Project Board Enforcement

Project Board Enforcement

Overview

The GitHub Project board is THE source of truth for all work state. Not labels. Not comments. Not memory. The project board.

Core principle: If it's not in the project board with correct fields, it doesn't exist.

This skill is called by other skills at gate points. It is not invoked directly.

The Rule

Every issue, epic, and initiative MUST be in the project board BEFORE work begins.

This is not optional. This is not a suggestion. This is a hard gate.

Required Environment

# These MUST be set. Work cannot proceed without them.
echo $GITHUB_PROJECT      # Full URL: https://github.com/users/USER/projects/N
echo $GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM  # Just the number: N
echo $GH_PROJECT_OWNER    # Owner: @me or org name

If any are missing, stop and configure them before proceeding.

Project Field Requirements

Mandatory Fields

Every project MUST have these fields configured:

Recommended Fields

Verification Functions

Verify Issue in Project

GATE FUNCTION - Called before any work begins.

verify_issue_in_project() {
  local issue=$1

  # Get project item ID
  ITEM_ID=$(gh project item-list "$GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM" --owner "$GH_PROJECT_OWNER" \
    --format json 2>/dev/null | \
    jq -r ".items[] | select(.content.number == $issue) | .id")

  if [ -z "$ITEM_ID" ] || [ "$ITEM_ID" = "null" ]; then
    echo "BLOCKED: Issue #$issue is not in the project board."
    echo ""
    echo "Add it with:"
    echo "  gh project item-add $GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM --owner $GH_PROJECT_OWNER --url \$(gh issue view $issue --json url -q .url)"
    return 1
  fi

  echo "$ITEM_ID"
  return 0
}

Verify Status Field Set

GATE FUNCTION - Called before work proceeds past issue check.

verify_status_set() {
  local issue=$1
  local item_id=$2

  # Get current status
  STATUS=$(gh project item-list "$GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM" --owner "$GH_PROJECT_OWNER" \
    --format json 2>/dev/null | \
    jq -r ".items[] | select(.id == \"$item_id\") | .status.name")

  if [ -z "$STATUS" ] || [ "$STATUS" = "null" ]; then
    echo "BLOCKED: Issue #$issue has no Status set in project board."
    echo ""
    echo "Set status before proceeding."
    return 1
  fi

  echo "$STATUS"
  return 0
}

Add Issue to Project

Called by issue-prerequisite after issue creation.

add_issue_to_project() {
  local issue_url=$1

  # Add to project
  gh project item-add "$GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM" --owner "$GH_PROJECT_OWNER" --url "$issue_url"

  if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
    echo "ERROR: Failed to add issue to project."
    return 1
  fi

  # Get the item ID
  local issue_num=$(echo "$issue_url" | grep -oE '[0-9]+$')
  ITEM_ID=$(gh project item-list "$GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM" --owner "$GH_PROJECT_OWNER" \
    --format json | \
    jq -r ".items[] | select(.content.number == $issue_num) | .id")

  echo "$ITEM_ID"
  return 0
}

Set Project Status

Called at every status transition.

set_project_status() {
  local item_id=$1
  local new_status=$2  # Backlog, Ready, In Progress, In Review, Done, Blocked

  # Get project ID and field IDs (cache these in practice)
  PROJECT_ID=$(gh project list --owner "$GH_PROJECT_OWNER" --format json | \
    jq -r ".projects[] | select(.number == $GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM) | .id")

  STATUS_FIELD_ID=$(gh project field-list "$GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM" --owner "$GH_PROJECT_OWNER" \
    --format json | \
    jq -r '.fields[] | select(.name == "Status") | .id')

  OPTION_ID=$(gh project field-list "$GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM" --owner "$GH_PROJECT_OWNER" \
    --format json | \
    jq -r ".fields[] | select(.name == \"Status\") | .options[] | select(.name == \"$new_status\") | .id")

  if [ -z "$OPTION_ID" ] || [ "$OPTION_ID" = "null" ]; then
    echo "ERROR: Status '$new_status' not found in project."
    return 1
  fi

  gh project item-edit --project-id "$PROJECT_ID" --id "$item_id" \
    --field-id "$STATUS_FIELD_ID" --single-select-option-id "$OPTION_ID"

  return $?
}

Set Project Type

Called when creating issues.

set_project_type() {
  local item_id=$1
  local type=$2  # Feature, Bug, Chore, Research, Spike, Epic, Initiative

  PROJECT_ID=$(gh project list --owner "$GH_PROJECT_OWNER" --format json | \
    jq -r ".projects[] | select(.number == $GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM) | .id")

  TYPE_FIELD_ID=$(gh project field-list "$GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM" --owner "$GH_PROJECT_OWNER" \
    --format json | \
    jq -r '.fields[] | select(.name == "Type") | .id')

  OPTION_ID=$(gh project field-list "$GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM" --owner "$GH_PROJECT_OWNER" \
    --format json | \
    jq -r ".fields[] | select(.name == \"Type\") | .options[] | select(.name == \"$type\") | .id")

  gh project item-edit --project-id "$PROJECT_ID" --id "$item_id" \
    --field-id "$TYPE_FIELD_ID" --single-select-option-id "$OPTION_ID"
}

State Queries via Project Board

Get Issues by Status

USE THIS instead of label queries.

