GitHub Issue Solve Skill

Summary

Use this skill when you need to turn a GitHub issue into a concrete code change and publish the result as a pull request.

When To Use

• Fixing a GitHub issue end-to-end
• Collecting issue context and comments with raw gh commands
• Implementing code changes and opening or updating a PR

Do Not Use

• Reviewing an existing PR without making changes
• Replying to review feedback on an existing PR
• Project-wide planning or backlog triage

Prerequisites

• gh CLI authentication is required.
• GITHUB_TOKEN/GH_TOKEN must allow issue/PR read-write operations.

Runtime Paths

• GITHUB_OUTPUT_DIR: output artifacts directory (caller-provided preferred; otherwise temp dir).
• GITHUB_CONTEXT_DIR: context directory (default ${GITHUB_OUTPUT_DIR}/github-context).

Inputs (Manifest-First)

Preferred input when already available:

• ${GITHUB_CONTEXT_DIR}/manifest.json

Optional inputs:

• Any artifact listed as status=present in manifest.artifacts[].

If no manifest is provided, collect issue metadata and comments directly with gh:

gh issue view <issue_number> --repo <owner/repo> --json number,title,body,state,url,author,createdAt,updatedAt,labels
gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/issues/<issue_number>/comments --paginate

Do not assume fixed file names under github/. Resolve usable inputs from manifest.artifacts[] by id/path/status/description.

Workflow

1. Collect context

• If ${GITHUB_CONTEXT_DIR}/manifest.json exists, use it.
• Otherwise, collect the issue body and comments directly with gh.

2. Analyze and implement

• Extract acceptance criteria and constraints from issue metadata and discussion.
• Implement minimal complete changes for the requested outcome.
• Use deterministic branch naming (feature/issue-<number> or fix/issue-<number>).
• Run relevant verification commands before publish.

3. Commit and push

• Commit only intentional changes.
• Push branch to remote before PR publish.

4. Publish PR

Use raw gh commands with --body-file:

gh pr create --repo <owner/repo> --title "<title>" --body-file <summary.md> --head <branch> --base <base>
gh pr edit <pr_number> --repo <owner/repo> --title "<title>" --body-file <summary.md>

Publish completion is mandatory; do not report success without a real PR side effect.

5. Finalize outputs

Required outputs under ${GITHUB_OUTPUT_DIR}:

• summary.md
• manifest.json

Delivery Standards

• Keep scope aligned with issue intent; avoid unrelated refactors.
• State assumptions explicitly when requirements are ambiguous.
• Include concrete verification results (commands + outcomes).
• If full verification is impossible, report what was attempted and why it is incomplete.

Output Contract

summary.md

Must include:

• issue reference and interpreted requirements
• key code changes
• verification performed and outcomes
• PR publish result (pr_number, pr_url, branch)
• explicit blockers or follow-ups (if any)

manifest.json

Execution metadata for this skill, including:

• provider: "github-issue-solve"
• issue reference
• branch
• publish result fields (pr_number, pr_url)
• status (completed|failed)

Failure Rules

Mark run as failed if any of the following is true:

• no meaningful code change was produced for the issue intent
• commit/push was not completed
• PR create/update failed or PR URL cannot be verified

Do not report success from artifacts alone.