ralph-tui-create-github-issues

Ralph TUI - Create GitHub Issues

Converts PRDs to flat GitHub Issues for ralph-tui autonomous execution using GitHub Issues with native dependency tracking via the gh CLI and GraphQL API. Issues are grouped by a feature:<slug> label.

Note: This skill uses GitHub Issues as the task tracker. If you prefer local-only tracking with beads-rust (br), use the ralph-tui-create-beads-rust skill instead.

---

The Job

Take a PRD (markdown file or text) and create GitHub Issues using gh commands:

1. Extract Quality Gates from the PRD's "Quality Gates" section
2. Create one issue per user story (with quality gates appended), all sharing a feature:<slug> label
3. Add native dependencies between issues via GraphQL addBlockedBy mutation
4. Output ready for ralph-tui run --tracker github --labels "feature:<slug>"

---

Step 1: Extract Quality Gates

Look for the "Quality Gates" section in the PRD:

## Quality Gates

These commands must pass for every user story:
- `bun run typecheck` - Type checking
- `bun run lint` - Linting

For UI stories, also include:
- Verify in browser using dev-browser skill

Extract:

• Universal gates: Commands that apply to ALL stories (e.g., bun run typecheck)
• UI gates: Commands that apply only to UI stories (e.g., browser verification)

If no Quality Gates section exists: Ask the user what commands should pass, or use a sensible default like bun run typecheck.

---

Output Format

Issues use gh issue create with HEREDOC syntax to safely handle special characters.

Creating issues (one per user story)

gh issue create --title "US-001: [Story Title]" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Description
[Story description]

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] Story-specific criterion 1
- [ ] Story-specific criterion 2
- [ ] bun run typecheck passes
- [ ] bun run lint passes

## Blocked by
- Blocked by #<earlier-issue-number> (if any dependency)
- Or "None - can start immediately"
EOF
)" --label "feature:<slug>" --label "priority:1"

• Parse the issue number from the output URL (last path segment)
• Get the node ID for GraphQL operations:

gh issue view <number> --json id --jq .id

CRITICAL: Always use <<'EOF' (single-quoted) for the HEREDOC delimiter. This prevents shell interpretation of backticks, $variables, and () in descriptions.

---

Adding native dependencies (GraphQL)

When one issue is blocked by another, add the dependency:

gh api graphql -f query='mutation($issueId: ID!, $blockerId: ID!) {
  addBlockedBy(input: { issueId: $issueId, blockingIssueId: $blockerId }) {
    clientMutationId
  }
}' -f issueId="<blocked-node-id>" -f blockerId="<blocker-node-id>"

Syntax: The issueId is the issue that is blocked; the blockingIssueId is the blocker.

---

Feature Label

All issues from the same PRD share a feature:<slug> label for grouping. The slug should be a kebab-case summary of the feature name.

Examples:

• feature:friends-outreach
• feature:auth-middleware
• feature:dashboard-filters

This label is how ralph-tui scopes which issues to work on.

---

Priority Labels

Each issue gets a priority:N label where N is 0-4. Priority is assigned by dependency order then document order:

Priority	Meaning
priority:0	Critical - Drop everything
priority:1	High - Do soon
priority:2	Medium - Normal work
priority:3	Low - When time permits
priority:4	Backlog - Someday/maybe

Foundation stories (schema, first in chain) get lower numbers; later dependent stories get higher numbers.

---

Story Size: The #1 Rule

Each story must be completable in ONE ralph-tui iteration (~one agent context window).

ralph-tui spawns a fresh agent instance per iteration with no memory of previous work. If a story is too big, the agent runs out of context before finishing.

Right-sized stories:

• Add a database column + migration
• Add a UI component to an existing page
• Update a server action with new logic
• Add a filter dropdown to a list

Too big (split these):

• "Build the entire dashboard" --> Split into: schema, queries, UI components, filters
• "Add authentication" --> Split into: schema, middleware, login UI, session handling
• "Refactor the API" --> Split into one story per endpoint or pattern

Rule of thumb: If you can't describe the change in 2-3 sentences, it's too big.

---

Story Ordering: Dependencies First

Stories execute in dependency order. Earlier stories must not depend on later ones.

