Immutable. This exact content is served forever at /api/v1/blob/2d8ffe7b5c53816b.
---
description: "When working with GitLab or GitHub — issues, merge requests, pull requests, CI pipelines, labels"
globs: ""
alwaysApply: false
---
# VCS Operations Reference (GitLab & GitHub)
Single source of truth for all VCS CLI commands, label taxonomy, issue templates, and project resolution.
## VCS Auto-Detection
Detect which platform the current repo uses:
```bash
REMOTE_URL=$(git remote get-url origin 2>/dev/null)
if echo "$REMOTE_URL" | grep -q "github.com"; then
VCS=github # use `gh`
else
VCS=gitlab # use `glab`
fi
```
Session Config overrides:
- `vcs: github|gitlab` -- force a specific platform
- `gitlab-host: <host>` -- override auto-detected GitLab host
## Canonical Project Identity
GitLab REST endpoints accept a URL-encoded `namespace/project` path. Select the GitLab host and project path explicitly; never derive a numeric project ID from `glab repo view`, a search query, or `:id` placeholders. Those forms can resolve through the ambient working directory or a stale search result and target another project after a rename, fork, or scaffold.
Set the identity once per operation sequence and reuse the encoded identifier without encoding it again:
```bash
GITLAB_HOST="<selected GitLab hostname>"
GROUP_PATH="<selected group path>"
PROJECT_NAME="<selected project name>"
PROJECT_PATH="$GROUP_PATH/$PROJECT_NAME"
ENCODED_PROJECT_PATH="$(node -e 'process.stdout.write(encodeURIComponent(process.argv[1]))' "$PROJECT_PATH")"
```
For a link target in another project, use the same path-first shape instead of a numeric ID:
```bash
TARGET_PROJECT_PATH="<target namespace>/<target project>"
TARGET_ENCODED_PROJECT_PATH="$(node -e 'process.stdout.write(encodeURIComponent(process.argv[1]))' "$TARGET_PROJECT_PATH")"
```
Pass `--hostname "$GITLAB_HOST"` to every `glab api` call. The endpoint itself then pins the project, including directly after creating a repository when the current directory does not yet identify the new project.
GitHub continues to use an `owner/repo` slug; `gh repo` takes it positionally and rejects `-R`:
```bash
gh repo view --json nameWithOwner -q '.nameWithOwner'
```
---
## Common CLI Commands
**Directive:** every repo-scoped `glab` invocation names host + project path explicitly (`glab -R <host>/<group>/<project> ...` or `glab api --hostname "$GITLAB_HOST" "projects/${ENCODED_PROJECT_PATH}/..."`). Without `-R` / the encoded endpoint the target is whatever the ambient cwd remote happens to be.
### GitLab (glab)
```bash
# Issues
glab issue list -R <OWNER>/<REPO> --per-page 50 # All open issues
glab issue list -R <OWNER>/<REPO> --label "status:ready" --per-page 10 # Ready to work on
glab issue list -R <OWNER>/<REPO> --label "priority::high" --per-page 10 # High priority
glab issue list -R <OWNER>/<REPO> --closed --per-page 10 # Recently closed
glab issue view -R <OWNER>/<REPO> <IID> # View issue details
glab issue view -R <OWNER>/<REPO> <IID> --comments # With comments
glab issue create -R <OWNER>/<REPO> --title "title" --label "priority::high,status:ready"
glab issue update -R <OWNER>/<REPO> <IID> --label "status:in-progress"
glab issue close -R <OWNER>/<REPO> <IID>
glab issue note -R <OWNER>/<REPO> <IID> -m "Comment text" # Add comment
# MRs
glab mr list -R <OWNER>/<REPO> # Open MRs
glab mr create -R <OWNER>/<REPO> --fill --draft # Create draft MR
glab mr merge -R <OWNER>/<REPO> <MR_IID> # Merge MR
# Pipelines
glab pipeline list -R <OWNER>/<REPO> --per-page 5 # Recent pipelines
glab pipeline status -R <OWNER>/<REPO> <ID> # Pipeline details
# API (no --repo exists here — the encoded endpoint and explicit host identify the target)
glab api --hostname "$GITLAB_HOST" "projects/${ENCODED_PROJECT_PATH}/issues?state=opened&per_page=50"
glab api --hostname "$GITLAB_HOST" "projects/${ENCODED_PROJECT_PATH}/milestones?state=active"
```
### GitHub (gh)
```bash
# Issues
gh issue list -R <OWNER>/<REPO> --limit 50 # All open issues
gh issue list -R <OWNER>/<REPO> --label "status:ready" --limit 10 # Ready to work on
