Gh Weld Next

gh-weld-next

Find something to work on. Read it. Branch. Go.

NEVER

• NEVER pick a blocked issue (one whose blocker issues are still open) without warning the user — starting blocked work wastes the sprint and may require a branch rename when the blocker resolves
• NEVER create a branch from main if main has uncommitted changes — uncommitted changes contaminate the new branch and pollute the issue diff. Instead: commit or stash first.

Workflow

1 — Check working tree

Run git status --porcelain. If the tree is dirty: output "Working tree has uncommitted changes — commit or stash before starting new work." and stop. This loop always branches from a clean main (see the NEVER rule above), so any uncommitted change — on main or a feature branch — would be carried onto the new branch and pollute the issue diff.

Run git branch --show-current. If not on main or master: warn "You're on branch <branch> — switch to main before starting new work? (y/n)". On yes, run git checkout main.

Run git pull to get the latest. If the pull fails (diverged history or merge conflict): output "git pull failed — main has diverged. Resolve the conflict or reconcile manually before starting new work." and stop. Do not branch from an unmerged main.

2 — List open issues

gh issue list --state open --json number,title,labels,updatedAt

Display as a numbered menu. For each issue show: N. #<number> — <title> [<labels>]. Sort by issue number ascending.

If no open issues: output "No open issues. Run /gh-weld-issue to create one." and stop.

3 — Pick

Ask: "Which issue? Enter a number from the list, or describe what you want to work on."

If the user is undecided, suggest the next issue by judgment, not just list order: prefer the highest-priority unblocked issue, break ties toward the one that unblocks the most other open issues, then toward the smallest well-scoped change that can ship this session. Surface the reason ("#N is unblocked and unblocks #X, #Y") rather than just naming it.

If the user describes something: match against titles and confirm before proceeding. If no match, offer to run /gh-weld-issue first.

Read the full issue:

gh issue view <N> --json number,title,body,labels

Display the full title and body so the user can read the acceptance criteria.

Check for blockers: look for Depends on # or Blocked by # in the body. If found, fetch each referenced issue:

gh issue view <blocker-N> --json number,title,state

If any blocker is still open: warn "Issue #N is blocked by open issue # — . Work on it anyway? (y/n)". If no, return to step 3.

Ask: "(a)ccept, (r)evise, or (s)kip?"

• (a): proceed to step 4.
• (r): prompt "Add context or notes (send as a single message):". Good notes: scope changes, key decisions, ambiguity resolved. Skip: restating the issue body. Collect the user's input. Write it to .weld/tmp/comment-body.md via Write tool. Post with:

  gh issue comment <N> --body-file .weld/tmp/comment-body.md
  

  Delete with rm .weld/tmp/comment-body.md. Proceed to step 4.
• (s): return to "Which issue?" prompt in step 3.

4 — Create branch

Infer a branch name from the issue title: lowercase, hyphens, max 50 chars. Prefix with fix/ for bugs, feat/ for features, chore/ for chores — inferred from labels. If type is ambiguous, use no prefix.

Show the proposed name and ask: "(a)ccept or enter a different name?"

git checkout -b <branch-name>

If the branch already exists (fatal: a branch named '<branch-name>' already exists): ask "Branch <branch-name> already exists — enter a different name, or (c)heck out the existing one?" Do not overwrite it.

5 — Hand off

Output:

Ready. You're on branch `<branch-name>` — issue #<N> is waiting.

When you're done: /gh-weld-ship

Stop. The user implements. /gh-weld-ship picks it up from here.