Take conversation/PRD/spec context and codebase understanding and produce independently grabbable GitHub issues.
Process
- Gather context:
Work from whatever is already in the conversation context. If the user passes an issue reference, PR, URL, or path as an argument, fetch it recursively and read the relevant body, comments, and linked context.
- Explore the codebase:
If you have not already explored the codebase, do so to understand the current state of the code. Issue titles and descriptions should use the project's domain vocabulary, and respect ADRs, tests, interfaces, and prior art in the area you're touching.
- Draft vertical slices
Break the plan into tracer bullet issues. Each issue is a thin vertical slice that cuts through ALL integration layers end-to-end, NOT a horizontal slice of one layer.
Slices may be 'HITL' or 'AFK'. HITL slices require human interaction, such as an architectural decision or a design review. AFK slices can be implemented and merged without human interaction. Prefer AFK over HITL where possible.
- Quiz the user
Present the proposed breakdown as a numbered list. For each slice, show:
- Title: short descriptive name
- Type: HITL / AFK
- Blocked by: which other slices, if any, must complete first
- User stories covered: which user stories this addresses, if the source material has them
Ask the user:
- Does the granularity feel right? Too coarse or too fine?
- Are the dependency relationships correct?
- Should any slices be merged or split further?
- Are the correct slices marked as HITL and AFK?
Iterate until the user approves the breakdown.
- Publish the issues to GitHub
For each approved slice, publish a new issue to GitHub using references/issue-template.md.
Assign every created issue to the invoking GitHub user (--assignee @me when using gh issue create).
Publish issues in dependency order, blockers first, so later issues can reference real GitHub issue identifiers in the Blocked by field.
Do not close or modify any parent issue.
- Post the breakdown (optional)
If the source context includes a GitHub issue, post the final breakdown as a comment on that issue using references/breakdown-template.md.