gh issue list -R <OWNER>/<REPO> --label "priority::high" --limit 10 # High priority
gh issue list -R <OWNER>/<REPO> --state closed --limit 10 # Recently closed
gh issue view -R <OWNER>/<REPO> <NUMBER> # View issue details
gh issue view -R <OWNER>/<REPO> <NUMBER> --comments # With comments
gh issue create -R <OWNER>/<REPO> --title "title" --label "priority::high,status:ready"
gh issue edit -R <OWNER>/<REPO> <NUMBER> --add-label "status:in-progress"
gh issue close -R <OWNER>/<REPO> <NUMBER>
gh issue comment -R <OWNER>/<REPO> <NUMBER> --body "Comment text" # Add comment
# PRs
gh pr list -R <OWNER>/<REPO> --state open # Open PRs
gh pr create -R <OWNER>/<REPO> --fill --draft # Create draft PR
gh pr merge -R <OWNER>/<REPO> <NUMBER> # Merge PR
# Workflows (CI)
gh run list -R <OWNER>/<REPO> --limit 5 # Recent workflow runs
gh run view -R <OWNER>/<REPO> <RUN_ID> # Run details
# API
gh api "repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues?state=open&per_page=50"
gh api "repos/{owner}/{repo}/milestones?state=open"
```
---
## glab CLI Quirks
These are known differences from `gh` that cause frequent mistakes:
| Quirk | Correct | Wrong |
|-------|---------|-------|
| Listing closed issues | `glab issue list -R <OWNER>/<REPO> --closed` | `glab issue list -R <OWNER>/<REPO> --state closed` |
| Confirmations | glab has NO `--yes` flag | Do not pass `--yes` |
| Comprehensive listing | `glab issue list -R <OWNER>/<REPO> --per-page 100` | Default per-page is small |
| Pagination flag | `--per-page N` (glab) | `--limit N` (that is gh syntax) |
---
## Label Taxonomy
**`priority::<level>` is canonical** (scoped double colon). `area:` / `type:` / `status:` / `from:` stay single-colon.
### Priority Labels
- `priority::critical` -- blocking production or users
- `priority::high` -- important, schedule this sprint
- `priority::medium` -- plan for next sprint
- `priority::low` -- backlog, nice-to-have
### Status Labels
- `status:ready` -- defined, ready to pick up
- `status:in-progress` -- actively being worked on
- `status:review` -- MR/PR created, awaiting review
- `status:blocked` -- waiting on external dependency
### Area Labels
- `area:frontend` | `area:backend` | `area:database`
- `area:ai` | `area:security` | `area:testing`
- `area:ci` | `area:infrastructure` | `area:compliance`
- `area:skills` | `area:vcs` | `area:harness`
### Type Labels
- `bug` | `feature` | `enhancement` | `refactor`
- `chore` | `documentation` | `epic` | `discovery`
---
## Issue Templates
### Bug
```markdown
## Description
What happens vs. what should happen.
## Steps to Reproduce
1.
2.
## Root Cause (if known)
## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ]
```
### Feature
```markdown
## Goal
What should be achieved and why.
## Tasks
- [ ]
## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ]
## Session Type
[housekeeping|feature|deep]
```
### Carryover (from /close)
```markdown
## [Carryover] Original Task Description
### What was completed
- [completed items]
### What remains
- [ ] [remaining task 1]
- [ ] [remaining task 2]
### Context for next session
[relevant context, file paths, decisions made]
### Original Issue
Relates to #ORIGINAL_IID
```
### Discovery Finding
```markdown
## [Discovery] <finding title>
**Probe:** <probe_name>
**Severity:** <priority::critical|high|medium|low>
**Category:** <code|infra|ui|arch|session|audit|vault|feature>
### Finding
<description of the problem>
### Evidence
- **File:** `<file_path>`
- **Line:** <line_number>
- **Code:**
```
<matched_text with surrounding context>
```
### Impact
<why this matters>
### Recommended Fix
<concrete fix suggestion>
### Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] <specific, verifiable condition>
- [ ] Quality gates pass after fix
```
Labels for discovery findings: `type:discovery`, `priority::<level>`, `area:<inferred>`, `status:ready`
---
CI pipeline commands are listed in the Common CLI Commands section above (Pipelines/Workflows). Interpret: green=passed, red=failed (investigate before proceeding), pending=in progress.