GitHub Label Management Skill

This skill provides operations for managing repository labels, including creating, editing, deleting labels, and applying them to issues and pull requests for better organization and triage.

Available Operations

1. Create Label

Create new labels with custom names, descriptions, and colors.

2. List Labels

View all labels in a repository.

3. Edit Label

Update label properties (name, color, description).

4. Delete Label

Remove labels from a repository.

5. Clone Labels

Copy labels from one repository to another.

6. Apply Labels to Issues/PRs

Add labels to issues and pull requests.

7. Remove Labels

Remove labels from issues and pull requests.

Usage Examples

Create Label

Create basic label:

bash

gh label create bug --repo owner/repo-name \
  --description "Something isn't working" \
  --color d73a4a

Create multiple labels:

bash

gh label create enhancement --repo owner/repo-name --description "New feature or request" --color a2eeef
gh label create documentation --repo owner/repo-name --description "Improvements or additions to documentation" --color 0075ca
gh label create "good first issue" --repo owner/repo-name --description "Good for newcomers" --color 7057ff

Create with default color:

bash

gh label create "needs triage" --repo owner/repo-name --description "Needs initial review"

Using API:

bash

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/labels \
  -f name="security" \
  -f description="Security related issues" \
  -f color="d93f0b"

List Labels

List all labels:

bash

gh label list --repo owner/repo-name

Limit results:

bash

gh label list --repo owner/repo-name --limit 100

Search labels:

bash

gh label list --repo owner/repo-name --search "bug"

Order by name:

bash

gh label list --repo owner/repo-name --order asc

JSON output:

bash

gh label list --repo owner/repo-name --json name,description,color

Using API:

bash

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/labels --jq '.[] | {name, description, color}'

Edit Label

Update label name:

bash

gh label edit bug --repo owner/repo-name --name "bug-report"

Update color:

bash

gh label edit bug --repo owner/repo-name --color ff0000

Update description:

bash

gh label edit bug --repo owner/repo-name --description "Critical bug requiring immediate attention"

Update multiple properties:

bash

gh label edit enhancement --repo owner/repo-name \
  --name feature \
  --description "New feature request" \
  --color 00ff00

Using API:

bash

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/labels/bug \
  -X PATCH \
  -f new_name="critical-bug" \
  -f color="ff0000" \
  -f description="Critical issues"

Delete Label

Delete single label:

bash

gh label delete bug --repo owner/repo-name

Delete with confirmation:

bash

gh label delete bug --repo owner/repo-name --yes

Delete multiple labels:

bash

for label in "wontfix" "duplicate" "invalid"; do
  gh label delete "$label" --repo owner/repo-name --yes
done

Using API:

bash

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/labels/wontfix -X DELETE

Clone Labels

Copy labels from another repository:

bash

# Get labels from source repo
gh label list --repo source-owner/source-repo --json name,description,color > labels.json

# Create labels in target repo
cat labels.json | jq -r '.[] | "\(.name)|\(.description)|\(.color)"' | \
  while IFS='|' read name desc color; do
    gh label create "$name" --repo owner/repo-name --description "$desc" --color "$color" 2>/dev/null || true
  done

Clone from template repository:

bash

# Script to clone labels
SOURCE_REPO="template-owner/template-repo"
TARGET_REPO="owner/new-repo"

gh api repos/$SOURCE_REPO/labels --jq '.[]' | \
  jq -c '{name, description, color}' | \
  while read label; do
    gh api repos/$TARGET_REPO/labels \
      -f name="$(echo $label | jq -r '.name')" \
      -f description="$(echo $label | jq -r '.description')" \
      -f color="$(echo $label | jq -r '.color')"
  done

Apply Labels to Issues/PRs

Add label to issue:

bash

gh issue edit 123 --repo owner/repo-name --add-label "bug"

Add multiple labels:

bash

gh issue edit 123 --repo owner/repo-name --add-label "bug,critical,needs-review"

