# The /triage Skill > Source: > Published: 2026-07-08 15:28:44+00:00 # The /triage Skill Quickstart: ``` npx skills add mattpocock/skills --skill=triage npx skills update triage ``` [What it does](#what-it-does) `triage` moves issues on your project's tracker through a small **state machine** of triage roles — categorise them, verify the claim, grill them into shape if needed, and leave a ready-for-agent brief. It never labels blind. Every triaged item carries exactly one **category** role (`bug` / `enhancement` ) and one **state** role (`needs-triage` , `needs-info` , `ready-for-agent` , `ready-for-human` , `wontfix` ), and it *recommends and waits* — it tells you its category and state call with reasoning, then acts only on your direction. Before anything is promoted to `ready-for-agent` , it verifies the claim first: a bug gets reproduced, a PR gets checked out and run. [When to reach for it](#when-to-reach-for-it) You invoke this by typing `/triage` and describing what you want in natural language — the agent won't reach for it on its own. "Show me anything that needs my attention", "let's look at #42", "move #42 to ready-for-agent". Reach for it when your issue tracker has raw, unevaluated reports and you want them sorted, verified, and turned into work an agent or human can pick up. To turn a settled conversation into a fresh spec instead, use [to-spec](https://aihero.dev/skills-to-spec); to split an existing spec into tickets, use [to-tickets](https://aihero.dev/skills-to-tickets). `triage` is the reverse direction — it processes what's *already* landed in the tracker. [Prerequisites](#prerequisites) `triage` reads and writes your issue tracker, so [setup-matt-pocock-skills](https://aihero.dev/skills-setup-matt-pocock-skills) must have configured the tracker and the label mapping first. The role names above are **canonical** — the actual label strings in your tracker may differ, and that mapping is what setup provides. The config also decides whether external PRs count as a request surface, and who counts as external. [A PR is an issue with attached code](#a-pr-is-an-issue-with-attached-code) Where the tracker treats external pull requests as a request surface, `triage` runs them through the *same* machine: same category roles, same states, same transitions — the states just read against the diff instead of a report. `ready-for-agent` means a brief is attached and an agent should take the next step on the code; `ready-for-human` means it's ready to merge. Discovery surfaces only external PRs, but an explicitly named PR is always triaged regardless of author. [Verify before you brief](#verify-before-you-brief) The step that separates `triage` from ad-hoc labelling is verification. It reproduces the bug from the reporter's steps, or checks out the PR and runs the tests, and reports back: confirmed with a code path, failed, or insufficient detail (which is itself a strong `needs-info` signal). It also runs two codebase checks — **redundancy** (is this already implemented? then it's a `wontfix` ) and **prior rejection** (does `.out-of-scope/` already say no?). A confirmed verification makes a far stronger agent brief; guessing does not. [It's working if](#its-working-if) - Every item it touches ends with exactly one category role and one state role — never zero, never two conflicting states. - It hands you a recommendation with reasoning and waits, rather than relabelling on its own. - Bugs get reproduced and PRs get run before anything reaches `ready-for-agent` . - Every comment it posts to the tracker opens with the `> *This was generated by AI during triage.*` disclaimer. [Where it fits](#where-it-fits) `triage` is the **periodic maintenance** pass over your issue tracker — run it whenever reports pile up, to keep the queue sorted and the `ready-for-agent` column trustworthy. It sits at the front of the tracker, upstream of the build chain: the briefs it writes are what [tdd](https://aihero.dev/skills-tdd) later picks up to implement. When a request needs sharpening it leans on [grilling](https://aihero.dev/skills-grilling) and [domain-modeling](https://aihero.dev/skills-domain-modeling) to grill it into shape one question at a time. Its close neighbour is [to-spec](https://aihero.dev/skills-to-spec), which populates the tracker from a fresh conversation where `triage` processes what's already there. When you're unsure which skill or flow fits, [ask-matt](https://aihero.dev/skills-ask-matt) routes you. ## Join over 70,000 Developers Becoming AI Heroes ### Engineering fundamentals are your biggest advantage. Learn how to leverage them and leave vibe coding behind. I respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time. **Share**