triage

Move GitHub issues and external PRs through a labeled triage state machine.

Updated Mar 27, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/gmackie/agent-skills --skill triage-gmackie
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: triage
Source: https://github.com/gmackie/agent-skills/tree/main/skills/triage
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/gmackie/agent-skills --skill triage-gmackie

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve? Maintainers drown in untriaged issues and external pull requests, losing track of what needs evaluation, what is waiting on reporters, and what is ready for an agent or human to implement. This Skill imposes a consistent state machine and durable specification process on the issue tracker. ## Core Features & Use Cases - State machine triage: Categorize items as bug or enhancement and move them through needs-triage, needs-info, ready-for-agent, ready-for-human, and wontfix states, with PRs treated as issues with attached code. - Verification and grilling: Reproduce reported bugs, check out PR diffs to confirm claims, and run structured questioning rounds to flesh out vague requests before acting. - Agent briefs and out-of-scope memory: Write durable, behavioral agent briefs for delegation and record rejected feature requests in a .out-of-scope/ knowledge base to deduplicate future requests. - Use Case: A maintainer asks what needs attention; the Skill lists unlabeled, in-progress, and re-activated items, then verifies issue #42, grills the reporter for missing detail, and posts an agent-ready brief. ## Quick Start Ask the assistant to triage issue #42 and move it to the appropriate state with a brief.

Frequently Asked Questions about triage

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I triage GitHub issues with an AI agent?▼

Invoke the triage command in natural language, such as asking to look at a specific issue or show what needs attention. The Skill reads the full issue, verifies claims against the codebase, recommends a category and state, and applies labels with comments after your confirmation.

How to write an agent brief for a GitHub issue?▼

An agent brief states desired behavior, key interfaces, testable acceptance criteria, and explicit out-of-scope boundaries without referencing file paths or line numbers. The Skill posts this brief as a comment when an issue moves to ready-for-agent.

Does this triage workflow support pull requests?▼

Yes, external pull requests are treated as issues with attached code and use the same states and roles. The Skill checks out the diff, runs relevant tests to verify claims, and only surfaces external PRs during discovery, not collaborator PRs.

What happens to rejected feature requests during triage?▼

Rejected enhancements are recorded in a .out-of-scope/ directory with the decision, reasoning, and links to prior requests. Future matching issues are surfaced against these files so maintainers can confirm or reconsider the rejection.

When should an issue go to ready-for-human instead of ready-for-agent?▼

Use ready-for-human when the work requires judgment calls, external access, design decisions, or manual testing that an autonomous agent cannot perform. The Skill posts the same brief structure but notes why delegation is not possible.