Add label to PR:

bash

gh pr edit 456 --repo owner/repo-name --add-label "enhancement"

Using API:

bash

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/issues/123/labels \
  -f 'labels[]=bug' \
  -f 'labels[]=critical'

Remove Labels

Remove label from issue:

bash

gh issue edit 123 --repo owner/repo-name --remove-label "bug"

Remove multiple labels:

bash

gh issue edit 123 --repo owner/repo-name --remove-label "bug,wontfix"

Remove all labels:

bash

# Get all labels on issue
LABELS=$(gh issue view 123 --repo owner/repo-name --json labels --jq '.labels[].name' | tr '\n' ',')
gh issue edit 123 --repo owner/repo-name --remove-label "$LABELS"

Using API:

bash

# Remove specific label
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/issues/123/labels/bug -X DELETE

# Remove all labels
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/issues/123/labels -X DELETE

Common Patterns

Standard Label Set

bash

REPO="owner/repo-name"

# Issue Types
gh label create "bug" --repo $REPO --description "Something isn't working" --color "d73a4a"
gh label create "enhancement" --repo $REPO --description "New feature or request" --color "a2eeef"
gh label create "documentation" --repo $REPO --description "Improvements or additions to documentation" --color "0075ca"
gh label create "question" --repo $REPO --description "Further information is requested" --color "d876e3"

# Priority
gh label create "priority: high" --repo $REPO --description "High priority" --color "ff0000"
gh label create "priority: medium" --repo $REPO --description "Medium priority" --color "ffaa00"
gh label create "priority: low" --repo $REPO --description "Low priority" --color "00ff00"

# Status
gh label create "status: in progress" --repo $REPO --description "Work in progress" --color "fbca04"
gh label create "status: blocked" --repo $REPO --description "Blocked by dependencies" --color "b60205"
gh label create "status: needs review" --repo $REPO --description "Needs code review" --color "0e8a16"

# Community
gh label create "good first issue" --repo $REPO --description "Good for newcomers" --color "7057ff"
gh label create "help wanted" --repo $REPO --description "Extra attention is needed" --color "008672"

Issue Triage Workflow

bash

REPO="owner/repo-name"

# 1. List untriaged issues
gh issue list --repo $REPO --label "needs-triage" --state open

# 2. Review issue
gh issue view 123 --repo $REPO

# 3. Apply appropriate labels
gh issue edit 123 --repo $REPO \
  --add-label "bug,priority: high" \
  --remove-label "needs-triage"

# 4. Assign to team member
gh issue edit 123 --repo $REPO --add-assignee developer1

Bulk Label Operations

bash

REPO="owner/repo-name"

# Add label to multiple issues
for issue in 101 102 103 104 105; do
  gh issue edit $issue --repo $REPO --add-label "sprint-3"
done

# Remove stale label from closed issues
gh issue list --repo $REPO --state closed --label "stale" --json number --jq '.[].number' | \
  while read issue; do
    gh issue edit $issue --repo $REPO --remove-label "stale"
  done

Label Cleanup

bash

REPO="owner/repo-name"

# Find unused labels
ALL_LABELS=$(gh label list --repo $REPO --json name --jq '.[].name')

for label in $ALL_LABELS; do
  # Count issues with label
  COUNT=$(gh issue list --repo $REPO --label "$label" --state all --limit 1000 --json number --jq '. | length')

  if [ "$COUNT" -eq 0 ]; then
    echo "Unused label: $label"
    # Optionally delete
    # gh label delete "$label" --repo $REPO --yes
  fi
done

Rename Label Across Issues

bash

REPO="owner/repo-name"
OLD_LABEL="bug"
NEW_LABEL="defect"

# 1. Create new label
gh label create "$NEW_LABEL" --repo $REPO --description "Software defect" --color "d73a4a"

# 2. Find all issues with old label
gh issue list --repo $REPO --label "$OLD_LABEL" --state all --limit 1000 --json number --jq '.[].number' | \
  while read issue; do
    # Add new label
    gh issue edit $issue --repo $REPO --add-label "$NEW_LABEL"
    # Remove old label
    gh issue edit $issue --repo $REPO --remove-label "$OLD_LABEL"
  done

