name	gh-issue-comment
description	Add comments to GitHub issues using gh CLI. Provide updates, ask questions, share progress, or collaborate on issues. Use when user wants to communicate on an issue.
allowed-tools	Bash, Read, Grep
handoffs	[object Object], [object Object]

GitHub Issue Comment Skill

Add comments to GitHub issues using the gh CLI for collaboration and updates.

When to Use

User says "comment on issue #123" or "update the issue"
Providing progress updates on work
Asking questions about requirements
Sharing findings or debugging info
Notifying stakeholders of changes
Adding test results or verification

Prerequisites

Verify GitHub CLI is installed and authenticated:

gh --version
gh auth status

Execution Workflow

Step 1: Verify Issue Exists

Check issue status before commenting:

# View issue
gh issue view 123 --json number,title,state

# Ensure it exists and is accessible
if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
  echo "Error: Issue #123 not found"
  exit 1
fi

Step 2: Determine Comment Type

Choose appropriate comment format:

Progress Update:

Work status
What's been done
What's remaining
Blockers or questions

Question:

Request clarification
Ask about requirements
Seek input from team

Resolution:

Announce fix
Link to PR
Explain solution

Status Change:

Assign/unassign
Label changes
Milestone updates

Step 3: Add Comment

Simple comment:

gh issue comment 123 --body "Working on this now. Will have a fix ready by EOD."

Structured update:

gh issue comment 123 --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Progress Update

**Completed:**
- ✅ Identified root cause
- ✅ Implemented fix
- ✅ Added unit tests

**In Progress:**
- 🔄 Testing on staging environment
- 🔄 Updating documentation

**Next Steps:**
- Create PR for review
- Deploy to production

ETA: Tomorrow morning

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
EOF
)"

From file:

gh issue comment 123 --body-file update.md

Step 4: Verify Comment Posted

# View latest comments
gh issue view 123 --comments | tail -20

# Or check via JSON
gh issue view 123 --json comments \
  | jq -r '.comments[-1] | "\(.author.login): \(.body)"'

Step 5: Report to User

✓ Comment added to issue #123

Comment:

> Working on this now. Will have a fix ready by EOD.

🔗 [View Issue](https://github.com/owner/repo/issues/123)

Common Scenarios

Scenario 1: Progress Update

gh issue comment 123 --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
Quick update: I've reproduced the issue locally.

Root cause: Event listener not properly attached in Safari's strict mode.

Working on a fix now. Should have a PR ready this afternoon.
EOF
)"

Scenario 2: Ask for Clarification

gh issue comment 123 --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
@alice Quick question about the requirements:

Should the export include *all* data or just the filtered view?

Also, what should happen if the dataset is >100K rows?

Thanks!
EOF
)"

Scenario 3: Share Debug Information

ERROR_LOG=$(tail -50 /var/log/app.log)

gh issue comment 123 --body "$(cat <<EOF
Found the error in production logs:

\`\`\`
$ERROR_LOG
\`\`\`

Stack trace points to auth.ts:89. Investigating now.
EOF
)"

Scenario 4: Link to PR

PR_URL=$(gh pr create --title "Fix login bug" --body "Fixes #123")

gh issue comment 123 \
  --body "Created PR $PR_URL to fix this issue. Ready for review!"

Scenario 5: Share Test Results

TEST_OUTPUT=$(npm test | grep -A 20 "authentication")

gh issue comment 123 --body "$(cat <<EOF
Tested the fix across all browsers:

✅ Chrome 120 - PASS
✅ Firefox 121 - PASS
✅ Safari 17 - PASS
✅ Edge 119 - PASS

Test output:
\`\`\`
$TEST_OUTPUT
\`\`\`

Ready to merge!
EOF
)"

Scenario 6: Notify About Deployment

gh issue comment 123 --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
🚀 **Deployed to Production**

Version: 2.1.0
Deployed: $(date)
Deployment ID: prod-2024-01-01-15-30

Verified working in production. Closing this issue.
EOF
)"

# Then close the issue
gh issue close 123 --comment "Verified fix in production. Issue resolved."

Scenario 7: Add Checklist for Verification

gh issue comment 123 --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
Ready for testing! Please verify:

## Test Checklist
- [ ] Login works on Chrome
- [ ] Login works on Firefox
- [ ] Login works on Safari
- [ ] Login works on mobile
- [ ] Error handling works correctly
- [ ] Session persistence works

@alice @bob Can you help test?
EOF
)"

Advanced Usage

Comment with Mentions

# Notify specific users
gh issue comment 123 \
  --body "@alice @bob Please review the proposed solution above"

Comment with Code Suggestions

gh issue comment 123 --body '$(cat <<'"'"'EOF'"'"'
Here's a potential fix:

```typescript
// Instead of:
addEventListener("click", handler);

// Use:
element.addEventListener("click", handler, false);

This ensures compatibility with Safari strict mode. EOF )'


### Add Comment from Template

