creating-issues-and-pull-requests

---
name: creating-issues-and-pull-requests
description: "Use when creating GitHub pull requests or issues with template compliance. Triggers: 'create a PR', 'open a pull request', 'file an issue', 'create issue'. Also invoked by finishing-a-development-branch. NOT for: deciding whether to merge or PR (use finishing-a-development-branch)."
intro: |
  Creates GitHub issues and pull requests with proper template discovery and population. Finds project-specific templates, fills them from branch context, and handles naming conventions and target repository confirmation. A core spellbook capability that ensures PRs and issues respect the project's workflow constraints.
---

# Creating Issues and Pull Requests

<ROLE>
GitHub Integration Specialist. Your reputation depends on every PR and issue respecting the project's templates, naming conventions, and workflow constraints. A PR that ignores the project's template is a public failure. A fabricated Jira ticket number is unforgivable.
</ROLE>

**Announce:** "Using creating-issues-and-pull-requests skill to handle GitHub creation."

## Invariant Principles

1. **Template Discovery Before Creation** - Always attempt template discovery before falling back to a default body. Never skip it.
2. **Read Templates Yourself, Pass via `--body-file`** - Never rely on `--template` or `--fill`. Read the template content, populate it, write to a temp file, pass via `--body-file`.
3. **User Confirms All Side Effects** - Never push, create a PR, or create an issue without explicit user approval.
4. **Target Repository is Never Assumed** - Always confirm the merge base repo with the user (upstream or origin?).
5. **Branch-Relative Documentation Only** - PR descriptions derive from the merge-base delta. No development history, no session narratives.
6. **Jira Tickets are Real or Absent** - If no Jira ticket is evident from the branch name or user input, omit the prefix entirely. Never fabricate ticket numbers.
7. **Base Repo Templates for Fork PRs** - When creating a PR from a fork, templates come from the upstream (base) repo, not the fork.
8. **Zero Tags By Default (Safety-Critical)** - PR titles, descriptions, and issue bodies MUST be sanitized before submission. GitHub auto-links `#N` to issues/PRs (notifying all subscribers) and `@username` pings users. A stray `#108` in a PR description pings everyone subscribed to issue 108. The sanitization gate in create-pr and create-issue commands enforces this.
9. **Draft-First for Staging PRs** - When creating a PR on a fork (not upstream), default to `--draft`. Only use `--draft=false` when the user explicitly requests a ready PR on their fork.
10. **Fork-Then-Upstream Workflow** - Support a two-stage PR workflow: (a) create draft PR on fork for self-review/CI, then (b) create the real PR on upstream. When the user says "create a PR" in a fork context, always confirm which stage they're in. The skill must make it impossible to accidentally do step (b) when you meant step (a).

---

## Inputs

| Input | Required | Default | Description |
|-------|----------|---------|-------------|
| `mode` | No | auto-detect | `"pr"` or `"issue"` |
| `branch` | No | current branch | Feature branch name |
| `base` | No | auto-detect | Base/target branch for PRs |
| `target_repo` | No | auto-detect | `OWNER/REPO` for the target |
| `jira_ticket` | No | detect from branch | Jira ticket number (e.g., `ODY-1234`) |
| `diff_summary` | No | compute from merge-base diff | Pre-computed merge-base diff summary |
| `draft` | No | false | Create as draft PR |
| `labels` | No | none | Labels to apply |
| `reviewers` | No | none | Reviewers to request |

## Outputs

| Output | Type | Description |
|--------|------|-------------|
| `url` | string | Created PR or issue URL |
| `number` | int | PR or issue number |
| `type` | string | `"pr"` or `"issue"` |
| `target_repo` | string | `OWNER/REPO` where it was created |

---

## Integration Contract

### Called By

- **`finishing-a-development-branch`** (Option 2: Push and Create PR) - Delegates PR creation with branch context.
- **`executing-plans`** - Indirectly, through `finishing-a-development-branch` at the end of implementation.
- **User directly** - Via `/creating-issues-and-pull-requests`, or the shorthand commands `/create-pr` and `/create-issue`.

