GitLab Tickets

Create well-structured GitLab issues through natural conversation using glab CLI.

Prerequisites

• glab CLI installed and authenticated
• Run glab auth status to verify

Workflow

1. Understand the Idea

Ask clarifying questions one at a time to understand:

• What type of work (feature, bug, chore, docs)
• The core problem or need
• Key requirements and constraints
• Acceptance criteria

Prefer multiple-choice questions when possible.

2. Summarize Before Creating

Present a brief summary of the ticket before creating:

**[Title]**
- Bullet points of key details
- Scope and acceptance criteria

Ask: "Does this capture what you want, or should I change something?"

3. Create the Issue

Use glab issue create with structured description:

glab issue create \
  --title "Descriptive title" \
  --label "feature" \
  --description "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Summary
Brief description of the work.

## Details
- Key requirements
- Technical approach (if known)

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] Criteria 1
- [ ] Criteria 2
EOF
)"

4. Link Related Issues

When issues are related, add links in the description:

• Related to #N - general relationship
• Blocks #N - this must be done first
• Depends on #N - this needs another issue done first

Label Management

Check existing labels: glab label list

Create labels if needed:

glab label create -n "label-name" -c "#hex-color" -d "Description"

Standard labels: | Label | Color | Purpose | |-------|-------|---------| | feature | #28a745 | New functionality | | bug | #dc3545 | Something broken | | chore | #6c757d | Maintenance, CI/CD | | docs | #0366d6 | Documentation |

Breaking Down Work

If an issue is large, offer to break it into smaller tickets:

• Create an epic/parent issue for the overall feature
• Create child issues for individual tasks
• Link children to parent with "Part of #N"

Resuming a Session

To get context when resuming a ticketing session, run scripts/context.sh to see:

• Current repository
• Existing labels
• Recent issues

Commands Reference

glab issue list                    # List open issues
glab issue view <id>               # View issue details
glab issue create                  # Interactive create
glab issue update <id> --label X   # Add label
glab label list                    # List labels