New Compiler Feature Setup
Set up tracking for a new C# language feature in dotnet/roslyn, starting from an implementation PR.
IMPORTANT: Present the full plan and get explicit user confirmation before making any changes.
IDEMPOTENCY: Safe to re-run. Checks for existing artifacts before creating. Use it to fix missing pieces.
Prerequisites
ghCLI authenticated with write access todotnet/roslyn(verify withgh auth status)
Do not proceed if prerequisites are not met. Instead, guide the user through the necessary actions (installing gh, authenticating, etc.).
Phase 1: Gather
1.1 Parse the PR
gh pr view <NUMBER> --repo dotnet/roslyn --json title,body,author,baseRefName,labels,number
Extract from PR body (ask user if missing):
- csharplang issue URL:
https://github.com/dotnet/csharplang/issues/NNNN - Spec URL:
https://github.com/dotnet/csharplang/blob/main/proposals/*.md
Extract from metadata:
- Developer: PR author
- Branch: PR base ref (
features/*ormain)
1.2 Validate csharplang issue
gh issue view <NUMBER> --repo dotnet/csharplang --json title,labels,assignees
Abort if the issue lacks the Proposal champion label.
Extract LDM champ from assignees (ask user to pick if multiple).
1.3 Feature name
Offer two candidates, ask user to pick or edit:
- From spec filename (kebab-case → readable text)
- From csharplang issue title (strip
[Proposal]:prefix)
This name is used for the label (Feature - <Name>) and test plan title.
1.4 Reviewer and IDE buddy
Ask user (default: "TBD" for both).
1.5 Verify feature branch
If base ref ≠ main, verify it exists (URL-encode the branch name for the API call). Warn if missing.
1.6 Collect related PRs
- Always include the input PR
- Parse
#NNNNreferences from stacked-PR lists in the body; validate each is a PR viagh pr view - Search for open PRs targeting the same feature branch (if not
main) - Deduplicate; present list to user for confirmation
1.7 Check existing artifacts
- Label:
gh label list --repo dotnet/roslyn --search "Feature - <Name>" - Test plan issue:
gh issue list --repo dotnet/roslyn --search "<csharplang_url>" --label "Area-Compilers"— match by csharplang URL in body - Feature status row: grep for csharplang issue URL in
docs/Language Feature Status.md - Status PR:
gh pr list --repo dotnet/roslyn --head "feature-status/<spec-filename>" --state open
Phase 2: Plan
Present all gathered info and planned actions. Mark existing artifacts with ✓. Ask for explicit confirmation.
Phase 3: Execute
3.1 Create feature label
Skip if exists. Color: 2ad0ad.
gh label create "Feature - <Name>" --repo dotnet/roslyn --color "2ad0ad"
3.2 Create test plan issue
Skip if exists. Assign to the developer and reviewers (assignment may silently fail for external contributors — that's OK).
gh issue create --repo dotnet/roslyn `
--title 'Test plan for "<Name>" feature' `
--body "Championed proposal: <csharplang_url>`nSpec: <spec_url>`n`n(created by new-compiler-feature skill)" `
--label "Area-Compilers" --label "Feature - <Name>" `
--assignee "<developer>" --assignee "<reviewer1>" --assignee "<reviewer2>"
Set issue type to "Feature" via GraphQL:
# Get issue type ID for "Feature"
gh api graphql -f query='{ repository(owner: "dotnet", name: "roslyn") { issueTypes(first: 20) { nodes { id name } } } }'
# Get issue node ID, then update
gh api graphql -f query='mutation { updateIssue(input: {id: "<issueId>", issueTypeId: "<featureTypeId>"}) { issue { issueType { name } } } }'
3.3 Label related PRs
For each PR, add Feature - <Name> label if not already applied.
3.4 Comment on related PRs
For each PR, check if a comment with the exact test plan URL exists. If not:
gh pr comment <NUMBER> --repo dotnet/roslyn --body "Test plan: <test_plan_url>`n(created by new-compiler-feature skill)"
3.5 Update Language Feature Status page
Skip if the csharplang issue URL already appears in the file.
Row format:
| [<Title>](<csharplang_url>) | <branch_col> | [In progress](<test_plan_url>) | [<dev>](https://github.com/<dev>) | <reviewers> | <ide_buddy> | [<ldm>](https://github.com/<ldm>) |
- Branch column:
[<short-name>](https://github.com/dotnet/roslyn/tree/<full-ref>)for feature branches; plainmainotherwise - Reviewers/IDE buddy:
TBDor[<user>](https://github.com/<user>)(comma-separated if multiple) - Insert after the last "In progress" row, before the first "Merged" row in the Working Set C# table. If no merged rows, append after the last row.
3.6 Create PR for feature status update
Skip if an open PR already exists.
When the current worktree is clean and based on main, make the status-page edit locally:
- Create
feature-status/<spec-filename>frommain. - Edit
docs/Language Feature Status.mdin the worktree. - Inspect the resulting diff and present the exact change to the user for approval before committing or publishing it.
- After approval, commit the change. Obtain explicit permission before pushing, then push the branch and create the PR.
Use the GitHub API only when the worktree is not clean or is not based on main:
# Get latest main SHA
$mainSha = gh api repos/dotnet/roslyn/git/refs/heads/main --jq '.object.sha'
# Create branch
gh api -X POST repos/dotnet/roslyn/git/refs -f ref="refs/heads/feature-status/<spec-filename>" -f sha="$mainSha"
# Get current file content and SHA from main
$fileMeta = gh api "repos/dotnet/roslyn/contents/docs/Language Feature Status.md" --jq '{sha: .sha, content: .content}' | ConvertFrom-Json
# Decode content, insert the new row, re-encode to base64, then update:
gh api -X PUT "repos/dotnet/roslyn/contents/docs/Language Feature Status.md" `
-f message='Track status for feature "<Name>"' `
-f branch="feature-status/<spec-filename>" `
-f sha="$($fileMeta.sha)" `
-f content="$newContentBase64"
# Create PR
gh pr create --repo dotnet/roslyn `
--title 'Track status for feature "<Name>"' `
--body "Adds feature status tracking row.`n`n- csharplang issue: <csharplang_url>`n- Test plan: <test_plan_url>`n`nFYI @<developer> @<reviewer(s)> @<ldm_champ>`n`n(created by new-compiler-feature skill)" `
--head "feature-status/<spec-filename>" --base main `
--label "Area-Compilers" --label "Documentation"
Present the PR URL to the user.
Summary
✅ Feature setup complete for "<Name>"
- Label: Feature - <Name>
- Test plan: <url>
- Feature status PR: <url>
- PRs labeled and linked: #NNN, #NNN
Error Handling
ghcommand failure → stop and report- Missing "Proposal champion" label → abort
- Missing feature branch (non-main) → warn, let user decide
- Always check for existing artifacts before creating