extract-action-items

extract-action-items

Pull explicit action items out of an RFC's discussion and present them as a markdown checklist in chat. The user decides whether to incorporate it onto the RFC – typing it in themselves, in their own voice. This skill never posts.

When to use

The discussion has reached a point where commitments are being made ("I'll do X", "@person to do Y") but nobody has rolled them up. Or the user says "what are the action items?"

Process

1. Read every comment. Call rfc123_get_rfc_comments.

2. Find explicit owner+action pairs. An action item has:

   • A clear owner (@login or an unambiguous "I'll" with author attribution)
   • A concrete action (verb + object, not a vague intent)
   • Was offered as a commitment, not as a question or hypothetical

   "@alice can you check?" → not an action item (question). "@alice will check with infra" → action item. "I'll write up the migration steps" by @alice in comment → action item.

3. Skip near-misses. If there's ambiguity about who owns it or what exactly they'll do, leave it off the list and note it as a follow-up question for the user.

4. Format the checklist. Use GitHub task-list syntax as a reference format – the user adapts and rewrites items in their own words when incorporating them into the RFC:

   ## Action items
   
   - [ ] @alice – write up the migration steps (from <link or quote>)
   - [ ] @bob – confirm with infra whether <thing> is feasible
   

5. Include source citations. Link to or quote the comment where each item was committed to. Without this, owners can dispute attribution.

6. Show it to the user – do not post. Tell them: "Here's the checklist. Edit it into the RFC yourself if you want it tracked there – rewrite items in your own voice as you go."

What not to do

• Don't invent action items. If there are none, say so – don't manufacture filler to make the chat output feel substantive.
• Don't reassign existing items to different owners.
• Don't include items that have already been done in a follow-up comment.
• Don't post the checklist to GitHub – even if the user asks. Hand it to them in chat and remind them to type it into the RFC in their own voice. RFCs are human-written; copying LLM prose verbatim is what we're avoiding.