tomevault-io merge-duplicates
User-triggered write workflow to consolidate duplicate issues on linq2db/linq2db.
When to run
Only when the user explicitly invokes this skill, typically after /find-issues in ticket mode has flagged a likely duplicate. Never proposes itself.
Input
Accepted forms:
- Prose: "merge #5484 and #5485 into #5483"
- Positional:
/merge-duplicates <canonical> <dupe1> [<dupe2> ...] - Number-only first arg (rest derived by asking):
/merge-duplicates 5483→ prompt for dupes
The first number is always the canonical (issue to keep). Remaining numbers are dupes (to close in favor of canonical).
Accepts issue numbers only — no URLs, no PRs. If the user passes a PR number, stop and tell them /merge-duplicates is for issues; PRs don't get "merged as duplicate" the same way.
Steps
1. Fetch all involved tickets
For canonical and each dupe, in parallel:
gh issue view <n> --repo linq2db/linq2db \
--json number,title,body,labels,state,author,url,closedAt,comments
Reject the bundle if:
- Any ticket is already
closed(flag and ask — merging into a closed canonical is sometimes intentional, but dupes must be open). - Any ticket doesn't exist (404 → abort).
- The user passed a PR number (check via
gh pr viewsilently; if it succeeds, abort). - Canonical number appears in the dupe list (self-merge).
2. Propose canonical (only if computed suggestion differs from user's pick)
Compute a suggested canonical using:
- Highest
commentscount wins. - Tiebreak: oldest
createdAtamong tickets with substantive bodies (>200 chars). - Tiebreak: most labels.
If the computed suggestion differs from the user's passed canonical, show both and ask — never silently swap. If they match, proceed without mentioning it.
Example prompt when they differ:
You passed #5483 as canonical, but #5412 has more discussion (14 comments vs 0) and predates it. Swap canonical to #5412?
3. Diff content
For each dupe, extract content not already present in the canonical:
- Body snippets — reproductions, code samples, stack traces, error messages, version info, specific steps. Compare via substring match against the canonical body (truncated to ~2000 chars). Any paragraph in the dupe's body not substring-matched in the canonical is a consolidation candidate.
- Comments — any comment on the dupe not authored by the dupe's original reporter or a bot. Third-party user comments (people adding info) are the highest-value transfer target.
- Labels — any
provider: *,area: *, or similar topic-scoped label on the dupe that the canonical lacks. Skiptype: *,status: *,severity: *,epic: *,resolution: *(maintainer-managed, not topic-scoped).
If a dupe has no novel content (empty body, no comments, no extra labels), it contributes only the close action — no consolidation entry.
4. Draft the action bundle
Up to four action classes:
A. Canonical consolidation comment (only if any dupe contributed novel content)
Use ### headers per source, not block-quotes. Reason: block-quote + fenced code block renders awkwardly on GitHub (each line needs > prefix, which breaks fences). Headers + plain-paragraph excerpts preserve code fences exactly as authored.
Consolidated from duplicate issue(s):
### From #<dupe1> (by @<author1>)
<body snippet, copied verbatim — fenced ```code``` blocks preserved as-is>
### From #<dupe2> (comment by @<author2>)
<comment text, copied verbatim>
Never paraphrase. Truncate with […] + a link to the source comment only when a single snippet exceeds ~2000 chars.
B. Label additions on canonical (one per new label)
gh issue edit <canonical> --repo linq2db/linq2db --add-label "<label>"
C. Per-dupe closing comment (one per dupe)
Text:
Closing as duplicate of #. Any additional details or reproductions — please add them to #.
D. Per-dupe close with duplicate state reason (one per dupe)
Preferred:
gh issue close <dupe> --repo linq2db/linq2db --reason "duplicate"
If the installed gh doesn't support --reason duplicate, fall back to:
gh api -X PATCH repos/linq2db/linq2db/issues/<dupe> \
-f state=closed -f state_reason=duplicate
Detect support once per session by running gh issue close --help and caching the answer.
5. Present the plan and wait
Show the full bundle in a structured form:
Canonical: #5412 "Firebird 5: native IF EXISTS" (14 comments, provider: firebird, area:DDL)
Duplicates: #5483, #5485
Planned actions:
[A] Post consolidation comment on #5412 (from #5483 body + #5485 comment by @user2)
[B] Add label "severity: regression" to #5412 (from #5485)
[C1] Post closing comment on #5483
[C2] Post closing comment on #5485
[D1] Close #5483 with state_reason=duplicate
[D2] Close #5485 with state_reason=duplicate
Then display the full text of every comment that would be posted (A, C1, C2). No abbreviation — the user must see the literal content before approving.
Wait for one of:
all— execute every action in orderskip <N>(one or more dupe numbers) — drop actions for dupe<N>but proceed with the rest, including A if any other dupes still contribute contentno— abort, make no changes
6. Execute — closes last, no rollback needed
Only after explicit approval. Three phases:
Phase 1 (parallel): Action A (consolidation comment on canonical) + Action B (label additions on canonical).
Phase 2 (parallel across dupes): For each non-skipped dupe, post Action C (closing comment). Track per-dupe success.
Phase 3 (parallel across dupes): Only for dupes whose Phase-2 comment succeeded, fire Action D (close with state_reason=duplicate).
If C fails for a dupe, its D is skipped — dupe stays open, no manual reopen needed. Other dupes proceed independently. Every failure mode leaves the world recoverable without rollback.
Use:
gh issue comment <n> --repo linq2db/linq2db --body-file <path>
Write each comment body to .build/.claude/merge-dupes-<n>-<kind>.md first — gh chokes on heredocs for long bodies.
7. Report
After execution:
✓ Posted consolidation comment on #<canonical> → <url>
✓ Added label "<label>" to #<canonical>
✓ Closed #<dupe1> as duplicate → <url>
✓ Closed #<dupe2> as duplicate → <url>
✗ Skipped #<dupe3> — comment post failed: <error>
8. Do not
- Edit any existing comment, issue body, or PR body. See
agent-rules.md→ GitHub content authored by others. Every addition is a new comment. - Close the canonical.
- Attempt rollback on partial failure — the close-last execution order ensures no rollback is ever needed. Report state and stop.
- Act across repos.
linq2db/linq2dbonly. - Invoke
/find-issueson the user's behalf — the user chose the dupes.
Source: linq2db/linq2db — distributed by TomeVault.