Hitl

HITL to AFK — Resolve Human Decisions

Grill the user on open decisions in HITL-labeled GitHub issues, then flip resolved issues to AFK for autonomous execution. $ARGUMENTS

Parameters

• Epic issue URL or number (optional) — target epic. If omitted, auto-detect.
• Ordering mode (optional):
  • lowest → process unblocked HITL issues by lowest issue number first
  • most-blocking → process by transitive unblock count (highest-impact first)

Default ordering: lowest

Workflow

Step 1: Identify Epic and Repo

If an epic issue URL or number is provided, use it directly. Otherwise auto-detect:

gh repo view --json nameWithOwner --jq '.nameWithOwner'
gh issue list --label "epic" --state open --json number,title

If multiple open epics found, show them and ask which one. If zero, report and exit.

Fetch the epic body — it provides shared context (especially ## Implementation Decisions):

gh issue view <EPIC_NUMBER> --json title,body

Step 2: Fetch All Sub-Issues and Build Dependency Graph

gh issue list --label "task" --state open --json number,title,labels,body

For each issue, parse the ## Blocking Relationships section to extract Blocked by #N references. Build a dependency graph.

Step 3: Find Unblocked HITL Issues

An HITL issue is unblocked when all its blockers are either:

• Closed (implemented)
• Labeled AFK (will be resolved autonomously)

Filter to only HITL-labeled issues that meet this criteria. If zero found:

• "No HITL issues found" → exit
• "All HITL resolved" → exit
• "N HITL issues exist but all blocked by other HITL issues" → show which ones and their blockers, exit

Step 4: Order the Queue

Sort unblocked HITL issues based on the ordering parameter:

• lowest (default) → ascending by issue number
• most-blocking → descending by transitive unblock count (how many downstream issues, direct + indirect, each one unblocks)

Present the queue to the user.

For lowest:

HITL issues to resolve (ordered by issue number):
1. #3 — Dashboard + issue CRUD
2. #6 — Session spawning

For most-blocking:

HITL issues to resolve (ordered by blocking impact):
1. #3 — Dashboard + issue CRUD (unblocks 6 downstream)
2. #6 — Session spawning (unblocks 4 downstream)

Step 5: Grill Each Issue

For each HITL issue, in priority order:

5a: Extract Decision Points

1. Read the issue body — focus on ## Notes for the HITL reason, ## Acceptance Criteria for ambiguity, ## Description for open questions
2. Cross-reference against the epic's ## Implementation Decisions section — remove anything already decided
3. Spawn an Explore agent (breadth: medium) to scan the codebase for files relevant to this issue (components, patterns, configs mentioned in the issue). Use findings to pre-answer questions where possible

5b: Grill Decision Points

Group the issue's decision points into thematic batches. Present each batch as a numbered list in one round. For each question, provide a recommended answer backed by codebase evidence or epic context.

Only split into a follow-up round when earlier answers would change later questions.

See EXPLORATION.md — explore instead of asking.

5c: Record Outcome

If all decisions resolved: Append a ## Resolved Decisions section to the issue body:

## Resolved Decisions

- **Decision name**: Resolution with implementation context.
- **Another decision**: Resolution with implementation context.

Then flip labels:

gh issue edit <NUMBER> --remove-label "HITL" --add-label "AFK"

If some decisions require implementation to answer: Append both sections, keep HITL label:

## Resolved Decisions

- **Decision name**: Resolution with implementation context.

## Unresolved — Needs Implementation

- **Decision name**: Why it needs experimentation first.

5d: Continue or Stop

After completing an issue, ask: "Continue to the next HITL issue?"

If yes, proceed. If no, skip to Step 6.

5e: Re-check for Newly Unblocked HITL Issues

After flipping issues to AFK, re-evaluate the dependency graph. Issues that were blocked solely by the just-resolved HITL issues are now unblocked. Add them to the queue and continue grilling.

Step 6: Session Summary

HITL Resolution Summary
========================
Resolved (flipped to AFK):
  - #3 — Dashboard + issue CRUD
  - #6 — Session spawning

Partially resolved (still HITL):
  - #7 — Embedded terminal (2 decisions unresolved)

Still blocked (not grilled):
  - #9 — Rich chat view (blocked by #6 HITL)

Newly unblocked AFK issues (ready for execution):
  - #4 — Git CLI integration (was blocked by #3)
  - #10 — Worktree lifecycle (was blocked by #3)