gh-issues
Fetch GitHub issues, select candidates, spawn background fix agents, open PRs, and optionally process PR review comments.
Security Assessment
Detected risks:
About gh-issues
The gh-issues skill automates the entire workflow from GitHub issue discovery to pull request creation and review handling. It fetches open issues from a repository based on configurable filters, intelligently selects candidates that don't already have associated pull requests or branches, and spawns background worker agents to implement fixes autonomously. Each worker creates a dedicated branch, implements the fix, runs tests, and opens a pull request back to the source repository, complete with proper linking to the original issue.
Key capabilities include flexible filtering by labels, milestones, assignees, and issue state, fork-based workflows for contributors without write access to the main repository, and intelligent duplicate prevention to avoid redundant work. The skill maintains claim files to track active work and prevent multiple agents from attempting the same fix simultaneously. It supports both interactive and automated modes, with watch functionality for continuous monitoring and processing of new issues and PR review comments.
This skill is designed for maintainers managing busy repositories, teams implementing automated issue triage and resolution, and organizations wanting to reduce manual overhead in their development workflow. It's particularly valuable for repositories with well-defined issue templates and consistent bug reports, where automation can handle routine fixes while human developers focus on complex features. The skill integrates seamlessly with existing GitHub workflows through the GitHub CLI and respects repository permissions and branch protection rules.
FAQ
What GitHub permissions and tools are required?
You need the GitHub CLI (gh) and git installed, plus a GitHub personal access token (GH_TOKEN) with repo access. The skill checks authentication status before proceeding and will prompt you to configure access if missing.
How does the skill prevent duplicate work on the same issue?
Before processing an issue, the skill checks for existing open PRs referencing that issue, existing branches with the expected naming pattern, and active claims in the local claim file. Claims expire after 2 hours to handle interrupted or failed attempts.
Can I use this with repositories I don't have write access to?
Yes, use the --fork option to specify your fork repository. The skill will push branches to your fork and create pull requests back to the source repository, following the standard open-source contribution workflow.
What happens in watch mode?
With --watch, the skill continuously polls for new issues and PR review comments at the specified interval (default 5 minutes). It processes new candidates automatically without requiring repeated invocation.
How many issues can be processed simultaneously?
The skill launches up to 8 background workers in parallel. Each worker operates independently on a separate issue, creating its own branch and pull request.
Install gh-issues
Quick Setup:
- Copy the skill folder to
.claude/skills/ - Claude will automatically detect and use the skill
Repository
steipete/clawdis