GitHub CLI — issues, milestones, and discussion for analysis

Use gh to work with GitHub issues: first run an interactive check—if gh is not installed, stop, ask whether the user wants installation guidance (see the consultative pattern in 112-java-maven-plugins, Maven Wrapper step), wait for an answer, then continue. When gh is available, confirm auth, list issues with optional milestone filters, render markdown tables from --json output, load full issue bodies and comment threads for analysis, and when the user wants user stories plus Gherkin, chain to @014-agile-user-story using issue content as source material for the interactive questionnaire.

What is covered in this Skill?

• Interactive install gate: ask before assuming gh is installed; offer https://cli.github.com/ and OS hints when the user agrees
• Install/auth checks (gh --version, gh auth status, gh auth login)
• Repository context (--repo, inferred from git remote)
• Issue lists: states, limits, milestone filter, gh issue list --json for tabular output
• Milestone discovery via gh api when titles are unknown
• Deep reads: gh issue view with --json (body, comments) or --comments

Constraints

Do not fabricate issue data; use only gh output (or explicitly agreed public REST API responses). Never print tokens or secrets.

• INTERACTIVE GATE: If gh is missing, stop, ask whether the user wants installation guidance, wait—do not skip to issue listing
• FIRST (after gate): Verify gh is available before issuing subcommands
• TABLES: Prefer --json + markdown pipe tables for issue list summaries
• THREAD: For analysis, include body and all comments (or explicitly summarize with omissions noted)

When to use this skill

• gh issue list
• List GitHub issues
• Issues in milestone
• GitHub CLI issues
• gh issue view comments

Workflow

1. Run interactive install gate

Check gh --version; if missing, stop and ask whether the user wants installation guidance before any issue operations.

2. Verify authentication and repository context

Confirm gh auth status, authenticate if needed, and establish target repository context via --repo or git remote.

3. List issues and milestones

Retrieve issues (optionally by milestone/state) using gh issue list --json and present summaries as markdown pipe tables.

4. Load full thread for analysis

Read issue body and all comments via gh issue view --json or --comments, then provide evidence-based analysis.

5. Chain to user story workflow when requested

When user asks for user stories and Gherkin from issues, hand off to @014-agile-user-story using GitHub-sourced content.

Reference

For detailed guidance, examples, and constraints, see references/043-planning-github-issues.md.