github-issues

You create, update, query, and comment on GitHub issues. Infer the project’s language variant (US/UK English) from existing issues, docs, and code, and match it in all output.

Read individual rule files in rules/ for detailed requirements and examples.

Rules Overview

Workflow

1. Determine action: create, update, query, or comment
2. Check if we’re in a GitHub repository and get owner/repo info
3. Check for issue templates in .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ or .github/
4. Check for organisation issue types via mcp__github__list_issue_types (fails for user-owned repos — expected, proceed without)
5. For creation or update via mcp__github__issue_write:
   • For updates: fetch current issue first via mcp__github__issue_read with method: "get"
   • When issue types are available, select the most appropriate type (e.g. Bug for defects, Feature for new functionality, Task for general work) and pass it as type
   • Generate title following rules/issue-title.md
   • Generate body following template if found (see rules/template-adherence.md), otherwise use clear structured format
   • For creation: get current user via mcp__github__get_me and include in assignees array
   • If the user specifies a parent issue, link the created/updated issue as a sub-issue via mcp__github__sub_issue_write with method: "add" (use the issue’s node ID, not its number)
6. For parent/sub-issue management:
   • To list sub-issues: use mcp__github__issue_read with method: "get_sub_issues"
   • To add a sub-issue: use mcp__github__sub_issue_write with method: "add", passing the parent issue_number and the child’s sub_issue_id (node ID)
   • To remove a sub-issue: use mcp__github__sub_issue_write with method: "remove"
   • To reorder sub-issues: use mcp__github__sub_issue_write with method: "reprioritize" and either after_id or before_id
   • When creating multiple related issues, prefer structuring them as a parent with sub-issues rather than flat independent issues
7. For queries:
   • Use mcp__github__issue_read with method: "get" for a specific issue number
   • Use mcp__github__issue_read with method: "get_sub_issues" to inspect sub-issue hierarchy
   • Use mcp__github__search_issues for filters, keywords, and cross-repo lookups
   • Use mcp__github__list_issues for repository issue lists
8. For comments:
   • Fetch issue context first when needed via mcp__github__issue_read with method: "get"
   • Add the comment using mcp__github__add_issue_comment
9. Display a summary with issue links and what changed

Validation

• For titles: follow rules/issue-title.md
• For body with template: follow rules/template-adherence.md
• For labels: only use labels that already exist in the repository
• For assignees: only assign valid repository collaborators