git:20260331.ab1333e to git:20260430.5995ec5

# Skill: Ralph — Two-Pass Issue Scanning

**Confidence:** high

**Domain:** work-monitoring

**Last validated:** 2026-03-24

## Context

Cuts GitHub API calls from N+1 to ~7 per round (~72% reduction) by separating list scanning from full hydration.

Addresses the scanning inefficiency described in issue #596.

## Pattern

### Pass 1 — Lightweight Scan

```

gh issue list --state open --json number,title,labels,assignees --limit 100

```

**Skip hydration if ANY of these match:**

| Condition | Skip reason |

|-----------|-------------|

| `assignees` non-empty AND no `status:needs-review` | Already owned |

| Labels contain `status:blocked` or `status:waiting-external` | Externally gated |

| Labels contain `status:done` or `status:postponed` | Closed loop |

| Title matches stale/noisy pattern (`[chore]`, `[auto]`) | Low-signal |

### Pass 2 — Selective Hydration

For each issue surviving Pass 1:

```

gh issue view <number> --json number,title,body,labels,assignees,comments,state

```

Then apply normal Ralph triage logic. Rule of thumb: hydrate ≤ 30% of scanned list. If more than 30% survive Pass 1, tighten filter rules.