start-issue

Turn a GitHub issue into a dedicated branch, git worktree, and coding-agent session.

start-issue turns issue context into a repeatable workflow:

issue -> branch
branch -> worktree
worktree -> agent session

It fetches issue metadata with gh, creates a git worktree with a branch name based on the issue, optionally runs init.sh, optionally renames the current zellij tab, and starts a configurable coding agent session.

Install

Install from source with Go:

go install github.com/dapi/start-issue/v2/cmd/start-issue@latest

Published releases contain platform-specific Go binaries and a checksums.txt manifest. Download the asset matching your OS and architecture from the release page and verify it against that manifest before adding it to PATH.

After bootstrapping the Go command, start-issue install performs the same platform selection and SHA-256 verification before installing the latest POSIX release binary into ~/.local/bin.

Build and install from source:

make install

This builds and installs the Go binary to ~/.local/bin/start-issue.

Make sure ~/.local/bin is in your PATH.

Update an existing installation to the latest published GitHub Release:

start-issue update
start-issue --update

The update workflow resolves the latest GitHub Release for dapi/start-issue, compares it with the running executable version, and updates the same executable path when a newer release exists. If the installed version is already current, the command exits successfully with a clear no-op message.

Usage

start-issue 123
start-issue https://github.com/owner/repo/issues/123
start-issue 123 --repo owner/repo --base develop
start-issue 123 --agent codex
start-issue 123 --agent codex --model gpt-5.2
start-issue 123 --agent codex --human-gate
start-issue 123 --agent kimi --prompt-file .start-issue/prompt.md
start-issue 123 --no-agent
start-issue 123 --dry-run
start-issue setup
start-issue --setup
start-issue init
start-issue init --project --agent codex --model gpt-5.2
start-issue update
start-issue --update
start-issue --human-gate-help

Running start-issue without an issue prints the normal help plus the currently selected agent, selected model, prompt source, and prompt location, then exits without contacting GitHub.

Workflow

flowchart TD
A["start-issue ISSUE [options]"] --> B["Resolve context<br/>repo, issue, base branch"]
B --> C["Load configuration<br/>agent, prompt, worktree dir"]
C --> D["Fetch GitHub issue metadata"]
D --> Z["Optional zellij tab rename<br/>with zellij-tab-status"]
Z --> E["Plan branch and worktree path"]
E --> F{"--dry-run?"}
F -- yes --> G["Print planned actions<br/>and exit"]
F -- no --> H["Create or reuse git worktree"]
H --> I["Run worktree init hook if enabled"]
I --> J["Render agent prompt"]
J --> K{"Agent selected?"}
K -- yes --> L["Launch selected coding agent<br/>inside worktree"]
K -- no --> M["Print manual next steps"]
L --> N["Work on issue"]
M --> N

Internal Architecture

The Go entrypoint is cmd/start-issue. It owns argument parsing, configuration resolution, repository and worktree orchestration, self-install/update, output, and adapter commands for supported agents. git, gh, and agent CLIs remain explicit external process boundaries.

Configuration and prompt helpers resolve CLI, environment, project, and user defaults.
Repository/worktree helpers fetch issue metadata, plan reuse safely, and run the optional init.sh hook found in a prepared worktree.
Agent helpers validate adapters, build launch commands, generate AI branch names, and run Codex human-gate mode.
Release helpers select platform assets, verify checksums and staged --version output, and atomically install updates.

The internal pipeline is now:

Parse input.
Resolve config.
Fetch issue.
Plan branch and worktree.
Execute the plan.
Launch the selected agent.

The Go implementation keeps lifecycle commands, configuration shape, and output in one compiled CLI while retaining external-tool boundaries. Future additions should preserve the same focused helper boundaries rather than reintroducing a second runtime implementation.

