# Investigating Github Issues > Investigates and analyzes GitHub issues for Shopify/shopify-app-js. Fetches issue details via gh CLI, searches for duplicates, examines the codebase for relevant context, applies version-based maintenance policy classification, and produces a structured investigation report. Use when a GitHub issue URL is provided, when asked to analyze or triage an issue, or when understanding issue context before starting work. Use when this capability is needed. - Skill: `tomevault-io/investigating-github-issues` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/investigating-github-issues` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/investigating-github-issues/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Docs & Writing - Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/investigating-github-issues --- # Investigating GitHub Issues Use the GitHub CLI (`gh`) for all GitHub interactions — fetching issues, searching, listing PRs, etc. Direct URL fetching may not work reliably. ## Early Exit Criteria Before running the full process, check if you can stop early: - **Clear duplicate**: If Step 3 finds an identical open issue with active discussion, stop after documenting the duplicate link. - **Wrong repo**: If the issue clearly belongs to a different project, note it and stop. - **Insufficient information**: If the issue has no reproducible details and no version info, skip to the report and recommend the author provide more context. ## Investigation Process ### Step 1: Fetch Issue Details Retrieve the issue metadata: ```bash gh issue view --json title,body,author,labels,comments,createdAt,updatedAt ``` Extract: - Title and description - Author and their context - Existing labels and comments - Timeline of the issue - **Version information**: identify what version the issue is reported against - **Package scoping**: identify which package(s) in the monorepo this issue affects (e.g., `packages/apps/shopify-app-remix`, `packages/api-clients/api-codegen-preset`). Scope all subsequent investigation to those packages. ### Step 2: Assess Version Status Determine the current latest major version before going deeper — this drives the entire classification: ```bash gh release list --limit 5 git tag -l | grep -E '^v?[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' | sort -V | tail -5 ``` Compare the reported version against the latest major version and apply the version maintenance policy (see `../shared/references/version-maintenance-policy.md`). Also check if the issue may already be fixed in a newer release: - Review the CHANGELOG.md in the affected package(s) - Compare the reported version against the latest published version for that package ### Step 3: Search for Similar Issues and Existing PRs Search before deep code investigation to avoid redundant work: ```bash gh issue list --search "keywords from issue" --limit 20 gh issue list --search "error message or specific terms" --state all gh pr list --search "related terms" --state all gh pr list --search "fixes #" --state all ``` - Look for duplicates (open and closed) - Check if someone already has an open PR addressing this issue - Check if this has been previously discussed or attempted - Note previous solutions, workarounds, or explanations - Always provide full GitHub URLs when referencing issues/PRs (e.g., `https://github.com/owner/repo/issues/123`) ### Step 4: Attempt Reproduction Before diving into code, verify the reported behavior: - Check if the described behavior matches what the current codebase would produce - If the issue includes a code snippet or reproduction steps, trace through the relevant code paths - If the issue references specific error messages, search for them in the codebase This doesn't require running an app — code-level verification (reading the logic, tracing the flow) is sufficient. ### Step 5: Investigate Relevant Code Based on the issue, similar issues found, and reproduction attempt, examine the codebase within the scoped package(s): - Files and modules mentioned in the issue - Related tests that provide context - Recent commits in the affected area - Code changes from similar resolved issues ### Step 6: Classify and Analyze Apply version-based classification from `../shared/references/version-maintenance-policy.md`: - Identify if the issue involves a technical limitation or architectural constraint - For feature requests hitting technical limitations, assess the need for business case clarification ### Step 7: Produce the Investigation Report Write the report following the template in `references/investigation-report-template.md`. Ensure every referenced issue and PR uses full GitHub URLs. If a PR review is needed for a related PR, use the `reviewing-pull-requests` skill. --- > Converted and distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io/claim/shopify) — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.