get_issues_by_status() {
  local status=$1  # Ready, In Progress, etc.

  gh project item-list "$GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM" --owner "$GH_PROJECT_OWNER" \
    --format json | \
    jq -r ".items[] | select(.status.name == \"$status\") | .content.number"
}

# Examples:
# get_issues_by_status "Ready"
# get_issues_by_status "In Progress"
# get_issues_by_status "Blocked"

Get Issues by Type

get_issues_by_type() {
  local type=$1  # Epic, Feature, etc.

  gh project item-list "$GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM" --owner "$GH_PROJECT_OWNER" \
    --format json | \
    jq -r ".items[] | select(.type.name == \"$type\") | .content.number"
}

Get Epic Children

get_epic_children() {
  local epic_num=$1

  gh project item-list "$GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM" --owner "$GH_PROJECT_OWNER" \
    --format json | \
    jq -r ".items[] | select(.epic == \"#$epic_num\") | .content.number"
}

Count by Status

count_by_status() {
  local status=$1

  gh project item-list "$GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM" --owner "$GH_PROJECT_OWNER" \
    --format json | \
    jq "[.items[] | select(.status.name == \"$status\")] | length"
}

Gate Points

These are the points in workflows where project board verification is MANDATORY:

Transition Rules

Valid Status Transitions

Backlog ──► Ready ──► In Progress ──► In Review ──► Done
    │         │            │              │
    │         │            │              │
    └─────────┴────────────┴──────────────┴──► Blocked
                                               │
                                               ▼
                                        (any previous state)

Transition Enforcement

validate_transition() {
  local current=$1
  local target=$2

  case "$current→$target" in
    "Backlog→Ready"|"Ready→In Progress"|"In Progress→In Review"|"In Review→Done")
      return 0 ;;
    *"→Blocked")
      return 0 ;;
    "Blocked→Backlog"|"Blocked→Ready"|"Blocked→In Progress")
      return 0 ;;
    *)
      echo "Invalid transition: $current → $target"
      return 1 ;;
  esac
}

Labels vs Project Board

WRONG - Do Not Use Labels for State

# WRONG - labels are NOT the source of truth
gh issue list --label "status:pending"
gh issue edit 123 --add-label "status:in-progress"

RIGHT - Use Project Board

# RIGHT - project board IS the source of truth
get_issues_by_status "Ready"
set_project_status "$ITEM_ID" "In Progress"

When Labels Are Acceptable

Labels are still used for:

• epic - Identifying epic issues (supplementary)
• epic-[name] - Grouping issues in an epic (supplementary)
• spawned-from:#N - Lineage tracking (supplementary)
• review-finding - Origin tracking (supplementary)

But state (Ready, In Progress, Blocked, etc.) lives in the project board.

Sync Verification

Run periodically to detect drift:

verify_project_sync() {
  echo "## Project Board Sync Check"
  echo ""

  # Check for issues with branches but Status != In Progress
  echo "### Issues with branches but not 'In Progress':"
  for branch in $(git branch -r | grep -E 'feature/[0-9]+' | sed 's/.*feature\///' | cut -d- -f1); do
    status=$(gh project item-list "$GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM" --owner "$GH_PROJECT_OWNER" \
      --format json | \
      jq -r ".items[] | select(.content.number == $branch) | .status.name")

    if [ "$status" != "In Progress" ] && [ "$status" != "In Review" ]; then
      echo "- #$branch: Status='$status' but has active branch"
    fi
  done

  # Check for In Progress issues with no recent activity
  echo ""
  echo "### 'In Progress' issues with no recent commits:"
  for issue in $(get_issues_by_status "In Progress"); do
    branch=$(git branch -r | grep -E "feature/$issue-" | head -1)
    if [ -z "$branch" ]; then
      echo "- #$issue: In Progress but no branch exists"
    fi
  done
}

Error Messages

All project board errors should be clear and actionable:

project_error() {
  local code=$1
  local context=$2

  case "$code" in
    "NOT_IN_PROJECT")
      echo "BLOCKED: Issue $context is not in the project board."
      echo "Fix: gh project item-add $GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM --owner $GH_PROJECT_OWNER --url \$(gh issue view $context --json url -q .url)"
      ;;
    "NO_STATUS")
      echo "BLOCKED: Issue $context has no Status field set."
      echo "Fix: Update the issue's Status field in the project board."
      ;;
    "INVALID_TRANSITION")
      echo "BLOCKED: Cannot transition $context - invalid state change."
      ;;
    "PROJECT_NOT_FOUND")
      echo "BLOCKED: Project $GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM not found or not accessible."
      echo "Fix: Verify GITHUB_PROJECT_NUM and GH_PROJECT_OWNER are correct."
      ;;
  esac

  return 1
}

Integration

This skill is called by:

• issue-driven-development - All status transitions
• issue-prerequisite - After issue creation
• epic-management - Epic and child issue setup
• autonomous-orchestration - State queries and updates
• session-start - Sync verification
• work-intake - Project readiness check

Checklist for Callers

Before proceeding past any gate:

• Issue exists in project (verified, not assumed)
• Status field is set
• Type field is set
• Priority field is set (for new issues)
• Epic linkage set (if child of epic)
• Transition is valid (if changing status)