Create Issue Gate

Overview

Create GitHub issues as the single tracking entrypoint for tasks, with a hard gate on acceptance criteria.

Core rule: no explicit, testable acceptance criteria from user => issue stays draft and execution is blocked.

When to Use

You are starting a new implementation task and want a GitHub issue to be the required tracking entrypoint.
The work must be blocked until the user provides explicit, testable acceptance criteria.
You need to distinguish between draft, ready, and blocked work before execution begins.

Required Fields

Every issue must include these sections:

Problem
Goal
Scope
Non-Goals
Acceptance Criteria
Dependencies/Blockers
Status (draft | ready | blocked | done)

Acceptance Criteria Gate

Acceptance criteria are valid only when they are testable and pass/fail checkable.

Examples:

valid: "CreateCheckoutLambda-dev returns an openable third-party payment checkout URL"
invalid: "fix checkout" / "improve UX" / "make it better"

If criteria are missing or non-testable:

still create the issue
set Status: draft
add Execution Gate: blocked (missing valid acceptance criteria)
do not move task to execution

Issue Creation Mode

Default mode is direct GitHub creation using gh issue create.

Use a body template like:

## Problem
<what is broken or missing>

## Goal
<what outcome is expected>

## Scope
- <in scope item>

## Non-Goals
- <out of scope item>

## Acceptance Criteria
- <explicit, testable criterion 1>

## Dependencies/Blockers
- <dependency or none>

## Status
draft|ready|blocked|done

## Execution Gate
allowed|blocked (<reason>)

Status Rules

draft: missing/weak acceptance criteria or incomplete task definition
ready: acceptance criteria are explicit and testable
blocked: external dependency prevents progress
done: acceptance criteria verified with evidence

Never mark an issue ready without valid acceptance criteria.

Handoff to Execution

Execution workflows (for example closed-loop-delivery) may start only when:

issue status is ready
execution gate is allowed

If issue is draft, stop and request user-provided acceptance criteria.

Limitations

Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.

Create Issue Gate