Git Platform CLI

Git Platform CLI (MANDATORY)

The Iron Law

NO manual issue creation. ALWAYS use gh or glab CLI.

This skill is MANDATORY for:

• Creating issues from tasks
• Linking commits to issues
• Managing project boards
• Creating pull/merge requests
• Reviewing code

Why This Is Mandatory

Authority: Professional teams use CLI tools for:

• Automation and consistency
• Integration with workflows
• Traceability (commits ↔ issues)
• Faster than web UI
• Scriptable and repeatable

Social Proof: GitHub CLI has 34K+ stars, GitLab CLI has 2.8K+ stars. Industry standard.

When to Use This Skill

• ALWAYS when creating tasks (TodoWrite)
• ALWAYS when committing code
• ALWAYS when creating PR/MR
• ALWAYS when managing project work

Installation (MANDATORY)

Check if installed

gh --version
glab --version

If either missing, STOP and install:

GitHub CLI (gh)

Windows:

winget install GitHub.cli

macOS:

brew install gh

Linux:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install gh

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install gh

GitLab CLI (glab)

Windows:

# Download from https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cli/-/releases
# Or use scoop: scoop install glab

macOS:

brew install glab

Linux:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install glab

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install glab

Authenticate (REQUIRED)

# GitHub
gh auth login

# GitLab
glab auth login

Core Workflow: Tasks → Issues

Pattern: TodoWrite Creates GitHub/GitLab Issues

MANDATORY: When using TodoWrite for tasks, ALWAYS create corresponding issues.

Example Workflow:

User: "Add authentication feature to the API"

Agent:
1. I'm using the brainstorming skill to discuss the approach
2. I'm using the writing-plans skill to break into tasks:

   Tasks:
   - Create User model with authentication fields
   - Add JWT token generation
   - Implement login/register endpoints
   - Write authentication middleware
   - Add tests

3. I'm using the git-platform-cli skill to create issues:

For GitHub repo:
```bash
gh issue create --title "Add User model with authentication fields" \
  --body "Part of authentication feature. Create User model with email, password_hash, etc." \
  --label "feature,backend" \
  --milestone "v1.0"

gh issue create --title "Add JWT token generation" \
  --body "Implement JWT signing and verification for authentication" \
  --label "feature,backend,security"

# Repeat for all tasks...

For GitLab repo:

glab issue create --title "Add User model with authentication fields" \
  --description "Part of authentication feature..." \
  --label "feature,backend"

glab issue create --title "Add JWT token generation" \
  --description "Implement JWT signing..." \
  --label "feature,backend,security"

# Repeat for all tasks...

4. Issues created: ✅ #42: Add User model ✅ #43: Add JWT token generation ✅ #44: Implement login/register endpoints ✅ #45: Write authentication middleware ✅ #46: Add tests

5. Now implementing tasks, linking commits to issues...

## Linking Commits to Issues (MANDATORY)

### GitHub (gh)

**In commit messages, reference issues**:

```bash
git commit -m "feat(auth): add User model with authentication fields

Implements password hashing with bcrypt, email validation.

Closes #42"

Keywords that close issues:

• Closes #42
• Fixes #42
• Resolves #42

GitLab (glab)

Same syntax:

git commit -m "feat(auth): add User model

Closes #42"

Also supports:

• Implements #42
• Closes #42
• Fixes #42

Creating Pull/Merge Requests (MANDATORY)

GitHub (gh)

# Create PR from current branch
gh pr create --title "Add authentication feature" \
  --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Summary
- ✅ User model with bcrypt hashing
- ✅ JWT token generation
- ✅ Login/register endpoints
- ✅ Authentication middleware
- ✅ Tests (100% coverage)

## Test Plan
- [x] Unit tests pass
- [x] Integration tests pass
- [x] Manual testing completed

## Closes
- Closes #42
- Closes #43
- Closes #44
- Closes #45
- Closes #46
EOF
)" \
  --assignee @me \
  --label "feature" \
  --reviewer "team-lead"

# Get PR URL
gh pr view --web

GitLab (glab)

# Create MR from current branch
glab mr create --title "Add authentication feature" \
  --description "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Summary
- ✅ User model with bcrypt hashing
- ✅ JWT token generation
- ✅ Login/register endpoints

## Closes
- Closes #42
- Closes #43
EOF
)" \
  --assignee @me \
  --label "feature" \
  --remove-source-branch

# Get MR URL
glab mr view --web

Task Management Integration

Workflow: TodoWrite → Issues → Commits → PR/MR

MANDATORY Sequence:

1. TodoWrite creates tasks:

   - Task 1: Add User model
   - Task 2: Add JWT generation
   - Task 3: Implement endpoints
   

2. Create issues immediately (git-platform-cli skill):

   # GitHub
   gh issue create --title "Task 1: Add User model" ...
   gh issue create --title "Task 2: Add JWT generation" ...
   