Correct order:

1. Schema/database changes (migrations)
2. Server actions / backend logic
3. UI components that use the backend
4. Dashboard/summary views that aggregate data

Wrong order:

1. UI component (depends on schema that doesn't exist yet)
2. Schema change

---

Acceptance Criteria: Quality Gates + Story-Specific

Each issue's body should include acceptance criteria with:

1. Story-specific criteria from the PRD (what this story accomplishes)
2. Quality gates from the PRD's Quality Gates section (appended at the end)

Good criteria (verifiable):

• "Add investorType column to investor table with default 'cold'"
• "Filter dropdown has options: All, Cold, Friend"
• "Clicking toggle shows confirmation dialog"

Bad criteria (vague):

• "Works correctly"
• "User can do X easily"
• "Good UX"
• "Handles edge cases"

---

Conversion Rules

1. Extract Quality Gates from PRD first
2. Each user story --> one GitHub issue
3. First story: No dependencies (creates foundation)
4. Subsequent stories: Depend on their predecessors (UI depends on backend, etc.)
5. Priority: Based on dependency order, then document order (priority:0=critical, priority:2=medium, priority:4=backlog)
6. All stories: Created as open issues
7. Acceptance criteria: Story criteria + quality gates appended
8. UI stories: Also append UI-specific gates (browser verification)
9. Blocked by section: Every issue body includes a "Blocked by" section referencing blocker issue numbers (or "None")
10. Feature label: Every issue gets the same feature:<slug> label

---

Splitting Large PRDs

If a PRD has big features, split them:

Original:

"Add friends outreach track with different messaging"

Split into:

1. US-001: Add investorType field to database
2. US-002: Add type toggle to investor list UI
3. US-003: Create friend-specific phase progression logic
4. US-004: Create friend message templates
5. US-005: Wire up task generation for friends
6. US-006: Add filter by type
7. US-007: Update new investor form
8. US-008: Update dashboard counts

Each is one focused change that can be completed and verified independently.

---

Example

Input PRD:

# PRD: Friends Outreach

Add ability to mark investors as "friends" for warm outreach.

## Quality Gates

These commands must pass for every user story:
- `bun run typecheck` - Type checking
- `bun run lint` - Linting

For UI stories, also include:
- Verify in browser using dev-browser skill

## User Stories

### US-001: Add investorType field to investor table
**Description:** As a developer, I need to categorize investors as 'cold' or 'friend'.

**Acceptance Criteria:**
- [ ] Add investorType column: 'cold' | 'friend' (default 'cold')
- [ ] Generate and run migration successfully

### US-002: Add type toggle to investor list rows
**Description:** As Ryan, I want to toggle investor type directly from the list.

**Acceptance Criteria:**
- [ ] Each row has Cold | Friend toggle
- [ ] Switching shows confirmation dialog
- [ ] On confirm: updates type in database

### US-003: Filter investors by type
**Description:** As Ryan, I want to filter the list to see just friends or cold.

**Acceptance Criteria:**
- [ ] Filter dropdown: All | Cold | Friend
- [ ] Filter persists in URL params

Output GitHub Issues:

# --- US-001: No deps (first - creates schema) ---
gh issue create --title "US-001: Add investorType field to investor table" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Description
As a developer, I need to categorize investors as 'cold' or 'friend'.

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] Add investorType column: 'cold' | 'friend' (default 'cold')
- [ ] Generate and run migration successfully
- [ ] bun run typecheck passes
- [ ] bun run lint passes

## Blocked by
None - can start immediately
EOF
)" --label "feature:friends-outreach" --label "priority:1"

# Parse issue number, e.g., #11
# US001_NUMBER=11
# US001_NODE_ID=$(gh issue view 11 --json id --jq .id)

# --- US-002: UI story (gets browser verification too) ---
gh issue create --title "US-002: Add type toggle to investor list rows" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Description
As Ryan, I want to toggle investor type directly from the list.

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] Each row has Cold | Friend toggle
- [ ] Switching shows confirmation dialog
- [ ] On confirm: updates type in database
- [ ] bun run typecheck passes
- [ ] bun run lint passes
- [ ] Verify in browser using dev-browser skill

## Blocked by
- Blocked by #11
EOF
)" --label "feature:friends-outreach" --label "priority:2"

# Parse issue number, e.g., #12
# US002_NUMBER=12
# US002_NODE_ID=$(gh issue view 12 --json id --jq .id)

# Add dependency: US-002 is blocked by US-001
gh api graphql -f query='mutation($issueId: ID!, $blockerId: ID!) {
  addBlockedBy(input: { issueId: $issueId, blockingIssueId: $blockerId }) {
    clientMutationId
  }
}' -f issueId="$US002_NODE_ID" -f blockerId="$US001_NODE_ID"

# --- US-003: UI story ---
gh issue create --title "US-003: Filter investors by type" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Description
As Ryan, I want to filter the list to see just friends or cold.

