# Triage > Use when incoming issues and outside pull requests are piling up unsorted. Move issues and external PRs through a state machine of triage roles, categorise, verify, grill if needed, and write agent-ready briefs. ## Facts - Type: Agent skill - Discipline: Engineering - Author: Matt Pocock (https://github.com/mattpocock) - Upstream: https://github.com/mattpocock/skills/tree/main/skills/engineering/triage - Source file: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mattpocock/skills/main/skills/engineering/triage/SKILL.md (6557 bytes, sha256:623a2ed692bdc77d2090e2a3dea3b627dd722ad3bbaca0be83aada75292c8fc4) - Licence: MIT - Upstream copy last changed: 2026-09-17 - Status: listed, not yet ruled on by the curator ## Use it I want to use the Triage skill by Matt Pocock. This is what it does, in the author's own words: Move issues and external PRs through a state machine of triage roles, categorise, verify, grill if needed, and write agent-ready briefs. Download the whole folder at https://github.com/mattpocock/skills/tree/main/skills/engineering/triage, SKILL.md and every file beside it, into your skills directory: ~/.claude/skills/triage/ for Claude Code, ~/.agents/skills/triage/ for Codex, ~/.cursor/skills/triage/ for Cursor. Get it from the author's repo, not from startupskills.dev. Then tell me the path you installed it to and how to invoke it. Nothing here is vendored: install from the author's repo, not from this site. A verbatim copy of the author's file follows for reading, under the licence reproduced after it; the current file is in the author's repo. ## Links - Page: https://startupskills.dev/mattpocock/triage - Author: https://startupskills.dev/mattpocock - Index: https://startupskills.dev/llms.txt ## The file itself --- name: triage description: Move issues and external PRs through a state machine of triage roles, categorise, verify, grill if needed, and write agent-ready briefs. disable-model-invocation: true --- # Triage Move issues on the project issue tracker through a small state machine of triage roles. If this repo treats external pull requests as a request surface (see the issue-tracker config), triage covers them too: **a PR is an issue with attached code**, using the same roles, same states, and same machine, with a few deltas marked "for a PR" below. Resolve a bare `#42` to an issue or PR per the tracker config. Every comment or issue posted to the issue tracker during triage **must** start with this disclaimer: ``` > *This was generated by AI during triage.* ``` ## Reference docs - [AGENT-BRIEF.md](AGENT-BRIEF.md): how to write durable agent briefs - [OUT-OF-SCOPE.md](OUT-OF-SCOPE.md): how the `.out-of-scope/` knowledge base works ## Roles Two **category** roles: - `bug`: something is broken - `enhancement`: new feature or improvement Five **state** roles: - `needs-triage`: maintainer needs to evaluate - `needs-info`: waiting on reporter for more information - `ready-for-agent`: fully specified, ready for an AFK agent - `ready-for-human`: needs human implementation - `wontfix`: will not be actioned For a PR, the same states read against the attached code: `ready-for-agent` means a brief is attached and an agent should take the next step on the diff; `ready-for-human` means it's ready for a human to merge. Every triaged issue should carry exactly one category role and one state role. If state roles conflict, flag it and ask the maintainer before doing anything else. These are canonical role names. The actual label strings used in the issue tracker may differ. The mapping should have been provided to you. If not, tell the user to run `/setup-matt-pocock-skills`. State transitions: an unlabeled issue normally goes to `needs-triage` first; from there it moves to `needs-info`, `ready-for-agent`, `ready-for-human`, or `wontfix`. `needs-info` returns to `needs-triage` once the reporter replies. The maintainer can override at any time; flag transitions that look unusual and ask before proceeding. ## Invocation The maintainer invokes `/triage` and describes what they want in natural language. Interpret the request and act. Examples: - "Show me anything that needs my attention" - "Let's look at #42" (issue or PR) - "Move #42 to ready-for-agent" - "What's ready for agents to pick up?" ## Show what needs attention Query the issue tracker and present three buckets, oldest first: 1. **Unlabeled**: never triaged. 2. **`needs-triage`**: evaluation in progress. 