Start Issue Skill

Assists with starting work on a GitHub issue.

IMPORTANT: When using this skill, announce to the user: "Using start-issue skill to begin work on an issue."

Workflow

1. View Issue Details

# View issue content
gh issue view [ISSUE_NUMBER]

# Check labels
gh issue view [ISSUE_NUMBER] --json labels -q '.labels[].name'

2. Verify Clean State

# Ensure on main branch with clean state
git checkout main
git pull
git status

3. Create Branch

Determine prefix based on labels:

Branch naming: prefix/issue-title-in-kebab-case

# Example
git checkout -b feature/implement-list-format

Branch naming rules:

• Use kebab-case (lowercase with hyphens)
• Keep it concise but descriptive
• Derived from issue title
• Examples:
  • feature/implement-list-format
  • fix/memory-leak-in-cache
  • chore/update-dependencies

4. Implementation Guide

After creating the branch:

1. Summarize the issue - Provide a brief overview of what needs to be implemented
2. Identify key files - If the issue specifies files to modify, list them
3. Outline implementation steps - Break down the task into actionable steps
4. Note test requirements - Highlight any testing needs

5. Next Steps

After implementation is complete, guide the user to:

1. Commit changes - Use commit skill
2. Create PR - Use create-pr skill
3. Merge PR - Use merge-pr skill (after CI passes)

Example Workflow

# 1. View issue
gh issue view 42

# 2. Check labels
gh issue view 42 --json labels -q '.labels[].name'
# Output: enhancement

# 3. Ensure clean state
git checkout main
git pull

# 4. Create branch (prefix based on label)
git checkout -b feature/add-dark-mode

# 5. Begin implementation...

Key Rules

• Always start from main branch with latest changes
• Use kebab-case for branch names
• Derive branch name from issue title - keep it concise
• Check labels to determine appropriate prefix
• Never include AI attribution in any output