   # GitLab
   glab issue create --title "Task 1: Add User model" ...
   

3. Work on tasks, commit with issue refs:

   git commit -m "feat(auth): add User model
   
   Closes #42"
   

4. Create PR/MR linking all issues:

   gh pr create --title "Feature" --body "Closes #42, #43, #44"
   

Checking Issue Status

GitHub (gh)

# List open issues
gh issue list

# View specific issue
gh issue view 42

# Close issue
gh issue close 42 --comment "Completed in PR #50"

# Reopen issue
gh issue reopen 42

GitLab (glab)

# List open issues
glab issue list

# View specific issue
glab issue view 42

# Close issue
glab issue close 42 --note "Completed in MR !50"

# Reopen issue
glab issue reopen 42

Project Board Management

GitHub (gh)

# List projects
gh project list

# Add issue to project
gh project item-add <project-number> --owner @me --url <issue-url>

# Update issue status
gh project item-edit --id <item-id> --field-id <field-id> --project-id <project-id> --text "In Progress"

GitLab (glab)

# GitLab boards managed via web UI or API
# Use glab api for advanced board management

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Feature Branch Workflow

# 1. Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/auth

# 2. Create issues for all tasks
gh issue create --title "Task 1" --label "feature"
gh issue create --title "Task 2" --label "feature"

# 3. Work on tasks, commit with issue refs
git commit -m "feat: task 1

Closes #42"

# 4. Push and create PR
git push -u origin feature/auth
gh pr create --fill

# 5. Merge PR (closes all linked issues automatically)
gh pr merge --squash --delete-branch

Pattern 2: Bug Fix Workflow

# 1. Create issue for bug
gh issue create --title "Bug: Login fails with empty email" \
  --label "bug" \
  --body "Steps to reproduce..."

# 2. Create bugfix branch
git checkout -b bugfix/login-validation

# 3. Fix bug, commit with issue ref
git commit -m "fix(auth): validate email before login

Fixes #43"

# 4. Create PR
gh pr create --title "Fix: Login validation" --body "Fixes #43"

# 5. Merge (auto-closes issue)
gh pr merge --squash

Pattern 3: Multi-Task Feature

# 1. Brainstorm → create parent issue
gh issue create --title "Feature: Add authentication" \
  --body "Parent issue for authentication feature" \
  --label "epic"

# 2. Create sub-task issues
gh issue create --title "Sub-task: User model" --body "Part of #50"
gh issue create --title "Sub-task: JWT tokens" --body "Part of #50"
gh issue create --title "Sub-task: Endpoints" --body "Part of #50"

# 3. Work on each sub-task
git commit -m "feat(auth): add User model

Part of #50, closes #51"

# 4. Final PR references parent
gh pr create --body "Closes #50, #51, #52, #53"

Issue Templates

Feature Request Template

gh issue create --title "Feature: <title>" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Problem Statement
[Describe the problem this feature solves]

## Proposed Solution
[Describe your proposed solution]

## Alternatives Considered
[Other approaches you considered]

## Additional Context
[Any other relevant information]
EOF
)"

Bug Report Template

gh issue create --title "Bug: <title>" --label "bug" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Bug Description
[Clear description of the bug]

## Steps to Reproduce
1.
2.
3.

## Expected Behavior
[What should happen]

## Actual Behavior
[What actually happens]

## Environment
- OS:
- Version:
- Browser (if applicable):

## Additional Context
[Screenshots, logs, etc.]
EOF
)"

Red Flags (Bad Practices)

• ❌ Creating issues manually in web UI → Use CLI
• ❌ Committing without issue references → Always link
• ❌ Creating PR without linking issues → Always link
• ❌ Not closing issues when merging → Use "Closes #X"
• ❌ Using TodoWrite without creating issues → Always create
• ❌ One giant issue for multiple tasks → Break into sub-tasks

Integration with Other Skills

Before git-platform-cli:

• brainstorming - Understand feature scope
• writing-plans - Break into tasks

During git-platform-cli:

• Create issues for all tasks
• Link commits to issues
• Track progress on board

After git-platform-cli:

• git-workflow - Make commits with issue refs
• finishing-a-development-branch - Create PR/MR
• code-review - Review before merge

Automation Examples

Auto-create issues from TodoWrite

# Script: create-issues-from-tasks.sh

#!/bin/bash
# Parse TASKS.md and create GitHub issues

while IFS= read -r line; do
  if [[ $line =~ ^-\ \[\ \]\ (.+) ]]; then
    task="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
    gh issue create --title "$task" --label "task" --assignee @me
  fi
done < TASKS.md

Auto-link commits to issues

# Git hook: prepare-commit-msg

#!/bin/bash
# Auto-add issue reference if branch name contains issue number

BRANCH=$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD)
if [[ $BRANCH =~ issue-([0-9]+) ]]; then
  ISSUE="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
  echo "" >> "$1"
  echo "Refs #$ISSUE" >> "$1"
fi

Your Commitment

Before proceeding with ANY project work:

• I have gh installed and authenticated
• I have glab installed and authenticated (if using GitLab)
• I will create issues for ALL tasks
• I will reference issues in ALL commits
• I will link issues in ALL PRs/MRs
• I will close issues when merging

Bottom Line: Git platform CLIs (gh/glab) are MANDATORY for professional development. They provide automation, traceability, and integration that manual web UI usage cannot match.

Use them for EVERYTHING.