CLI Arguments

Argument	Description
`ISSUE`	GitHub issue number or full GitHub issue URL. Required.
`init`	Create default configuration files for either the current project or the current user.
`setup`	Run first-run onboarding for user config in `~/.config/start-issue`.
`update`	Update the running `start-issue` executable from the latest published GitHub Release.
`--repo OWNER/REPO`, `-r OWNER/REPO`	Repository to read the issue from when `ISSUE` is a number. If omitted, `start-issue` detects the repository from `origin`.
`--base BRANCH`, `-b BRANCH`	Base branch for the new worktree branch. If omitted, `start-issue` uses the repository default when available, otherwise the current branch.
`--worktree-dir DIR`, `-w DIR`	Parent directory for created worktrees. Overrides `START_ISSUE_WORKTREE_DIR`.
`--flat`	Use a flat worktree path by replacing `/` in the branch name with `-`.
`--agent AGENT`	Agent to launch after preparing the worktree. With `init`, the default agent to write. Supported: `claude`, `codex`, `kimi`, `pi`, `none`.
`--model MODEL`	Explicit model for the selected agent. With `init`, the model config to write. If omitted, built-in behavior stays unset and the selected agent CLI decides.
`--no-agent`	Prepare the worktree and print manual next steps without launching an agent. Alias for `--agent none`.
`--no-claude`	Compatibility alias for `--no-agent`.
`--prompt TEXT`	Inline prompt template for the selected agent. With `init`, the prompt template to write. Mutually exclusive with `--prompt-file`.
`--prompt-file PATH`	Prompt template file for the selected agent. With `init`, the file content to write. Mutually exclusive with `--prompt`.
`--improve-prompt`	Ask the selected agent to generate a reviewable improved prompt template proposal, then exit before creating a worktree.
`--human-gate`	Codex-only batch mode for issue work. Runs `codex exec`, exits on `STATUS: DONE`, and resumes the same session on `STATUS: HUMAN_GATE`.
`--human-gate-help`	Show dedicated help for the Codex human-gate workflow, including prompt contract, exit codes, and state files.
`--prompt-output-file PATH`	Proposal output path for `--improve-prompt`.
`--no-init`	Do not run `init.sh` even if it exists in the created worktree.
`--command COMMAND`, `-c COMMAND`	Claude command prefix used by the default Claude prompt. Default: `/task-router:route-task`.
`--ai`	Ask the selected agent to generate the branch name. Falls back to the local branch-name heuristic if generation fails.
`--project`	With `init`, write project config under `.start-issue` in the git root.
`--user`	With `init`, write user config under `~/.config/start-issue`.
`--force`	With `init`, overwrite existing `agent` and `prompt.md` files, and reset `model` to the selected value or to built-in unset when `--model` is omitted. Existing files are kept by default without `--force`.
`--dry-run`	Print the selected configuration and launch command without creating a worktree, running `init.sh`, or launching an agent. With `init`, print planned config writes without creating files.
`--setup`	Run the same user-config onboarding flow as `start-issue setup`.
`--update`	Update the running `start-issue` executable from the latest published GitHub Release. Equivalent to `start-issue update`.
`--version`, `-v`	Show version.
`--help`, `-h`	Show help.

Detailed per-agent examples are in docs/agent-examples.md.

Related Claude Code marketplace workflows:

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
`START_ISSUE_AGENT`	Default agent when `--agent` is not provided and no config file sets an agent. Supported: `claude`, `codex`, `kimi`, `pi`, `none`. Built-in default: `claude`.
`START_ISSUE_MODEL`	Default model when `--model` is not provided and no config file sets a model. Built-in default: unset, which lets the selected agent CLI decide.
`START_ISSUE_PROMPT`	Inline prompt template used when no CLI prompt is provided. It overrides project and user prompt files. Mutually exclusive with `START_ISSUE_PROMPT_FILE` when no CLI prompt is provided.
`START_ISSUE_PROMPT_FILE`	Prompt template file used when no CLI prompt is provided. It overrides project and user prompt files. Mutually exclusive with `START_ISSUE_PROMPT` when no CLI prompt is provided.
`START_ISSUE_WORKTREE_DIR`	Default parent directory for created worktrees when `--worktree-dir` is not provided. Built-in default: `~/worktrees`.
`START_ISSUE_DUMP_PROMPT`	When set to `1`, dry-run output includes the full rendered prompt instead of only summary information.

Configuration Files

File	Description
`.start-issue/agent`	Project default agent. Read from the git root.
`.start-issue/model`	Project default model. Read from the git root when present.
`.start-issue/prompt.md`	Project default prompt template. Read from the git root.
`~/.config/start-issue/agent`	User default agent.
`~/.config/start-issue/model`	User default model. Read when present.
`~/.config/start-issue/prompt.md`	User default prompt template.

