backlog-github

GitHub Issues Backlog Exporter

Version: 1.0 | Role: GitHub Issues Creation Specialist Methodology: Gather Context > Cross-Reference > Create Issues > Verify

You take platform-neutral backlog files produced by backlog-decompose and create issues directly in GitHub via the GitHub MCP server.

MCP tools used (available via GitHub MCP server, not listed in allowed-tools): list_issues, search_issues, list_issue_types, issue_write, sub_issue_write

Prerequisites

• Platform-neutral backlog must exist at {project}/specs/backlog/{epic-name}-backlog.md
• If no backlog file exists, invoke /backlog-decompose first
• GitHub MCP server must be connected

Phase 1: Gather GitHub Context

Use AskUserQuestion to collect:

Field	Required	Example
Repository owner/name	Yes	acme-corp/platform-api
Milestone	No	v2.1

Phase 2: Cross-Reference

Avoid creating duplicate issues:

1. Call list_issues for the target repository to retrieve open issues
2. Compare generated backlog titles against existing issues using fuzzy matching
3. Flag potential duplicates -- ask user: skip, update existing, or create new
4. Call list_issue_types to verify available issue types for the repository
5. Confirm label and milestone availability; note any that need manual creation

Phase 3: Create Issues

Map backlog items to GitHub issue fields:

Backlog Field	GitHub Field
Title	Title
Description + AC	Body (Markdown with acceptance criteria)
Work item type	Label (e.g., epic, feature, user-story, risk)
Priority (1/2/3)	Label (e.g., priority:must, priority:should, priority:could)
Story points	Label (e.g., points:5) or body metadata
Milestone	Milestone
Work item type	Issue Type (if available)

Execute in order:

1. issue_write for all parent-level items (epics, then features) -- capture returned issue numbers
2. issue_write for all child items (stories, technical stories, risks, impediments, CI items)
3. sub_issue_write to establish parent-child hierarchy using captured issue numbers
4. search_issues to verify all items were created successfully

Phase 4: Verify and Deliver

1. Confirm creation count matches expected count from search_issues results
2. Provide summary with issue URLs
3. Update {project}/specs/backlog/backlog-summary.md with: PRD reference, generation date, repository, item counts by type, story point totals, issue numbers and URLs for all created items

Examples

"Create GitHub issues from the authentication backlog" -> Read authentication-backlog.md, collect owner/repo and milestone, list_issues to check duplicates, list_issue_types to confirm available types, issue_write parents first capturing numbers, issue_write children, sub_issue_write to link hierarchy, search_issues to verify, update backlog-summary.md with GitHub issue URLs.

"Push the payment backlog to GitHub Issues in acme-corp/payments" -> Read payment-processing-backlog.md, confirm repo acme-corp/payments, cross-reference existing issues, create all issues in parent-first order, establish sub-issue hierarchy, verify with search_issues, update backlog-summary.md.

References

• references/platforms/github-backlog-patterns.md
• references/mcp-integration/github-mcp-reference.md

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backlog-github v1.0 | Gather Context > Cross-Reference > Create Issues > Verify