github-triage

github-triage

A Claude Code skill for triaging the open GitHub issues and pull requests of a repository with the gh CLI.

What It Does

Runs against the current repository and:

• Triages open PRs first (optional) — if there are open PRs, it offers to clear them before touching issues (so anything merged here is seen as "resolved" during issue triage):
  • Mergeable bot PRs (e.g. Dependabot) with all CI green → offers to merge them incrementally, in order, re-checking each PR right before it merges.
  • Maintainer-approved + green + mergeable PRs → prompts you to merge.
  • Never-reviewed PRs (only the author has looked) → offers to spawn a review subagent per PR; each review is saved to github-pr-<number>-review.md locally and is never posted to GitHub.
  • Needs-work PRs (draft, failing CI, conflicts, changes requested) → reported, no action.
• Closes already-resolved issues — when a merged PR or a commit on the default branch resolved the work but the issue was left open, it closes the issue with a comment that cites the resolving PR/commit.
• Cross-links pending fixes — when an open PR would resolve an issue, it ensures the issue and the PR reference each other with a non-destructive cross-reference comment, filling only the links that are genuinely missing. (Editing the PR body to add Closes #N for auto-close-on-merge is an explicit opt-in.)
• Scores everything outstanding — assigns each remaining issue a priority (Critical / High / Medium / Low) and an estimated change size (size/XS– size/XXL, based on predicted changed lines using the Kubernetes/Prow thresholds). These are shown locally only and are never posted to GitHub.

All GitHub writes are batched and require your approval before anything runs, and you can revise the proposed set before approving.

Repository Selection

• A git repo with exactly one GitHub-hosted remote → used automatically.
• Not a git repo, or no GitHub remote → prompts for the OWNER/REPO.
• Multiple distinct GitHub repos among the remotes → prompts you to pick one.

When to Use

Invoke with /github-triage to groom or review a repository's open issue and PR backlog.

Important: This skill only runs when explicitly invoked. It never triages, merges, or modifies anything proactively.

Safety Features

• Single gated review of all proposed writes, with iteration before approval — merges included.
• PRs are merged one at a time, in order, with CI and mergeability re-checked right before each merge; the run stops on the first failure and never force-merges.
• PR reviews are read-only: subagents only read the diff, reviews are saved locally, and nothing is posted to GitHub.
• Issues are closed only with concrete evidence (a merged PR or default-branch commit) and a comment that cites it; ambiguous cases are left open for review.
• Priority and change-size estimates are local planning aids, never written to GitHub.
• Large outstanding sets (> 32 issues) can be saved to a Markdown file (written to the current directory unless you specify a path) instead of flooding the terminal.

Prerequisites

• gh installed and authenticated (gh auth status).
• git (for remote detection and default-branch / commit lookups).

Installation

Add the Trail of Bits marketplace, then enable the plugin from the menu:

/plugin marketplace add trailofbits/skills
/plugin menu

Invoke it with /github-triage. The slash command is the skill — this plugin ships no separate command file.

Example

User: /github-triage

Claude: [Detects the single GitHub remote, lists open issues and PRs]
        "acme/widget has 6 open PRs and 41 open issues. Handle PRs first?"

User: "Yes."

Claude: ## Open PRs for acme/widget
        - Mergeable bot PRs (CI green): #201 (bump lodash 4.17.20→4.17.21),
          #202 (bump actions/checkout 4→5) — merge incrementally?
        - Approved & ready: #198 (reviewed by @maint, green) — merge?
        - Never reviewed: #205, #207 — spawn review subagents?
        - Needs work: #210 (CI failing) — skipped.

User: "Merge the bot PRs and review the unreviewed ones."

Claude: [Merges #201, re-checks #202, merges #202 — in order]
        [Spawns 2 review subagents → writes github-pr-205-review.md,
         github-pr-207-review.md]
        [Re-fetches merged PRs, then triages issues]

        ## Triage for acme/widget  (41 open issues)

        ### Proposed closes (already resolved) — WRITES to GitHub
        | Issue | Title             | Evidence       | Draft comment        |
        | #123  | Crash on empty in | merged PR #130 | "Resolved by #130 …" |

        ### Proposed cross-links (pending PR) — WRITES to GitHub
        | Issue | PR   | Gap                    | Proposed action          |
        | #140  | #145 | PR omits `Closes #140` | edit PR body to add ref  |

        ### Outstanding issues — LOCAL ONLY (37 issues)
        That's a large table — save to a Markdown file instead?

User: "Save it, and approve the closes but skip the #140 link for now."

Claude: [Closes #123 with the cited comment, skips the cross-link,
         writes github-triage-acme-widget-20260625.md]
        "Closed #123. Skipped the #140 ↔ #145 link. Saved 37 outstanding
         issues to github-triage-acme-widget-20260625.md."

Calcifier recipe for github-triage

The github-triage Python recipe was generated with Calcifier 0.1.0. It pins the source skill and its packaged resources so source changes can be detected before execution.

Install Calcifier with Python 3.13 or later, and configure the worker role(s) in an agent-config v1 file following the provider setup. Review the generated Python before granting trust.

Run the portable check from this plugin directory:

calcifier lint skills/github-triage/.calcifier/recipe.py --portable

Then use calcifier exec with the recipe path, --agent-config agents.json, and one --input NAME=VALUE for each required input below. Add --trust only after reviewing the recipe; execution records consent for those exact bytes.

Input	Type	Default
working_directory	str	'.'
display_cutoff	int	32

Depending on the execution path, tool providers may also be needed for Bash, Read, Grep, Agent, AskUserQuestion, Write. See the provider setup for --tool-config.