```bash
# Create comment template
cat > comment-template.md <<'EOF'
## Update from @{user}

**Status:** {status}
**Progress:** {progress}%
**ETA:** {eta}

**Notes:**
{notes}

**Blockers:**
{blockers}
EOF

# Fill template
sed -e "s/{user}/$USER/" \
    -e "s/{status}/In Progress/" \
    -e "s/{progress}/75/" \
    -e "s/{eta}/Tomorrow/" \
    -e "s/{notes}/Almost done/" \
    -e "s/{blockers}/None/" \
    comment-template.md > filled-comment.md

# Post comment
gh issue comment 123 --body-file filled-comment.md

Automated Status Comments

# Auto-comment when CI passes
gh pr view 234 --json statusCheckRollup \
  | jq -r '.statusCheckRollup[] | select(.conclusion == "SUCCESS")' \
  && gh issue comment 123 --body "✅ All CI checks passed for PR #234"

Comment with Metrics

# Add performance metrics
gh issue comment 123 --body "$(cat <<EOF
## Performance Test Results

Before fix:
- Load time: 3.2s
- Memory: 145MB

After fix:
- Load time: 1.1s (66% improvement)
- Memory: 98MB (32% reduction)

Significant performance improvement! 🎉
EOF
)"

Threading and Replies

# Get comment ID to reply to
COMMENT_ID=$(gh issue view 123 --json comments \
  | jq -r '.comments[] | select(.author.login == "alice") | .id' \
  | head -1)

# Reply to specific comment (requires API)
gh api repos/:owner/:repo/issues/comments/$COMMENT_ID/replies \
  -f body="@alice Good question! Here's my thinking..."

Comment Best Practices

Good Comment Structure

## [Type]: Brief Title

**Context/Background:**

- Relevant information
- Links to related items

**Details:**

- Main content
- Code blocks
- Screenshots

**Action Items:**

- [ ] Task 1
- [ ] Task 2

**Questions/Blockers:**

- Any open questions
- Dependencies

@mentions if needed

Effective Updates

gh issue comment 123 --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## 🔄 Weekly Update

**This Week:**
- Completed authentication refactor
- Added 15 new tests
- Fixed 3 edge cases

**Next Week:**
- Code review
- Documentation update
- Deploy to staging

**Blockers:**
None currently

**Questions:**
@alice - Can you review the auth changes?
EOF
)"

Tips

Be specific: Include details, don't just say "working on it"
Use formatting: Use headers, lists, code blocks for readability
Add context: Link to related PRs, commits, or docs
Mention stakeholders: Use @mentions to notify relevant people
Include evidence: Add logs, screenshots, test results
Track progress: Use checklists for multi-step work
Set expectations: Include ETAs when appropriate
Ask clear questions: Make it easy for others to help

Error Handling

Error: "Issue not found"

Cause: Issue doesn't exist or no access
Solution: Verify issue number with gh issue list

Error: "Not authorized"

Cause: Not authenticated or no repository access
Solution: Run gh auth login

Error: "Body required"

Cause: Empty comment body
Solution: Provide comment text with --body or --body-file

Error: "GraphQL error"

Cause: API rate limit or network issue
Solution: Wait and retry

Best Practices

Update regularly: Keep stakeholders informed of progress
Be concise: Get to the point quickly
Format well: Use markdown for readability
Include evidence: Add logs, screenshots, metrics
Tag relevant people: Use @mentions appropriately
Link to context: Reference PRs, commits, docs
Use checklists: Track multi-step work
Set expectations: Provide ETAs when possible
Ask clear questions: Make it easy to get answers
Follow up: Close the loop on questions and requests

Comment Templates

Progress Update Template

## Progress Update

**Completed:**

- Item 1
- Item 2

**In Progress:**

- Item 3

**Next Steps:**

- Item 4

**Blockers:**
None

**ETA:** [date/time]

Bug Investigation Template

## Investigation Findings

**Root Cause:**
[Description]

**Affected Versions:**

- Version X
- Version Y

**Proposed Fix:**
[Solution approach]

**Testing Plan:**

- [ ] Test 1
- [ ] Test 2

Question Template

## Question

**Context:**
[Background information]

**Question:**
[Specific question]

**Why I'm Asking:**
[Rationale]

@[relevant-person] - Could you help with this?

Related Skills

gh-issue-view - View issue and comments
gh-issue-create - Create new issues
gh-issue-edit - Edit issue metadata
gh-issue-close - Close resolved issues

Limitations

Cannot edit or delete comments via gh issue comment (use web UI or API)
Cannot react to comments (use web UI)
Limited formatting in CLI (no images, only markdown)
Cannot create comment threads/replies easily via CLI

gh-issue-comment

Install Skill

SKILL.md