Managing Github Projects

GitHub Projects Management

Manage GitHub Projects V2 items and custom fields using the GitHub CLI.

What you should do

When invoked, help the user manage project items by:

1. Understanding the request - Determine what operation is needed:

   • Update item field values (Status, Value, Effort, or other custom fields)
   • Add issues/PRs to projects
   • Query project items and their field values
   • List available fields and options
   • Bulk operations on multiple items

2. Gather required information - You may need:

   • Project number or ID
   • Repository owner (org or user)
   • Issue/PR number (for adding to project)
   • Item ID (for updating existing items)
   • Field name and new value

3. Execute the appropriate operation based on the request type.

Core operations

1. Add item to project

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

# Example
gh project item-add 1 --owner kynoptic --url https://github.com/kynoptic/ultimate-ranks-data/issues/310

2. List project fields

# Get all fields
gh project field-list <project-number> --owner <org> --format json

# Get specific field ID
gh project field-list <project-number> --owner <org> --format json \
  --jq '.fields[] | select(.name == "Status") | .id'

# Get field options (for single-select fields)
gh project field-list <project-number> --owner <org> --format json \
  --jq '.fields[] | select(.name == "Status") | .options[] | {name, id}'

3. List project items

# Get all items with details
gh project item-list <project-number> --owner <org> --format json --limit 100

# Get specific item by issue number
gh project item-list <project-number> --owner <org> --format json \
  --jq '.items[] | select(.content.number == 307) | {id, number: .content.number, title: .content.title}'

4. Update item fields

Single-select fields (Status, Value, Effort):

gh project item-edit \
  --id <item-id> \
  --project-id <project-id> \
  --field-id <field-id> \
  --single-select-option-id <option-id>

Text fields:

gh project item-edit \
  --id <item-id> \
  --project-id <project-id> \
  --field-id <field-id> \
  --text "new text value"

Date fields:

gh project item-edit \
  --id <item-id> \
  --project-id <project-id> \
  --field-id <field-id> \
  --date "2025-10-18"

Number fields:

gh project item-edit \
  --id <item-id> \
  --project-id <project-id> \
  --field-id <field-id> \
  --number 42

Clear a field:

gh project item-edit \
  --id <item-id> \
  --project-id <project-id> \
  --field-id <field-id> \
  --clear

Project-specific configuration

To use this skill effectively, you'll need to identify the project-specific IDs for your repository. Use the commands below to discover these values:

# Get project number and ID
gh project list --owner <org-or-user> --format json | jq '.[] | {title, number, id}'

# Get custom field IDs
gh project field-list <project-number> --owner <org-or-user> --format json

Example custom fields configuration:

Status field

• Field ID: PVTSSF_lAHOAvtmyM4BCtNbzg01sVQ
• Type: Single-select
• Options:
  • Backlog (ID: 6a4c50b0) - Not yet prioritized or ready to start
  • Todo (ID: f75ad846) - Ready to start, requirements clear
  • Doing (ID: 47fc9ee4) - Currently being worked on
  • Done (ID: 98236657) - Completed and merged

Workflow:

• Backlog → Items not yet ready or prioritized
• Todo → Requirements defined, ready to pick up
• Doing → Active work in progress
• Done → Work completed and merged

Note: Use issue dependencies (blockedBy/blocking) to indicate when items cannot proceed.

Value field

• Field ID: PVTSSF_lAHOAvtmyM4BCtNbzg01ul0
• Type: Single-select
• Options:
  • Essential (ID: 5885ea3a) - Critical functionality, must have
  • Useful (ID: 50c89511) - Valuable improvement, should have
  • Nice-to-have (ID: 1e7b8c9e) - Optional enhancement, could have

When to use:

• Essential: Core features, security fixes, data integrity issues, blocking bugs
• Useful: Significant improvements, important refactors, common use cases
• Nice-to-have: Minor enhancements, edge cases, cosmetic improvements

Note: These values align conceptually with the "Must fix/Should fix/Nice to have" framework commonly used in code reviews and development prioritization.

Effort field

• Field ID: PVTSSF_lAHOAvtmyM4BCtNbzg02ZGg
• Type: Single-select
• Options:
  • Light (ID: 449696b6) - Quick task, minimal complexity
  • Moderate (ID: 6ec15605) - Standard task, some complexity
  • Heavy (ID: 187484d1) - Complex task, significant work

When to use:

• Light: Simple changes, typo fixes, small refactors, minor features
• Moderate: Standard features, multi-file changes, moderate complexity
• Heavy: Major features, architectural changes, large refactors, cross-cutting concerns

Complete workflow example

Goal: Add issue #310 to project and set Status=Todo, Value=Useful, Effort=Moderate

# Step 1: Add to project
ITEM_ID=$(gh project item-add 1 --owner kynoptic \
  --url https://github.com/kynoptic/ultimate-ranks-data/issues/310 \
  --format json | jq -r '.id')

# Step 2: Set constant IDs (from configuration above)
PROJECT_ID="PVT_kwHOAvtmyM4BCtNb"
STATUS_FIELD_ID="PVTSSF_lAHOAvtmyM4BCtNbzg01sVQ"
VALUE_FIELD_ID="PVTSSF_lAHOAvtmyM4BCtNbzg01ul0"
EFFORT_FIELD_ID="PVTSSF_lAHOAvtmyM4BCtNbzg02ZGg"