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] Filter dropdown: All | Cold | Friend
- [ ] Filter persists in URL params
- [ ] bun run typecheck passes
- [ ] bun run lint passes
- [ ] Verify in browser using dev-browser skill

## Blocked by
- Blocked by #12
EOF
)" --label "feature:friends-outreach" --label "priority:3"

# Parse issue number, e.g., #13
# US003_NUMBER=13
# US003_NODE_ID=$(gh issue view 13 --json id --jq .id)

# Add dependency: US-003 is blocked by US-002
gh api graphql -f query='mutation($issueId: ID!, $blockerId: ID!) {
  addBlockedBy(input: { issueId: $issueId, blockingIssueId: $blockerId }) {
    clientMutationId
  }
}' -f issueId="$US003_NODE_ID" -f blockerId="$US002_NODE_ID"

---

Running ralph-tui

After creation, run ralph-tui:

# Work on issues with a specific feature label
ralph-tui run --tracker github --labels "feature:friends-outreach"

# Or let it pick the best task automatically
ralph-tui run --tracker github

ralph-tui will:

1. Work on issues matching the label filter (or select the best available task)
2. Close each issue when complete
3. Output <promise>COMPLETE</promise> when all issues are done

---

Checklist Before Creating Issues

• Extracted Quality Gates from PRD (or asked user if missing)
• Each story is completable in one iteration (small enough)
• Stories are ordered by dependency (schema --> backend --> UI)
• Quality gates appended to every issue's acceptance criteria
• UI stories have browser verification (if specified in Quality Gates)
• Acceptance criteria are verifiable (not vague)
• No story depends on a later story (only earlier stories)
• Dependencies added via addBlockedBy GraphQL mutation
• "Blocked by #N" text included in issue bodies
• Priority labels (priority:N) applied to all issues
• All issues share the same feature:<slug> label

---

Gotchas

addBlockedBy mutation return field

The AddBlockedByPayload type does not have a blockedByIssue field. Using blockedByIssue { id } as the return selection will fail with:

Field 'blockedByIssue' doesn't exist on type 'AddBlockedByPayload'

Use clientMutationId instead:

mutation($issueId: ID!, $blockerId: ID!) {
  addBlockedBy(input: { issueId: $issueId, blockingIssueId: $blockerId }) {
    clientMutationId
  }
}

General rule: When unsure about a GitHub GraphQL mutation's return payload fields, clientMutationId is always a safe fallback — it exists on every mutation payload type.

Unicode / encoding issues with inline GraphQL

When passing GraphQL queries inline via -f query='...', the $ signs in variable declarations can get corrupted by shell or Unicode encoding issues, producing:

Expected VAR_SIGN, actual: UNKNOWN_CHAR ("") at [1, 22]

Fix: Write the query to a temp file and use -F query=@file:

cat > /tmp/blocked_by.graphql << 'GQLEOF'
mutation($issueId: ID!, $blockerId: ID!) {
  addBlockedBy(input: { issueId: $issueId, blockingIssueId: $blockerId }) {
    clientMutationId
  }
}
GQLEOF

gh api graphql -F query=@/tmp/blocked_by.graphql -f issueId="<node-id>" -f blockerId="<node-id>"

When to use this: If any inline -f query='...' call fails with UNKNOWN_CHAR, switch to the temp file approach. This is especially common when queries are constructed or interpolated programmatically.

---

Differences from beads-rust

Concept	beads-rust (br)	GitHub Issues (gh)
Create story	br create --parent=ID	gh issue create --label "feature:<slug>" --label "priority:N"
Group issues	Epic parent (--type=epic)	feature:<slug> label
Add dependency	br dep add <issue> <blocker>	addBlockedBy GraphQL mutation
Get issue ID	Returned by br create	Parse URL + gh issue view --json id
Close	br close <id>	gh issue close <number>
Storage	.beads/*.db + JSONL	GitHub (remote)
Sync	br sync --flush-only	Not needed (issues are remote)
Tracker flag	--tracker beads-rust	--tracker github