# 3. Delete old label
gh label delete "$OLD_LABEL" --repo $REPO --yes

Color-Coded Categories

bash

REPO="owner/repo-name"

# Type labels (Red shades)
gh label create "type: bug" --repo $REPO --color "d73a4a"
gh label create "type: feature" --repo $REPO --color "ff6b6b"
gh label create "type: refactor" --repo $REPO --color "ee5a6f"

# Area labels (Blue shades)
gh label create "area: frontend" --repo $REPO --color "0052cc"
gh label create "area: backend" --repo $REPO --color "0e8a16"
gh label create "area: database" --repo $REPO --color "1d76db"

# Effort labels (Green shades)
gh label create "effort: small" --repo $REPO --color "c2e0c6"
gh label create "effort: medium" --repo $REPO --color "7bcf8e"
gh label create "effort: large" --repo $REPO --color "0e8a16"

Advanced Usage

Label Analytics

Count issues by label:

bash

gh label list --repo owner/repo-name --json name --jq '.[].name' | \
  while read label; do
    count=$(gh issue list --repo owner/repo-name --label "$label" --state all --json number --jq '. | length')
    echo "$label: $count"
  done | sort -t: -k2 -nr

Most used labels:

bash

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/labels --jq '.[] | "\(.name)|\(.color)"' | \
  while IFS='|' read name color; do
    count=$(gh issue list --repo owner/repo-name --label "$name" --state all --limit 1000 --json number --jq '. | length')
    echo "$count|$name|$color"
  done | sort -t'|' -k1 -nr | head -10

Label Templates

Bug report labels:

bash

#!/bin/bash
REPO=$1

gh label create "severity: critical" --repo $REPO --color "b60205"
gh label create "severity: high" --repo $REPO --color "d93f0b"
gh label create "severity: medium" --repo $REPO --color "ff9800"
gh label create "severity: low" --repo $REPO --color "ffeb3b"

gh label create "status: confirmed" --repo $REPO --color "0e8a16"
gh label create "status: in progress" --repo $REPO --color "fbca04"
gh label create "status: fixed" --repo $REPO --color "00ff00"

Project management labels:

bash

#!/bin/bash
REPO=$1

# Sprints
gh label create "sprint-1" --repo $REPO --color "bfd4f2"
gh label create "sprint-2" --repo $REPO --color "c5def5"
gh label create "sprint-3" --repo $REPO --color "d4e6f1"

# Milestones
gh label create "milestone: v1.0" --repo $REPO --color "0052cc"
gh label create "milestone: v2.0" --repo $REPO --color "1d76db"

# Dependencies
gh label create "dependencies" --repo $REPO --color "0366d6"
gh label create "blocked" --repo $REPO --color "b60205"

Sync Labels Across Organization

bash

#!/bin/bash
ORG="my-org"
TEMPLATE_REPO="my-org/template"

# Get all repos in org
gh api orgs/$ORG/repos --paginate --jq '.[].name' | \
  while read repo; do
    echo "Syncing labels for $ORG/$repo"

    # Get template labels
    gh api repos/$TEMPLATE_REPO/labels --jq '.[]' | \
      jq -c '{name, description, color}' | \
      while read label; do
        NAME=$(echo $label | jq -r '.name')
        DESC=$(echo $label | jq -r '.description')
        COLOR=$(echo $label | jq -r '.color')

        # Create or update label
        gh api repos/$ORG/$repo/labels \
          -f name="$NAME" \
          -f description="$DESC" \
          -f color="$COLOR" 2>/dev/null || \
        gh api repos/$ORG/$repo/labels/"$NAME" \
          -X PATCH \
          -f description="$DESC" \
          -f color="$COLOR"
      done
  done