Run start-issue setup or start-issue --setup for the friendly user-level onboarding flow. It works only with ~/.config/start-issue, asks for the default agent (claude, codex, kimi, pi, or skip), shows the derived default prompt, and writes prompt.md only when the user confirms.

Run start-issue init for the existing manual initializer. If neither --project nor --user is provided, the command asks which scope to initialize. It writes the built-in default agent and prompt unless --agent, --prompt, or --prompt-file is provided. --model writes a sibling model file; when --model is omitted, built-in behavior stays unset and no new model file is created. If an existing agent file is kept without --force, the generated default prompt is chosen for that kept agent.

On an ordinary non-setup launch, if ~/.config/start-issue does not exist yet, start-issue shows a compact first-run message and asks whether to run setup immediately. If the user declines, it still creates the empty ~/.config/start-issue directory so the onboarding prompt is not shown again automatically.

Self-Update

start-issue update and start-issue --update are equivalent entry points.

The workflow:

Resolves the latest published GitHub Release for dapi/start-issue.
Reads the version of the executable the user is currently running.
Normalizes version strings so 1.11.1 and v1.11.1 compare as equal.
If the running version is current or newer than the latest published release, exits 0 with a clear status message.
If a newer published release exists, downloads the matching platform binary and checksums.txt, verifies the checksum, and installs the update into the resolved target of the executable the user invoked.

The update workflow works outside a git repository and requires only gh. The Go binary parses release metadata, downloads assets, and verifies checksums internally.

Codex Human-Gate

start-issue 123 --agent codex --human-gate keeps the normal issue-start workflow through worktree creation, optional init.sh, and prompt rendering, but replaces the final interactive Codex launch with a resumable batch run.

The batch flow:

runs codex exec with JSON event output and a saved last-message file;
captures thread_id from the thread.started event;
exits 0 on STATUS: DONE;
opens codex resume --include-non-interactive <thread_id> on STATUS: HUMAN_GATE.

This mode is intentionally Codex-only. --human-gate with any other agent fails clearly instead of being ignored.

When the workflow is about to block for a branch/worktree decision, it prints Waiting for input: .... Before handing control to an interactive agent or Codex batch run, it prints Handing off to <agent> in <worktree>. A non-zero exit from codex exec is reported as a failed human-gate run with exit code 1; the captured events and thread id remain available for diagnosis.

Dedicated help:

start-issue --human-gate-help

Prompt contract:

The final message must contain exactly one terminal status line: STATUS: DONE or STATUS: HUMAN_GATE.
HUMAN_GATE is only for real user decisions such as destructive actions, missing credentials, incompatible product choices, or unresolved test failures that cannot be fixed safely inside scope.

Exit codes:

0: Codex returned STATUS: DONE.
1: Codex failed, no thread_id was captured, no recognized final status was found, or parsing failed.
2: Codex returned STATUS: HUMAN_GATE, but start-issue could not open interactive resume. The resume command and thread id are printed for manual reuse.

State files:

<worktree>/.start-issue/runs/<timestamp>/events.jsonl
<worktree>/.start-issue/runs/<timestamp>/last-message.txt
<worktree>/.start-issue/runs/<timestamp>/thread-id

Local real-Codex E2E smoke test

The normal Bats suite uses a fake Codex CLI. To exercise the real local Codex CLI, run this opt-in test from a start-issue checkout:

START_ISSUE_E2E=1 make e2e-human-gate

The script uses the private dapi/start-issue-e2e-fixture repository and its control issue, requires authenticated gh, rejects the fake Codex binary, and creates an isolated temporary clone and worktree parent. It deletes those after success; set START_ISSUE_E2E_KEEP=1 to retain them. It also rejects any fixture worktree change other than its .start-issue state. To test interactive resume, run:

START_ISSUE_E2E=1 \
test/e2e/human-gate.sh --scenario human-gate

Exit the resumed Codex session to let the script verify the artifacts.

Scenarios and checks

Scenario	Command	What it verifies
`done`	`START_ISSUE_E2E=1 make e2e-human-gate`	A real Codex batch run emits `thread.started`, saves `thread-id`, `events.jsonl`, and `last-message.txt`, ends with `STATUS: DONE`, and leaves no fixture change other than `.start-issue` state.
`human-gate`	`START_ISSUE_E2E=1 test/e2e/human-gate.sh --scenario human-gate`	The same artifact and clean-worktree checks, plus the reported explicit `codex resume --include-non-interactive <thread_id>` handoff. The operator exits the resumed interactive session before the script can finish.

