# Triage

> Surfaces open GitHub issues and backlog candidates for sprint planning — read-only, never edits backlog.md.

- Skill: `designgrappler/triage` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add designgrappler/triage`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/designgrappler/triage/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Product & Planning
- Author: designgrappler (https://skillmd.com/u/designgrappler)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/designgrappler/triage

---


## Instructions

### Step 1 — Resolve GitHub repo

Determine the target repo for the GitHub issues check:

1. Read `agent-setup.yml` from the project root. If a top-level `github_repo:` key is present, use its value as the repo (e.g. `owner/repo`).
2. If no `github_repo:` key is found (or the file does not exist), run:
   ```bash
   git remote get-url origin 2>/dev/null
   ```
   Parse the output to extract `owner/repo` — handle both HTTPS (`https://github.com/owner/repo`) and SSH (`git@github.com:owner/repo.git`) formats.
3. If neither source yields a repo, set repo to `(unresolved)` and continue — Step 2 will skip gracefully.

### Step 2 — Fetch open GitHub issues (non-blocking)

If a repo was resolved and `gh` is available, run:
```bash
gh issue list --repo <resolved-repo> --state open 2>/dev/null
```

Collect all open issues (number, title, labels).

- If no repo was resolved, print `GitHub issues check skipped — no repo configured.` and continue.
- If `gh` is not installed, print `GitHub issues check skipped — gh not available.` and continue.
- If the command fails for any reason, print `GitHub issues check failed — continuing.` and continue.
- Never block or halt on this step.

### Step 3 — Read backlog

Check whether `docs/backlog.md` exists. If it does, read the full file and note every item with its section heading. If the file does not exist, treat the backlog as empty and continue.

### Step 4 — Cross-reference, deduplicate, group by theme

Compare the GitHub issues list from Step 2 against the backlog items from Step 3:

1. **Deduplicate** — if a backlog item and a GitHub issue clearly describe the same work (same domain + intent, even if worded differently), treat them as one candidate. Keep the GitHub issue number as the canonical reference; note the backlog item alongside it.
2. **Group by theme** — assign each candidate to a theme bucket based on its domain or subject area. Common themes: `observability`, `skill-sync`, `enforcement`, `sprint-workflow`, `agent-authoring`, `documentation`, `infrastructure`. Add new theme buckets as needed — do not force items into mismatched buckets.
3. **Prioritize within each theme** — lead with stop-and-fix items (active drift that gets worse every sprint), then missing-improvement items (value-add that does not degrade over time).

### Step 5 — Emit triage report to chat

Output the triage report directly to chat. Do not write it to disk.

Format:

```
## Triage Report — <today's date>

### <Theme>
- [<source>] #<N> or B<N> — <title> — <one-sentence why it matters>
- ...

### <Theme>
- ...

---
Sources: GitHub issues (<resolved-repo> or skipped) + docs/backlog.md (<item count> items or absent)
```

Tag each item with its source: `[issue]` for GitHub issues, `[backlog]` for backlog-only items, `[both]` for deduplicated cross-references.

If both sources are empty or unavailable, emit: `Triage complete — no open issues and no backlog items found.`

### Step 6 — Recommend sprint candidates (read-only)

After the report, emit a short recommendation block:

```
## Sprint Candidate Recommendations

Recommended for next sprint (stop-and-fix first):
1. ...
2. ...
3. ...

Queued (no active degradation):
- ...
```

This recommendation is advisory only. No changes are made to `docs/backlog.md` or any other file. Backlog promotion happens only when Tim explicitly confirms.

---

## Hard Constraints

- **NEVER edit `docs/backlog.md`** — this skill is output-only. Any change to `docs/backlog.md` requires explicit Tim confirmation and must happen outside this skill.
- **Input sources: GitHub issues + `docs/backlog.md` only.** No Teams, Slack, or external connectors.
- **Report is emitted to chat, not written to disk.**
- This skill never blocks or halts due to unavailable external sources — all external checks degrade gracefully.