Label Skill

Label management operations for GitLab using the glab CLI.

Quick Reference

Operation	Command	Risk
List labels	`glab label list`	-
Create label	`glab label create <name>`	⚠️

Risk Legend: - Safe | ⚠️ Caution | ⚠️⚠️ Warning | ⚠️⚠️⚠️ Danger

When to Use This Skill

ALWAYS use when:

User wants to manage project labels
User mentions "label", "tag" (for categorization), "category"
User wants to organize issues or MRs

NEVER use when:

User wants to apply labels to issues/MRs (use gitlab-issue or gitlab-mr)
User wants to manage git tags (use git commands or gitlab-release)

Available Commands

List Labels

glab label list [options]

Options:

Flag	Description
`-P, --per-page=<n>`	Results per page
`--all`	Get all labels

Examples:

# List all project labels
glab label list

# List with more results
glab label list --per-page=100

Create Label

glab label create <name> [options]

Options:

Flag	Description
`-c, --color=<color>`	Label color (hex format, e.g., #ff0000)
`-d, --description=<desc>`	Label description

Examples:

# Create label with default color
glab label create "needs-review"

# Create label with color
glab label create "bug" -c "#ff0000"

# Create label with color and description
glab label create "priority::high" \
  -c "#dc3545" \
  -d "High priority items requiring immediate attention"

# Create scoped label
glab label create "status::in-progress" \
  -c "#ffc107" \
  -d "Work in progress"

Common Label Patterns

Priority Labels

glab label create "priority::critical" -c "#dc3545" -d "Must fix immediately"
glab label create "priority::high" -c "#fd7e14" -d "Fix in current sprint"
glab label create "priority::medium" -c "#ffc107" -d "Fix soon"
glab label create "priority::low" -c "#28a745" -d "Nice to have"

Type Labels

glab label create "type::bug" -c "#d73a4a" -d "Something isn't working"
glab label create "type::feature" -c "#0366d6" -d "New feature request"
glab label create "type::docs" -c "#0075ca" -d "Documentation"
glab label create "type::refactor" -c "#6f42c1" -d "Code refactoring"

Status Labels

glab label create "status::backlog" -c "#6c757d" -d "In backlog"
glab label create "status::ready" -c "#17a2b8" -d "Ready to start"
glab label create "status::in-progress" -c "#ffc107" -d "Work in progress"
glab label create "status::review" -c "#007bff" -d "In review"
glab label create "status::done" -c "#28a745" -d "Completed"

Workflow Labels

glab label create "needs-review" -c "#d876e3" -d "Needs code review"
glab label create "needs-design" -c "#fbca04" -d "Needs design input"
glab label create "blocked" -c "#b60205" -d "Blocked by external dependency"
glab label create "help-wanted" -c "#008672" -d "Looking for contributors"

GitLab Scoped Labels

GitLab supports scoped labels using the :: separator:

priority::high
status::in-progress
type::bug

Only one label per scope can be applied to an issue/MR, making them mutually exclusive.

Common Workflows

Workflow 1: Set Up New Project Labels

# Create priority labels
glab label create "priority::critical" -c "#dc3545"
glab label create "priority::high" -c "#fd7e14"
glab label create "priority::medium" -c "#ffc107"
glab label create "priority::low" -c "#28a745"

# Create type labels
glab label create "type::bug" -c "#d73a4a"
glab label create "type::feature" -c "#0366d6"
glab label create "type::docs" -c "#0075ca"

Workflow 2: Apply Labels to Issues

# List available labels
glab label list

# Create issue with labels
glab issue create -t "Fix login bug" -l "type::bug,priority::high"

# Update issue labels
glab issue update 42 -l "status::in-progress"

Color Reference

Common colors for labels:

Color	Hex	Use For
Red	`#dc3545`	Bugs, critical, blocked
Orange	`#fd7e14`	High priority, warning
Yellow	`#ffc107`	Medium priority, in-progress
Green	`#28a745`	Done, low priority, good first issue
Blue	`#007bff`	Features, info, review
Purple	`#6f42c1`	Refactor, enhancement
Gray	`#6c757d`	Backlog, wontfix

Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Solution
Authentication failed	Invalid/expired token	Run `glab auth login`
Label already exists	Duplicate name	Use different name or update existing
Invalid color	Wrong format	Use hex format: #RRGGBB
Permission denied	Not maintainer	Need maintainer+ role

gitlab-label