Github Issue Label Audit And Command Bundles

GitHub issue label audit and command bundles

Use when you already have draft issue bodies/titles and want to produce reliable gh issue create commands or operator scripts without failing on missing labels or duplicate issues.

Why this exists

A common failure mode is generating polished gh issue create commands that reference labels not present in the target repo. Another is using only broad keyword search and missing an exact-title duplicate check. This skill front-loads those checks before side effects.

Workflow

1. Confirm target repo and auth

   • git remote -v
   • gh auth status
   • verify the intended owner/repo explicitly instead of assuming the current checkout or script default is correct.

2. Audit live labels before generating commands

   • gh label list --repo <owner/repo>
   • compare proposed labels against actual repo taxonomy.
   • if a drafted label does not exist, replace it with an existing repo label rather than leaving a broken command in a reusable script.
   • add an inline note in the generated script documenting which labels were verified and which drafted labels were removed/replaced.

3. Search for duplicates twice

   • broad keyword search for nearby issues:
     • gh issue list --repo <owner/repo> --state all --search '<keyword1> OR <keyword2>'
   • exact-title or exact-phrase search for each planned issue title:
     • gh issue list --repo <owner/repo> --state all --search '"<exact title or distinctive phrase>"'
   • broad search finds nearby work; exact search catches low-noise duplicates.

4. Generate body files and commands only after the audit

   • prefer --body-file over inline body strings.
   • emit copy/paste commands or a shell script only after repo/auth/label/duplicate checks are complete.

5. Re-render and verify the final command bundle

   • execute the script in print mode if possible.
   • confirm printed commands reference only existing labels and the correct repo.

6. If label audit forces changes, patch all related artifacts consistently

   • update the standalone gh issue create helper script
   • update any broader operator bundle that embeds those commands
   • re-run the rendered output check afterward

Good fit examples

• turning review findings into 3-10 follow-up GitHub issues
• preparing operator handoff scripts for issue creation
• building repeatable triage or issue-seeding bundles for a repo with a custom taxonomy

Pitfalls

• Do not assume labels like area:*, parsing, or releases exist just because they look reasonable.
• Do not rely only on broad keyword search when avoiding duplicates.
• Do not update one script and forget a second operator bundle that embeds the same commands.

Minimal command checklist

gh auth status
gh label list --repo <owner/repo>
gh issue list --repo <owner/repo> --state all --search '"<exact title>"'

Then generate or patch the reusable gh issue create commands.