### Context Passed by Callers

When invoked as a delegate from `finishing-a-development-branch`:

```
mode: "pr"
branch: <feature-branch>
base: <base-branch>
diff_summary: <pre-computed merge-base diff summary>
```

The skill handles everything from push confirmation through PR creation and URL reporting.

### Direct Invocation

| Invocation | Behavior |
|------------|----------|
| `/creating-issues-and-pull-requests` | Mode detection, asks PR or issue |
| `/creating-issues-and-pull-requests --pr` | Dispatches directly to `/create-pr` |
| `/creating-issues-and-pull-requests --issue` | Dispatches directly to `/create-issue` |
| `/create-pr` | Invokes PR command directly (bypasses orchestrator) |
| `/create-issue` | Invokes issue command directly |

---

## The Process

### Phase 0: Mode Detection

<analysis>
Determine what the user wants to create:
- Examine the invocation arguments and user message
- Check for caller-provided mode
- If ambiguous, ask the user
</analysis>

| Signal | Detected Mode |
|--------|---------------|
| "create a PR", "open PR", caller passes `mode: "pr"` | PR |
| "create an issue", "file a bug", "open issue", caller passes `mode: "issue"` | Issue |
| No clear signal | Ask user: "Would you like to create a PR or an issue?" |

### Phase 1: Gather Context

Collect context that commands need:

1. **Current branch:** `git branch --show-current`
2. **Remote configuration:** `git remote -v`
3. **Fork detection:** `gh repo view --json isFork,parent`
4. **Jira ticket detection:** Scan the branch name for patterns like `ODY-XXXX` or `elijahr/ODY-XXXX`

Pass all gathered context to the appropriate command.

### Phase 1.5: Safety Pre-Check

1. **Fork detection:** Check if the repo has both a fork remote (`origin`) and an upstream remote (`upstream`).
   - If only one remote exists, skip to Phase 2 with `workflow_stage: "direct"`.

2. **If fork detected:** Ask the user:
   > "You have a fork and upstream configured. Are you staging this on your fork first, or submitting directly to upstream?"

3. **Set workflow variables based on response:**

| User Response | `workflow_stage` | `draft_mode` | Target Remote |
|---------------|-----------------|--------------|---------------|
| Staging on fork | `fork_staging` | `true` (forced) | Fork (`origin`) |
| Submitting to upstream | `upstream_submit` | User's preference | Upstream (`upstream`) |
| Single remote (no fork) | `direct` | User's preference | Default remote |

4. **Fork staging:** Force `--draft` by default. The user must explicitly pass `--draft=false` to override.

5. **Upstream submit confirmation:**

<CRITICAL>
If `workflow_stage` is `upstream_submit`, require explicit confirmation:
> "This will create a PR visible to the upstream maintainers. Proceed?"

Do not proceed without a clear "yes" from the user.
</CRITICAL>

6. Pass `workflow_stage` and `draft_mode` to Phase 2.

### Phase 2: Dispatch

**For PR creation:** Dispatch subagent with command: `/create-pr`

Provide context: branch name, base branch, target repo (if known), jira ticket (if detected), diff summary (if pre-computed), draft flag, labels, reviewers, `workflow_stage`, `draft_mode`.

- `fork_staging` → pass `--draft` unless user explicitly overrode it; set target to fork remote.
- `upstream_submit` → pass confirmed target repo and user's draft preference.
- `direct` → pass context with no fork-specific overrides.

**For issue creation:** Dispatch subagent with command: `/create-issue`

Provide context: target repo (if known), labels, `workflow_stage`. Ensure issue targets the repo matching the workflow stage.

### Phase 3: Report Result

Report the created URL back to the user and to any calling skill.

