Agent skill

working-on-an-issue

Use when asked to work on, read, or implement a GitHub issue.

View SKILL.md on GitHub Repository
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Install this agent skill to your Project

npx add-skill https://github.com/britt/claude-code-skills/tree/main/skills/working-on-an-issue

SKILL.md

Working on an Issue

Announce at start: "I'm using the working-on-an-issue skill to implement this GitHub issue."

Overview

A structured workflow for implementing GitHub issues with verification.

Core Principle: Understand → Plan → Verify → Implement → Verify Again

When to Use

  • Developer asks to work on a GitHub issue
  • Developer asks to implement an issue
  • Developer provides an issue URL or number

Pre-flight Checklist

Before starting:

  • Issue URL or number obtained
  • Repository cloned and on correct branch
  • CLAUDE.md exists (or run setting-up-a-project first)
  • Developer available for questions (or async mode agreed)

The Process

1. Read and Understand the Issue

Get the issue content via:

  • GitHub CLI: gh issue view <number>
  • Ask user to paste the issue content
  • Use GitHub MCP tools if available

Clarify before proceeding:

  • If requirements are ambiguous, ask specific questions
  • If acceptance criteria are missing, propose them
  • If scope is unclear, confirm boundaries

Do not assume or invent requirements not in the issue.

2. Write an Implementation Plan

Use the obra/writing-plans skill (if available) or create a brief plan covering:

  1. What changes are needed
  2. Which files will be modified/created
  3. Order of implementation
  4. Risks or unknowns

Save to docs/plans/issue-<number>-plan.md and get developer approval before proceeding.

3. Write a Verification Plan

Use the britt/writing-verification-plans skill to create acceptance tests for the issue.

4. Implement

  • Follow TDD practices if TDD.rules.md is present
  • Commit after each logical change
  • Pause and ask if you hit unexpected complexity

5. Execute Verification

Run the verification plan. Report results using the verification log format from britt/writing-verification-plans.

Absolute Rules

  • No assumptions: Ask if anything is unclear
  • No scope creep: Only implement what's specified
  • Verification required: Task is incomplete until verification passes or developer confirms manual verification
  • Blocked = Stop: If blocked, use summoning-the-user skill

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