# Option IDs (from configuration above)
TODO_ID="f75ad846"
USEFUL_ID="50c89511"
MODERATE_ID="6ec15605"

# Step 3: Update fields
gh project item-edit --id "$ITEM_ID" --project-id "$PROJECT_ID" \
  --field-id "$STATUS_FIELD_ID" --single-select-option-id "$TODO_ID"

gh project item-edit --id "$ITEM_ID" --project-id "$PROJECT_ID" \
  --field-id "$VALUE_FIELD_ID" --single-select-option-id "$USEFUL_ID"

gh project item-edit --id "$ITEM_ID" --project-id "$PROJECT_ID" \
  --field-id "$EFFORT_FIELD_ID" --single-select-option-id "$MODERATE_ID"

Efficient patterns

Pattern 1: Load configuration from project config file

Recommended: Use the project configuration file created by gh-project-setup:

# Load configuration from standard location (.github/project-config.json)
CONFIG_FILE=".github/project-config.json"

# Extract IDs from config using jq
PROJECT_ID=$(jq -r '.project.id' "$CONFIG_FILE")
STATUS_FIELD_ID=$(jq -r '.fields.status.id' "$CONFIG_FILE")
BACKLOG_ID=$(jq -r '.fields.status.options.Backlog.id' "$CONFIG_FILE")

# Use in project commands
gh project item-edit --id "$ITEM_ID" --project-id "$PROJECT_ID" \
  --field-id "$STATUS_FIELD_ID" --single-select-option-id "$BACKLOG_ID"

Best practice: Store project config in .github/project-config.json (not docs/):

• ✅ Standard location for GitHub-specific configuration
• ✅ Alongside workflows, issue templates, and other automation
• ✅ Separates infrastructure config from user documentation
• ✅ Created automatically by gh-project-setup skill

Alternative: Query and cache field IDs dynamically (if config file doesn't exist):

# Get all field configurations once
gh project field-list 1 --owner kynoptic --format json > /tmp/project-fields.json

# Extract IDs as needed
STATUS_BACKLOG=$(jq -r '.fields[] | select(.name == "Status") | .options[] | select(.name == "Backlog") | .id' /tmp/project-fields.json)

Pattern 2: Bulk updates

Update multiple items with the same field value:

# Get all items in "Todo" status
TODO_ITEMS=$(gh project item-list 1 --owner kynoptic --format json \
  --jq '.items[] | select(.status.name == "Todo") | .id')

# Move selected items to "Doing"
PROJECT_ID="PVT_kwHOAvtmyM4BCtNb"
STATUS_FIELD_ID="PVTSSF_lAHOAvtmyM4BCtNbzg01sVQ"
DOING_ID="47fc9ee4"

for item_id in $TODO_ITEMS; do
  gh project item-edit --id "$item_id" --project-id "$PROJECT_ID" \
    --field-id "$STATUS_FIELD_ID" --single-select-option-id "$DOING_ID"
done

Pattern 3: Update from issue metadata

Set project fields based on issue labels:

# If issue has "bug" label, set Value=Essential
if gh issue view 123 --json labels --jq '.labels[].name' | grep -q "bug"; then
  PROJECT_ID="PVT_kwHOAvtmyM4BCtNb"
  VALUE_FIELD_ID="PVTSSF_lAHOAvtmyM4BCtNbzg01ul0"
  ESSENTIAL_ID="5885ea3a"

  gh project item-edit --id "$ITEM_ID" --project-id "$PROJECT_ID" \
    --field-id "$VALUE_FIELD_ID" --single-select-option-id "$ESSENTIAL_ID"
fi

Error handling

Common issues:

1. "project scope required"

   gh auth refresh -s project
   

2. "Field type not supported"

   • Some field types (like parent_issue) cannot be edited via API
   • Use web UI for unsupported fields

3. "Item not found"

   • Verify item is in the project
   • Check that item ID is correct (starts with PVTI_)

4. "Invalid option ID"

   • Option IDs change if field options are modified
   • Re-fetch field configuration to get current IDs

Best practices

Value/Effort prioritization matrix:

• Essential + Light = Quick wins (do first!)
• Essential + Moderate = Core work (plan and execute)
• Essential + Heavy = Strategic investments (careful planning required)
• Useful + Light = Easy improvements (fill-in tasks)
• Useful + Moderate = Standard backlog work
• Useful + Heavy = Consider scope reduction or phasing
• Nice-to-have + Light = Low priority improvements
• Nice-to-have + Moderate/Heavy = Usually defer or reject

Status workflow:

• Backlog → Items not yet prioritized or lacking clear requirements
• Todo → Requirements defined, ready to pick up (next in queue)
• Doing → Active work in progress
• Done → Work completed and merged

Use issue dependencies instead of "Blocked" status:

• Set blockedBy relationships using the gh-issue-dependencies skill
• Dependencies are more explicit and trackable than status alone
• Status should reflect work state, dependencies reflect constraints

Maintenance:

• Keep Status current as work progresses
• Set Value/Effort during triage and planning sessions
• Review Backlog periodically to prune or promote items to Todo
• Move completed items to Done when merged

Integration with workflows

Works well with:

• gh-issue-dependencies skill - Set Status=Blocked when dependencies exist
• git-issue-create agent - Add to project and set fields when creating issues
• git-issue-deliver agent - Update Status as work progresses
• GitHub Actions - Automate field updates on events

Automation ideas:

• Auto-set Status=Doing when PR opens (work in progress)
• Auto-set Status=Done when PR merges
• Auto-set Value=Essential for security/critical labels
• Alert on Essential + Heavy items (require careful planning)
• Auto-promote Todo items to Doing when branch created

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