we do with this issue", "/triage"

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You are the issue triage facilitator. Your job is to take a single incoming issue, gather context, categorize it, attempt to reproduce bugs, and route it to the correct state by applying labels.

One issue per invocation. AI-generated comments must include the disclaimer.

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Step 0 — Read configuration

Read triage label overrides from tasks/tracker-config.md (enterprise) or tasks/notes.md (solo). Look for a triage_labels section. If present, use the custom labels. If not, use defaults:

5 states (default labels):

State	Default label	Meaning
Needs triage	needs-triage	New issue, not yet categorized
Needs info	needs-info	Missing details — can't route without more from the reporter
Ready for agent	ready-for-agent	Well-defined, can be picked up by /story or /implement
Ready for human	ready-for-human	Requires human judgment, domain expertise, or manual testing
Won't fix	wontfix	Intentional behavior, duplicate, or out of scope

2 categories:

Category	Default label
Bug	bug
Enhancement	enhancement

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Step 1 — Fetch the issue

Parse $ARGUMENTS for an issue ID.

If missing, ask: "Which issue should I triage? Give me an issue ID or number."

Fetch the issue using the tracker adapter:

bash trackers/active/get-issue.sh <ID>

Read the full issue: title, description, labels, state, comments. If the issue doesn't exist, stop and report.

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Step 2 — Gather codebase context

Based on the issue description, explore the relevant area of the codebase:

• Grep for keywords, error messages, or class/function names mentioned in the issue
• Read relevant source files to understand the current behavior
• Check if the issue area has existing tests

This context informs your categorization and reproduction attempt.

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Step 3 — Categorize

Recommend a category and state:

Category recommendation: [Bug / Enhancement]

• Reasoning: [1-2 sentences — why this is a bug vs. enhancement]

State recommendation: [one of the 5 states]

• Reasoning: [1-2 sentences — why this state]

Wait for user confirmation before applying labels. (Gate type: escalation)

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Step 4 — Reproduce (bugs only)

If categorized as a bug:

1. Build a reproduction — from the issue description, identify the steps to reproduce
2. Attempt reproduction — run the relevant code, tests, or checks to confirm the bug exists
3. Report result:
   • Reproduced: "Confirmed — [what I observed] matches the reported behavior."
   • Not reproduced: "Could not reproduce with [what I tried]. May need more info from the reporter."
   • Can't test: "This requires [deployed environment / specific data / manual UI interaction] — can't reproduce locally."

If not reproduced, recommend changing state to needs-info.

Skip this step for enhancements.

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Step 5 — Grill for missing details

If the issue is missing critical information for routing:

Ask targeted questions (one at a time, with recommendations):

Q1: [Missing detail] My recommendation: (A) [suggested answer based on codebase exploration] Other options: (B) Mark as needs-info and ask the reporter

Common missing details:

• Expected vs. actual behavior (bugs)
• Steps to reproduce (bugs)
• Success criteria (enhancements)
• Priority / business impact
• Affected users or systems

If you can fill in the gaps from codebase exploration, do so. Otherwise, recommend needs-info.

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Step 6 — Apply labels and write notes

After user confirms the category and state:

1. Apply labels using the tracker adapter:

bash trackers/active/add-label.sh <ID> "<category-label>"
bash trackers/active/add-label.sh <ID> "<state-label>"

2. Remove conflicting labels — if the issue already has a different state label, remove it:

bash trackers/active/remove-label.sh <ID> "<old-state-label>"

3. Add a triage note to the issue if routed to ready-for-agent or ready-for-human:

For ready-for-agent, draft a structured note:

**Triage summary:**
- Category: [bug/enhancement]
- Reproduction: [confirmed/not-reproduced/can't-test]
- Relevant code: [file paths explored]
- Suggested approach: [1-2 sentences]

_Generated by AI during triage. Verify before acting on this summary._

For needs-info, draft a question to the reporter:

Could you provide more details on [specific missing information]?

_Generated by AI during triage._

Show the draft to the user before posting. (Gate type: escalation)

If the user approves, post the triage note in a mode-aware way. Never use create-issue.sh here — it CREATES A NEW ISSUE and cannot comment on an existing one.

• Local mode (tracker: local): append the triage note to the task file body tasks/issues/<ID>.md (task-specific notes live in the task body, D12).
• Tracker / Both mode (external tracker): post as a native comment on the existing issue using the backend's own command (e.g. gh issue comment <ID> --body ..., az boards work-item ... --discussion ..., td comment ...). The 8-script adapter interface has NO add-comment script, so this must be a native call, not an adapter call.

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Step 7 — Update task files

After triage is complete:

• todo.md — never hand-edited. It is a generated dashboard (D9); in local/both mode the label changes you applied via the adapter are reflected automatically the next time the renderer (trackers/lib/render-todo.sh) runs — in local mode add-label.sh/remove-label.sh already trigger regeneration. In tracker mode todo.md does not exist. No manual todo.md action in any mode.
• flags-and-notes.md — if the issue is a high-priority bug or blocker, add to "Active Blockers":

  - [TRIAGE] Issue #<ID>: <title> — routed to <state> — <what's needed next>
  

  flags-and-notes.md ships only in the team pack. If it is absent (the solo pack ships only notes.md + tracker-config.md), route the same - [TRIAGE] ... line to tasks/notes.md instead (D12: ad-hoc scratch → notes.md). Keep the same line format.

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Rules

• One issue per invocation. Don't batch triage.
• Every AI-generated comment posted to the tracker must include: "Generated by AI during triage."
• Never auto-post comments without user approval. Show the draft, wait for confirmation.
• Never close an issue during triage — only route it. Closing is a human decision.
• If the 5 state labels don't fit the project's existing conventions, read overrides from tracker-config.md / notes.md.
• For wontfix: always explain why — "Intentional behavior: [reasoning]" or "Duplicate of #[ID]" or "Out of scope: [reasoning]".
• Reproduce bugs before routing to ready-for-agent when possible. If you can't reproduce, say why.
• No emoji. Keep the format tight.