skillsaw Issue Triage

SkillDev tools

Triage a GitHub issue filed against skillsaw — classify it (bug, feature, docs, question, other), verify its claims against the codebase, enrich it with missing details, and post one structured triage comment. Use when triaging and labeling incoming issues, not to fix them.

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the skillsaw Issue Triage skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by stbenjam/skillsaw in .agents/skills/skillsaw-issue-triage/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

Triage a single open issue on the skillsaw linter. Check what kind of issue it is, check whether its claims hold up against the actual code, fill in the details it is missing, review the evidence, and leave one triage comment. This skill triages issues — never fix them here (that job belongs to skillsaw-issue-solver).

Read the detailed evaluation checklist for each classification in references/, and read only the checklist for the class the issue falls into (progressive disclosure). Keep this file lean and pull the checklist in on demand.

Step 1 — Read the Issue

Run this for the issue number you were given:

gh issue view <number> --json number,title,body,labels,author,comments,createdAt

Read the title, body, and every comment before judging anything. Note the skillsaw version the reporter names (or none), and check any config, command, or file content they pasted.

Step 2 — Classify

Set exactly one primary class. When an issue spans two, pick the one that determines the next action and note the secondary in the comment.

ClassThe issue is…Evaluation checklist
bugA claim that skillsaw behaves incorrectly — wrong violation, crash, false positive/negative, bad autofixreferences/bug-evaluation.md
featureA request for new behavior — a new rule, flag, config option, output format, or tool/format supportreferences/feature-evaluation.md
documentationDocs are missing, wrong, or unclear (README, skillsaw.org, rule docs) — code behavior is not disputedreferences/other-evaluation.md
questionA usage/support question, not a defect or requestreferences/other-evaluation.md
otherDuplicate, invalid, spam, out-of-scope, or needs-more-inforeferences/other-evaluation.md

Write the class and a one-sentence rationale.

Step 3 — Verify Accuracy

Read the checklist for the chosen class now (references/*.md) and work it. Check whether the issue is accurate — do its claims match how skillsaw actually behaves?

  • For a bug: run the repro against the current code. Trace the cited behavior to the responsible rule or src/ module, then verify it. A bug you cannot reproduce, or that describes intended behavior, is not confirmed — always say so.
  • For a feature: check whether it already exists, whether it fits skillsaw's scope (core vs a rule plugin), and verify it would not break existing users.
  • For documentation / question / other: verify the underlying facts before agreeing or redirecting.

Cite what you checked with file:line references and command output — never assert a conclusion you did not verify.

Step 4 — Enrich

Add the details the issue is missing so it is actionable without a round-trip:

  • Reproduction: write a minimal repro (config + input file + command + observed vs expected) when the reporter left one out and you can construct one.
  • Locus: include the rule ID, file, and line most relevant to the issue.
  • Version / environment: include the version the behavior was verified against, and whether it still reproduces on main.
  • Related work: review duplicate or related issues and any open PR that already touches this (gh issue list / gh pr list --search).
  • Suggested labels: include labels (e.g. bug, enhancement, documentation, question, duplicate, needs-info, good-first-issue), but never apply them unless asked.

Step 5 — Decide the Recommendation

Set exactly one recommendation — this is the headline of the triage comment:

RecommendationWhen
🛠️ FIX — REPRODUCEDA real defect you reproduced or confirmed against the code (a genuinely wrong or missing doc counts here too).
IMPLEMENT — GOOD IDEAAn in-scope feature worth building into skillsaw core.
🔌 PLUGINIn skillsaw's domain but niche / single-vendor — belongs in a rule plugin, not core. Link skillsaw.org/plugins/.
REJECTOut of scope, not reproduced, works-as-intended, invalid, duplicate, or answered.

Follow the class checklist to decide: a bug that reproduces → FIX, one that doesn't → REJECT; for a feature, follow the domain gate in references/feature-evaluation.md (out of domain → REJECT, niche → PLUGIN, broadly useful → IMPLEMENT).

Step 6 — Post One Triage Comment

Read references/triage-template.md, then post it as exactly ONE comment:

gh issue comment <number> --body "$(cat <<'TRIAGE'
<rendered triage>
TRIAGE
)"

This skill is advisory: keep its output a recommendation for a maintainer. Post the triage comment on your own initiative, but never close, reassign, or label the issue yourself — always leave that to a human. Follow one exception only: a label action the invoking context directs — for instance, keep clearing an automation's own trigger label once you post the comment. Always carry that out.

Signals

GitHub stars
66
Forks
15
Last commit
Sep 2026
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Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
skillsaw-issue-triage
Source
github.com/stbenjam/skillsaw