oh-task

Like mouse, but for GitHub issues instead of ba tasks. Claims an issue, works it to completion in an isolated branch, PR for human review.

Invocation

/oh-task <issue-number> [branch]

• <issue-number> - the GitHub issue number (e.g., 123 or #123)
• [branch] - optional base branch (default: origin/main)

Use [branch] for stacked PRs where this issue depends on another in-flight PR.

Flow

1. Determine the target branch:

   • If [branch] specified: use that branch (strip origin/ prefix if present)
   • Otherwise: use main

2. Sync with target branch from origin:

   git fetch origin
   git checkout -B <target-branch> origin/<target-branch>
   

3. Fetch and validate issue:

   gh issue view <issue-number> --json number,title,body,state,assignees
   

   Abort if issue is closed or already assigned to someone else.

4. Claim issue (assign to self):

   gh issue edit <issue-number> --add-assignee @me
   

   No commit needed - state is on GitHub.

5. Read dive context (if available) for project background:

   cat .wm/dive_context.md 2>/dev/null || echo "No dive context"
   

6. Read and understand the issue:

   • Review issue title and body
   • Think through the approach
   • Ask clarifying questions if requirements are ambiguous
   • Only proceed when confident in the approach

7. Create worktree from base branch:

   git fetch origin
   git worktree add .worktrees/issue-<number> -b issue/<number> --no-track origin/<target-branch>
   cd .worktrees/issue-<number>
   sg init
   

8. Work until issue is resolved

9. Stage changes (git add)

10. Run code checks (cargo check, npm/pnpm build, go build, etc. based on project type). Fix any errors, re-stage, re-run until clean.

11. Run sg review on staged changes (do NOT use code-reviewer agent)

12. Handle review findings:

    • P1-P3 trivial: fix inline, re-stage, re-review
    • P1-P3 non-trivial: create child issue with gh issue create --title "..." --body "Parent: #<issue-number>"
    • P4: discard (nitpick)

13. Commit code changes

14. CRITICAL: Complete ALL child issues before PR. Any gh issue create during this session = child that blocks PR. No "follow-ups" - if you create it, you work it now.

    While ANY unclosed issues created in this session:

    • Claim: gh issue edit <child-number> --add-assignee @me
    • Work until complete
    • Stage changes
    • Run code checks, fix errors until clean
    • Run sg review (each issue gets its own review!)
    • Handle findings (may spawn more children)
    • Commit
    • Loop until zero unclosed children

15. ALL issues addressed -> push and create PR:

    git push -u origin issue/<number>
    gh pr create --base <target-branch> --title "<issue-title>" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
    Closes #<issue-number>
    
    ## Also Closes
    - #<child-1>
    - #<child-2>
    
    ## Summary
    <brief description of changes>
    EOF
    )"
    

    The "Closes #N" syntax auto-closes issues when PR merges.

16. Wait for CodeRabbit review, then iterate:

    • gh pr view <pr-number> --comments to check for CodeRabbit feedback
    • Handle like sg findings:
      • Trivial: fix inline
      • Non-trivial: create child issue
      • Nits: ignore
    • For each fix or new issue:
      • Stage changes
      • Run code checks, fix errors until clean
      • Run sg review (CodeRabbit fixes get sg reviewed too!)
      • Handle any new findings
      • Commit
    • Push all changes
    • Repeat until CodeRabbit has no new comments

17. Verify CI is green:

    gh pr checks <pr-number> --watch --fail-on-error
    

    If CI fails:

    • Read the failing check logs
    • Attempt to fix the issue
    • Stage changes, run code checks, run sg review
    • Commit and push
    • Wait for CI again: gh pr checks <pr-number> --watch --fail-on-error
    • Max 3 CI fix attempts. If still failing, signal status: "error" with the failure reason.

18. Return to main repo and signal completion:

    cd <original-dir>
    

    Call signal_completion(status: "success", pr: "<pr-url>") to notify the orchestrator. CRITICAL: Signal BEFORE cleanup.

19. Cleanup worktree:

    git worktree remove .worktrees/issue-<number>
    

20. Exit and report PR URL

Git Workflow

• Create isolated worktree in .worktrees/issue-<number>
• All work happens on issue/<number> branch
• Branch from main/master at start
• Each issue = one or more commits
• Keep commits focused and atomic
• PR encompasses entire issue tree (parent + children)
• Worktree cleaned up after PR created

Review Handling

• P1-P3 findings: Create as GitHub issues, work them in this session
• P4 findings: Discard as nitpicks (don't create issues)

Human Touchpoint

The PR is the only human review point. Everything before is autonomous.

Exit Conditions

• Success: PR created, CI green, all issues in tree will close on merge
• Blocked: An issue needs human decision - stop and report
• Safety: Max 10 issue iterations (prevent runaway)

Completion Signaling (MANDATORY)

CRITICAL: You MUST signal completion when done. Call the signal_completion tool as your FINAL action. Signal based on outcome:

Outcome	Call
PR created, reviewed, CI green	signal_completion(status: "success", pr: "<pr-url>")
Unrecoverable failure	signal_completion(status: "error", error: "<reason>")
Needs human decision	signal_completion(status: "blocked", blocker: "<reason>")
If you do not signal, the orchestrator will not know you are done and the session becomes orphaned.

Fallback: If the signal_completion tool is not available, output your completion status as your final message in the format: COMPLETION: status=<status> pr=<url> or COMPLETION: status=<status> error=<reason>.

Example

$ /oh-task 42

Fetching issue #42...
Issue: "Fix validation bug in auth module"
State: open, unassigned

Claiming issue #42...
Assigned to @me

Reading dive context...
No dive context found.

Reading issue details...
Issue: Input validation fails silently on empty strings
Approach: Add explicit empty string check before processing
No clarifying questions needed, proceeding.

Creating worktree .worktrees/issue-42 on branch issue/42
Initializing superego...
Working on issue...
Staging changes...
Running sg review...
Found 2 issues:
  - P3: Add test for edge case -> non-trivial, created issue #43 (Parent: #42)
  - P4: Consider renaming variable -> discarded (nitpick)
Review clean (P3 spawned as issue, P4 discarded)
[commit] fix: validate input before processing

Working on child issue #43...
Claiming issue #43...
Staging changes...
Running sg review...
No issues found.
[commit] test: add edge case coverage

All issues complete.
Pushing issue/42...
Creating PR...
PR created: https://github.com/org/repo/pull/99
Body includes: Closes #42, Closes #43

Waiting for CodeRabbit review...
CodeRabbit found 2 issues:
  - "Add nil check before dereferencing" -> trivial, fixing inline
  - "Consider refactoring to reduce complexity" -> nit, ignoring
[commit] fix: add nil check per CodeRabbit
Pushing...
CodeRabbit review passed.
Waiting for CI checks...
CI passed (3/3 checks green).
Returning to main repo...
signal_completion(status: "success", pr: "https://github.com/org/repo/pull/99")
Cleaning up worktree...
Done.

Stacked PRs Example

$ /oh-task 42
# Claims issue #42 on main
# Creates PR #99: issue/42 -> main (Closes #42)

$ /oh-task 43 issue/42
# Checks out issue/42, claims issue #43
# Creates PR #100: issue/43 -> issue/42 (Closes #43)

$ /oh-task 44 issue/43
# Checks out issue/43, claims issue #44
# Creates PR #101: issue/44 -> issue/43 (Closes #44)

$ /drummer
# Merges in order: #99 -> main, rebases #100 -> main, rebases #101 -> main