start

name	start
description	Start work on an existing GitHub issue — create an issue-linked branch (via gh issue develop) and a git worktree, off a chosen base. Use when the user asks to start/begin work on an issue, or invokes /start <issue#> [--base <branch>].
model	haiku
effort	low
allowed-tools	Bash(gh issue view:*), Bash(gh issue develop:*), Bash(git rev-parse:*), Bash(git fetch:*), Bash(git worktree:*)

Begin work on an existing GitHub issue. The user provides the issue number <n> and an optional --base <branch>.

First, read the issue: gh issue view <n> --json number,title,body,labels,issueType (fall back to without issueType if that field is unsupported). Summarize it (title, type, what needs doing).

Base branch: we develop on both main and the previous-version branch (e.g. 5.1). Default <base> = main; if the user passed --base <branch> or named one (e.g. "from 5.1"), use that. Fork point, review diff, and PR target all follow <base>.

Steps:

1. Derive the branch type prefix from the issue type (Feature→feature, Bug→bug, Task→task; default task) and a kebab-case <slug> from the title. Branch name <branch>: base = main → <type>/<n>-<slug>; base ≠ main → <type>/<base>/<n>-<slug>.
2. Create the linked branch off <base> (populates the issue's Development field) — do not check it out:

   gh issue develop <n> --base <base> --name "<branch>"
   

3. Create a git worktree for it (use the last segment <n>-<slug> as the flat dir name):

   git fetch origin "<branch>"
   git worktree add ".claude/worktrees/<n>-<slug>" "<branch>"
   

4. Confirm the branch name and the worktree path (work happens there).