gh-issue-writer

Draft clear, actionable GitHub issues from a brief description, error message, or idea. Covers bug reports, feature requests, enhancements, and tasks.

Step 1 — Understand the Input

Ask (or infer from context):

1. What type of issue? Bug | Feature Request | Enhancement | Task | Question
2. What repo? (detect from git remote get-url origin if in a git dir, otherwise ask)
3. What happened / what's wanted? (the raw description, error, or idea)
4. Optional: Labels, assignee, milestone, environment details

If the user gives you enough context, proceed without asking — draft and show for confirmation.

Step 2 — Draft the Issue

Use the appropriate template below. Fill every field; omit sections only if genuinely not applicable.

Bug Report

## Description
\x3C!-- Clear, one-paragraph summary of the problem. -->

## Steps to Reproduce
1.
2.
3.

## Expected Behavior
\x3C!-- What should have happened? -->

## Actual Behavior
\x3C!-- What actually happened? Include error messages verbatim. -->

## Environment
- OS:
- Browser / Runtime / Version:
- Relevant config or dependencies:

## Logs / Screenshots
\x3C!-- Paste relevant logs, stack traces, or attach screenshots. -->

## Additional Context
\x3C!-- Anything else that might help: related issues, recent changes, workarounds tried. -->

Feature Request

## Problem / Motivation
\x3C!-- What problem does this solve? Why does it matter? -->

## Proposed Solution
\x3C!-- Describe the feature clearly. What would it look like? How would it work? -->

## Alternatives Considered
\x3C!-- Other approaches you thought about and why you ruled them out. -->

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ]
- [ ]

## Additional Context
\x3C!-- Mockups, related issues, prior art, links. -->

Enhancement (improvement to existing behavior)

## Current Behavior
\x3C!-- What does it do now? -->

## Desired Behavior
\x3C!-- What should it do instead? -->

## Why This Matters
\x3C!-- Impact: who benefits, how much, how often? -->

## Suggested Implementation
\x3C!-- Optional: any technical ideas or constraints. -->

Task / Chore

## What needs to be done
\x3C!-- Clear, specific description of the work. -->

## Why / Context
\x3C!-- Why is this needed now? What does it unblock? -->

## Definition of Done
- [ ]
- [ ]

Step 3 — Write a Strong Title

Title format by type:

Rules:

• Under 72 characters
• No vague words ("fix thing", "update stuff")
• Specific: what + where, not just what

Step 4 — Suggest Labels & Metadata

Recommend labels based on type and content:

Also suggest:

• Assignee: who owns this area of the codebase?
• Milestone: which release or sprint does this target?

Step 5 — Present for Review

Show the complete draft:

**Title:** \x3Ctitle>

**Type:** Bug / Feature / Enhancement / Task
**Suggested labels:** bug, priority:high
**Suggested assignee:** (if known)

---
\x3Cfull issue body>
---

Ask: "Does this look right? I can adjust the title, add details, or submit it directly."

Step 6 — Optional: Submit

Prerequisites for submission:

• gh CLI (authenticated via gh auth login) — preferred path
• GH_TOKEN env var — required for the curl API fallback
• git — used to detect the repo from git remote get-url origin

Drafting (Steps 1–5) works without any of these.

If the user says "submit", "create it", "go ahead", or similar:

Via GitHub CLI (preferred)

gh issue create \
  --repo owner/repo \
  --title "\x3Ctitle>" \
  --body "\x3Cbody>" \
  --label "bug,priority:high" \
  --assignee "@me"

Via GitHub API (fallback if gh isn't available)

curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GH_TOKEN" \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues \
  -d '{
    "title": "\x3Ctitle>",
    "body": "\x3Cbody>",
    "labels": ["bug"],
    "assignees": []
  }'

On success, output the issue URL. On error, show the response and offer to retry.

Quality Checklist

Before presenting the draft, verify:

• Title is specific and under 72 chars
• For bugs: repro steps are numbered and minimal
• Expected vs actual behavior is clearly separated
• Environment section filled (OS, version, runtime)
• No vague language ("sometimes", "doesn't work", "weird behavior")
• Logs/errors quoted verbatim, not paraphrased
• Ends with a clear ask or next step

Tips for Better Issues

Do:

• Quote error messages exactly — don't summarize them
• Include the minimal repro — what's the smallest thing that triggers the bug?
• Link related issues with #\x3Cnumber>
• Mention what you've already tried

Don't:

• "Works on my machine" without environment details
• Multiple unrelated problems in one issue
• Vague titles like "Login broken" or "Feature request"
• Screenshot of code instead of pasted text

See Also

• GitHub's official issue template docs: https://docs.github.com/en/communities/using-templates-to-encourage-useful-issues-and-pull-requests
• Set up templates: create .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ in your repo