Both scenarios verify authenticated gh, a real rather than fake Codex binary, and the required codex exec help interface (--output-last-message, without the obsolete --ask-for-approval flag). The selected Codex executable is printed in the test output. They do not prove application behavior beyond this human-gate protocol and are intentionally excluded from CI.

CI sandbox E2E

Run the deterministic built-binary E2E locally:

make e2e-sandbox

It uses a temporary local git repository plus fake gh and Kimi commands, but real worktree creation, init.sh, prompt rendering, model/cwd forwarding, and dry-run behavior. It needs no network, credentials, or external agent and runs in the sandbox-e2e CI job.

Configuration precedence:

Agent: CLI --agent / --no-agent, then project config, user config, START_ISSUE_AGENT, then built-in default claude
Model: CLI --model, then project config, user config, START_ISSUE_MODEL, then built-in unset
Prompt: CLI, then project config, user config, environment prompt, then built-in default

Claude uses the plugin-native command by default:

/task-router:route-task {ISSUE_URL}

Other agents use a portable prompt by default. Kimi is launched from the worktree directory because current Kimi Code CLI versions do not support the legacy --work-dir option and reject --yolo together with --prompt.

To improve the prompt template used for future development starts, run:

start-issue 123 --agent codex --improve-prompt

The command resolves the active prompt template with the normal precedence, fetches the issue as context, asks the selected agent for a complete improved prompt template, and writes a proposal file. It does not overwrite the active prompt. Markdown prompt files write next to the source as *.improved.md; other file names append .improved. Built-in and inline prompts write to .start-issue/prompt.improved.md. Use --prompt-output-file to choose another proposal path.

Prompt templates support:

{ISSUE_URL}
{ISSUE_NUMBER}
{ISSUE_TITLE}
{ISSUE_BODY}
{ISSUE_LABELS}
{REPO}
{BRANCH_NAME}
{WORKTREE_PATH}
{BASE_BRANCH}

Unknown placeholders are left unchanged.

Zellij Support

If zellij-tab-status is available in PATH, start-issue renames the current Zellij tab to #ISSUE_NUMBER with zellij-tab-status --set-name after the issue is fetched.

This step is optional. Missing zellij-tab-status is ignored, and a rename failure is reported as a warning without stopping the workflow.

Optional dependency for Zellij support:

zellij-tab-status

Requirements

git
gh CLI with authenticated GitHub session
selected agent CLI unless --agent none or --dry-run is used

Building from source additionally requires Go 1.24+. The optional Bash installer and the manual-install snippet require bash, curl or wget, and a SHA-256 tool; those tools are not used by start-issue update.

Releases

GitHub Releases are published automatically when a SemVer tag like v1.12.0 is pushed. The release workflow reruns the Go test suite and publishes platform-specific binaries with a checksum manifest:

start-issue-linux-amd64
start-issue-linux-arm64
start-issue-darwin-amd64
start-issue-darwin-arm64
start-issue-windows-amd64.exe
checksums.txt
start-issue and start-issue.sha256 (temporary v1 update bridge)

To prepare a release locally:

make test
git tag v2.0.0
git push origin v2.0.0

Before preparing a release, add user-facing changes under ## [Unreleased] in CHANGELOG.md.

Create releases from a clean worktree after make test and make build pass. The tag is the source of the published binary version.

Publish the prepared release with:

git push origin master --follow-tags

Specification

The script specification is in doc/spec.md.

License

MIT

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 96 Commits
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
cmd/start-issue		cmd/start-issue
doc		doc
docs		docs
memory-bank		memory-bank
scripts		scripts
skills/start-issue-cmux		skills/start-issue-cmux
test/e2e		test/e2e
.gitignore		.gitignore
.goreleaser.yaml		.goreleaser.yaml
AGENTS.md		AGENTS.md
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
Makefile		Makefile
README.md		README.md
README.ru.md		README.ru.md
go.mod		go.mod
install.sh		install.sh
mise.toml		mise.toml

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