3. **`needs-info` with reporter activity since the last triage notes**: needs re-evaluation. When PRs are in scope, include external PRs in these buckets and tag each line `[PR]` or `[issue]`. Discovery surfaces only *external* PRs (the tracker config defines who counts as external), so a collaborator's in-flight PR is not triage work. This filter is discovery-only; an explicitly named PR is always triaged regardless of author. Show counts and a one-line summary per item. Let the maintainer pick. ## Triage a specific issue or PR 1. **Gather context.** Read the full issue or PR (body, comments, labels, author, dates; for a PR, the diff too). Parse any prior triage notes so you don't re-ask resolved questions. Explore the codebase using the project's domain glossary, respecting ADRs in the area. Run two checks against the codebase: (a) **redundancy**: search for an existing implementation of the requested behavior by domain concept (not just the request's wording), and report where you looked. If found, it's an already-implemented `wontfix` (step 5). (b) **prior rejection**: read `.out-of-scope/*.md` and surface any that resembles this request. 2. **Recommend.** Tell the maintainer your category and state recommendation with reasoning, plus a brief codebase summary relevant to the request (including whether it's already implemented). Wait for direction. 3. **Verify the claim.** Before any grilling, check that the claim holds up. For a bug, reproduce it from the reporter's steps. For a PR, confirm the diff does what it claims: check it out, run the relevant tests or commands. Report what happened: confirmed (with code path), failed, or insufficient detail (a strong `needs-info` signal). A confirmed verification makes a much stronger agent brief. 4. **Grill (if needed).** If the request needs fleshing out, call the Skill tool twice, for "grilling" and "domain-modeling", and grill it into shape a round of questions at a time, sharpening domain terms and updating `CONTEXT.md`/ADRs inline as decisions land. 5. **Apply the outcome:** - `ready-for-agent`: post an agent brief comment ([AGENT-BRIEF.md](AGENT-BRIEF.md)). - `ready-for-human`: same structure as an agent brief, but note why it can't be delegated (judgment calls, external access, design decisions, manual testing). - `needs-info`: post triage notes (template below). - For `wontfix`, close the issue, with the comment depending on *why*: - **Already implemented**: the change already exists in the codebase. Point to where it lives; do **not** write to `.out-of-scope/` (that KB is for *rejected* requests, not built ones). - **Rejected (bug)**: give a polite explanation, then close. - **Rejected (enhancement)**: write to `.out-of-scope/`, link to it from a comment, then close ([OUT-OF-SCOPE.md](OUT-OF-SCOPE.md)). - `needs-triage`: apply the role. Optional comment if there's partial progress. ## Quick state override If the maintainer says "move #42 to ready-for-agent", trust them and apply the role directly. Confirm what you're about to do (role changes, comment, close), then act. Skip grilling. If moving to `ready-for-agent` without a grilling session, ask whether they want to write an agent brief. ## Needs-info template ```markdown ## Triage Notes **What we've established so far:** - point 1 - point 2 **What we still need from you (@reporter):** - question 1 - question 2 ``` Capture everything resolved during grilling under "established so far" so the work isn't lost. Questions must be specific and actionable, not "please provide more info". ## Resuming a previous session If prior triage notes exist on the issue or PR, read them, check whether the reporter has answered any outstanding questions, and present an updated picture before continuing. Don't re-ask resolved questions. ## Licence of the file above The file above is https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mattpocock/skills/main/skills/engineering/triage/SKILL.md, by Matt Pocock, reproduced without changes. - Source: https://github.com/mattpocock/skills/tree/main/skills/engineering/triage - Copyright: Copyright (c) 2026 Matt Pocock - Licence: MIT, https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mattpocock/skills/main/LICENSE The repo's licence file, verbatim from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mattpocock/skills/main/LICENSE: MIT License Copyright (c) 2026 Matt Pocock Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.