Auto-Label Based on File Changes

bash

# In a PR workflow
REPO="owner/repo-name"
PR_NUMBER=123

# Get changed files
FILES=$(gh pr view $PR_NUMBER --repo $REPO --json files --jq '.files[].path')

# Auto-apply labels based on paths
if echo "$FILES" | grep -q "^frontend/"; then
  gh pr edit $PR_NUMBER --repo $REPO --add-label "area: frontend"
fi

if echo "$FILES" | grep -q "^backend/"; then
  gh pr edit $PR_NUMBER --repo $REPO --add-label "area: backend"
fi

if echo "$FILES" | grep -q "\.test\."; then
  gh pr edit $PR_NUMBER --repo $REPO --add-label "tests"
fi

if echo "$FILES" | grep -q "\.md$"; then
  gh pr edit $PR_NUMBER --repo $REPO --add-label "documentation"
fi

Error Handling

Label Already Exists

bash

# Check if label exists
gh label list --repo owner/repo-name --search "bug" --json name --jq '.[].name' | grep -q "^bug$" && echo "Exists" || echo "Does not exist"

# Create or update
gh label create "bug" --repo owner/repo-name --color "d73a4a" 2>&1 | grep -q "already exists" && \
  gh label edit "bug" --repo owner/repo-name --color "d73a4a"

Label Not Found

bash

# Verify label exists before editing
if gh label list --repo owner/repo-name --search "bug" --json name --jq '.[].name' | grep -q "^bug$"; then
  gh label edit "bug" --repo owner/repo-name --color "ff0000"
else
  echo "Label 'bug' not found"
fi

Invalid Color Code

bash

# Validate hex color (6 characters, no #)
COLOR="d73a4a"
if [[ $COLOR =~ ^[0-9a-fA-F]{6}$ ]]; then
  gh label create "bug" --repo owner/repo-name --color "$COLOR"
else
  echo "Invalid color code: $COLOR"
fi

Best Practices

Use consistent naming: Adopt a naming convention (e.g., "type: bug", "priority: high")
Limit label count: Too many labels reduce effectiveness (aim for 15-30)
Use color coding: Group related labels with similar colors
Document labels: Use descriptions to explain when to use each label
Regular cleanup: Remove unused labels periodically
Template across repos: Use consistent labels across organization
Combine labels: Use multiple labels for detailed categorization
Avoid redundancy: Don't create overlapping labels
Make discoverable: Use clear, searchable names
Review usage: Analyze which labels are actually being used

Common Label Categories

Issue Types

bug, enhancement, documentation, question, feature

Priority

priority: critical, priority: high, priority: medium, priority: low

Status

status: in progress, status: blocked, status: needs review, status: ready

Area/Component

area: frontend, area: backend, area: api, area: database, area: ui

Effort/Size

size: xs, size: s, size: m, size: l, size: xl

Community

good first issue, help wanted, hacktoberfest, beginner-friendly

Integration with Other Skills

Use issue-management to apply labels during issue creation
Use pull-request-management to label PRs automatically
Use workflow-management to auto-label based on CI/CD results
Use project-management to organize by labels in project boards

Search AI Tools

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SKILL.md

GitHub Label Management Skill

Available Operations

1. Create Label

2. List Labels

3. Edit Label

4. Delete Label

5. Clone Labels

6. Apply Labels to Issues/PRs

7. Remove Labels

Usage Examples

Create Label

List Labels

Edit Label

Delete Label

Clone Labels

Apply Labels to Issues/PRs

Remove Labels

Common Patterns

Standard Label Set

Issue Triage Workflow

Bulk Label Operations

Label Cleanup

Rename Label Across Issues

Color-Coded Categories

Advanced Usage

Label Analytics

Label Templates

Sync Labels Across Organization

Auto-Label Based on File Changes

Error Handling

Label Already Exists

Label Not Found

Invalid Color Code

Best Practices

Common Label Categories

Issue Types

Priority

Status

Area/Component

Effort/Size

Community

Integration with Other Skills

References