Clean Up Duplicate GitHub Issues

CRITICAL: This command detects and closes duplicate GitHub issues created by multiple syncs.

Usage

/sw-github:cleanup-duplicates <epic-id> [--dry-run]

What It Does

Duplicate Detection & Cleanup:

1. Find all issues for the Epic (searches by Epic ID in title)
2. Group by title (detect duplicates)
3. For each duplicate group:
   • Keep the FIRST created issue (lowest number)
   • Close all LATER issues with comment: "Duplicate of #XXX"
4. Update Epic README with correct issue numbers

Examples

Dry Run (No Changes)

/sw-github:cleanup-duplicates FS-031 --dry-run

Output:

🔍 Scanning for duplicates in Epic FS-031...
   Found 25 total issues
   Detected 10 duplicate groups:

   📋 Group 1: "[FS-031] External Tool Status Synchronization"
      - #250 (KEEP) - Created 2025-11-10
      - #255 (CLOSE) - Created 2025-11-11 - DUPLICATE
      - #260 (CLOSE) - Created 2025-11-12 - DUPLICATE

   📋 Group 2: "[FS-031] Multi-Project GitHub Sync"
      - #251 (KEEP) - Created 2025-11-10
      - #256 (CLOSE) - Created 2025-11-11 - DUPLICATE

   ...

✅ Dry run complete!
   Total issues: 25
   Duplicate groups: 10
   Issues to close: 15

⚠️  This was a DRY RUN - no changes made.
   Run without --dry-run to actually close duplicates.

Actual Cleanup

/sw-github:cleanup-duplicates FS-031

Output:

🔍 Scanning for duplicates in Epic FS-031...
   Found 25 total issues
   Detected 10 duplicate groups

⚠️  CONFIRM: Close 15 duplicate issues? [y/N]
> y

🗑️  Closing duplicates...
   ✅ Closed #255 (duplicate of #250)
   ✅ Closed #256 (duplicate of #251)
   ✅ Closed #260 (duplicate of #250)
   ...

📝 Updating Epic README frontmatter...
   ✅ Updated frontmatter with correct issue numbers

✅ Cleanup complete!
   Closed: 15 duplicates
   Kept: 10 original issues

Arguments

• <epic-id> - Epic ID (e.g., FS-031 or just 031)
• --dry-run - Preview changes without actually closing issues (optional)

Safety Features

✅ Confirmation prompt: Asks before closing issues (unless --dry-run) ✅ Dry run mode: Preview changes safely ✅ Keeps oldest issue: Preserves the first created issue ✅ Adds closure comment: Links to the original issue ✅ Updates metadata: Fixes Epic README frontmatter

What Gets Closed

Closed issues:

• ✅ Duplicate titles (second, third, etc. occurrences)
• ✅ Closed with comment: "Duplicate of #XXX"
• ✅ Original issue kept open (or maintains its status)

Example comment on closed duplicate:

Duplicate of #250

This issue was automatically closed by SpecWeave cleanup because it is a duplicate.

The original issue (#250) contains the same content and should be used for tracking instead.

🤖 Auto-closed by SpecWeave Duplicate Cleanup

Requirements

1. GitHub CLI (gh) installed and authenticated
2. Write access to repository (for closing issues)
3. Epic folder exists at .specweave/docs/internal/specs/FS-XXX-name/

When to Use

Use this command when:

• ✅ You see multiple issues with the same title in GitHub
• ✅ Epic sync ran multiple times and created duplicates
• ✅ Epic README frontmatter got corrupted and reset
• ✅ Post-sync validation warns about duplicates

Example warning that triggers this:

⚠️  WARNING: 10 duplicate(s) detected!
   Run cleanup command to resolve:
   /sw-github:cleanup-duplicates FS-031

Troubleshooting

"No duplicates found":

• Good! Your Epic has no duplicate issues
• Run epic sync is working correctly with duplicate detection

"GitHub CLI not authenticated":

• Run: gh auth login
• Ensure you have write access to the repository

"Could not find Epic folder":

• Check Epic exists: ls .specweave/docs/internal/specs/
• Verify Epic ID format: FS-031-epic-name/

"Error closing issue":

• Check GitHub CLI: gh auth status
• Verify write permissions: gh repo view

Architecture

Duplicate Detection Logic:

1. Group issues by exact title match
2. Within each group, sort by issue number (ascending)
3. Keep first issue (lowest number = oldest)
4. Close all others as duplicates

Why lowest number?:

• Lower issue numbers were created first
• Preserves chronological order
• Maintains links from old documentation

Related Commands

• /sw-github:sync - Sync Feature to GitHub (with duplicate detection)
• /sw:validate - Validate increment completeness
• gh issue list - View all issues (GitHub CLI)

Implementation

File: plugins/specweave-github/lib/duplicate-detector.ts

Class: DuplicateDetector

Algorithm (3-phase protection):

1. Detection: Search GitHub for existing issues matching pattern
2. Verification: Count check to detect duplicates after creation
3. Reflection: Auto-close duplicates automatically

For manual cleanup:

1. Search GitHub for all issues with Feature ID
2. Group by title (Map<string, number[]>)
3. Filter groups with >1 issue (duplicates)
4. For each duplicate group:
   • Keep first issue (lowest number)
   • Close others with gh CLI

Next Steps

After cleanup:

1. Verify cleanup: gh issue list --search "[FS-031]"
2. Check Feature FEATURE.md: Verify frontmatter has correct issue numbers
3. Re-run sync: /sw-github:sync (should show no duplicates)
4. Duplicate detection: Automatically enabled via DuplicateDetector

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✅ SAFE TO USE: This command is idempotent and safe to run multiple times.