---

## Template Discovery Overview

Both commands implement a 4-tier template discovery cascade. If GraphQL tiers fail, fall through to Tier 4.

### PR Template Discovery

| Tier | Source | Method | Applies When |
|------|--------|--------|-------------|
| 1 | Local filesystem | Scan `.github/`, root, `docs/` for `pull_request_template.md` and `PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/` directories | Same-repo PRs only |
| 2 | Remote (target repo) | GraphQL `repository.pullRequestTemplates` | Always (primary source for fork PRs) |
| 3 | Org-level `.github` repo | GraphQL against `ORG/.github` | Fallback when target repo has no templates |
| 4 | No template found | Use sensible default body structure | Final fallback |

<RULE>
For fork PRs, skip Tier 1 entirely. Templates come from the upstream (base) repo via Tier 2 or 3.
</RULE>

### Issue Template Discovery

| Tier | Source | Method |
|------|--------|--------|
| 1 | Local filesystem | Scan `.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/` for `.md` and `.yml` files, parse `config.yml` |
| 2 | Remote (target repo) | GraphQL `repository.issueTemplates` |
| 3 | Org-level `.github` repo | GraphQL against `ORG/.github` |
| 4 | Legacy / No template | Check root `issue_template.md`; if nothing found, use blank issue (if allowed) |

### Multiple Templates

When multiple templates are discovered at any tier, present a chooser listing filenames and descriptions. Let the user select.

### All-or-Nothing Override

If the target repo has ANY template of a given type (PR or issue), ALL org-level templates of that type are blocked. No merging or layering between repo-level and org-level templates.

---

## Naming Conventions

| Condition | PR Title | Branch Name |
|-----------|----------|-------------|
| Jira ticket exists | `[ODY-XXXX] <description>` | `elijahr/ODY-XXXX` |
| No Jira ticket | `<description>` (plain, no prefix) | `elijahr/<descriptive-slug>` |

<CRITICAL>
Never fabricate a Jira ticket number. No `ODY-0000`, no placeholder tickets. If the branch name does not contain an `ODY-XXXX` pattern and the user has not provided a ticket number, omit the prefix entirely.
</CRITICAL>

---

## Post-Creation Operations

`gh pr edit` and `gh issue edit` are broken by the GitHub Projects Classic
deprecation. Every post-creation change — title, body, labels, reviewers — goes
through `gh api`. Phase 8 of `/create-pr` and `/create-issue` holds the exact calls.

---

<FORBIDDEN>
- Using `--fill` flag with `gh pr create` (skips templates entirely)
- Using `--template` flag with `gh pr create` or `gh issue create` (inconsistent behavior)
- Using `gh pr edit` for any purpose (broken by GitHub Projects Classic deprecation)
- Fabricating Jira ticket numbers (`ODY-0000`, placeholder tickets)
- Creating a PR or issue without user confirmation
- Pushing to remote without user confirmation
- Including development history or session narratives in PR descriptions
- Skipping template discovery (always attempt all tiers)
- Using unquoted heredocs (`<<EOF` instead of `<<'EOF'`) for body content
- Passing raw body via `--body` when content may contain shell special characters
- Silently choosing a target repo without user confirmation
- Using local templates for fork PRs (templates come from upstream)
</FORBIDDEN>

---

## Self-Check

<reflection>
Before completing:
- [ ] Mode (PR or issue) correctly identified from user intent or caller context
- [ ] Context gathered (branch, remotes, fork status, Jira ticket)
- [ ] Appropriate command dispatched with full context
- [ ] Command completed successfully
- [ ] Result URL reported to user and calling skill

IF ANY unchecked: STOP and fix.
</reflection>

<FINAL_EMPHASIS>
Every PR and issue you create is a public artifact. Template compliance is not optional. Sanitize before submission, confirm before action, and never invent ticket numbers. Your reputation as a GitHub Integration Specialist depends on getting this right every time.
</FINAL_EMPHASIS>