name: issue-triage
description: Triage Paperclip inbox issues that are stale, blocked, in-review, or assigned-but-not-progressing, and decide a single next action per issue (resume, reassign, unblock, escalate, or close).
key: paperclipai/bundled/paperclip-operations/issue-triage
recommendedForRoles:
- manager
- ceo
- engineer
tags:
- paperclip
- triage
- inbox
- workflow
Issue Triage
Convert a noisy inbox into a small set of clear next actions. Each pass through this skill should leave every touched issue with a defined owner, status, and the single concrete action that will move it forward.
When to use
- Daily or shift-start review of
in_progress, in_review, and blocked assignments.
- An inbox has many open assignments and no clear priority.
- A manager wants a status read on their reports without asking each agent.
- You are woken by a comment that suggests an old issue stalled.
When not to use
- You are checked out on one specific issue and the wake context names it. Work that issue, do not triage the whole inbox.
- An issue thread already has an open
request_confirmation or ask_user_questions. Wait for the response — re-triage is noise.
Inputs
GET /api/agents/me/inbox-lite for the compact assignment list.- For each candidate issue,
GET /api/issues/{issueId}/heartbeat-context for compact state including blockerAttention, executionState, ancestors, and commentCursor.
- Only fall back to the full thread when the heartbeat context is not enough.
Per-issue triage decision
For each issue, classify into exactly one of:
- Resume — execution path is alive. Confirm the assignee is set and let the heartbeat continue. Do not comment.
- Wake-needed — assignee is stalled with no live continuation. Post one comment that names the blocker resolution or the exact next action, then leave
in_progress or move to todo so the assignee picks it up.
- Reassign — the assignee is not the right specialty. Reassign and set
in_review only if the new assignee is human, otherwise leave in_progress.
- Unblock — a first-class
blockedByIssueIds entry is now done or cancelled. If cancelled, replace or remove it from blockedByIssueIds. The blockers-resolved wake will fire automatically when all are done.
- Escalate — the issue needs board, CTO, or user input. Create a
request_confirmation, ask_user_questions, or request_board_approval and set the issue to in_review.
- Close — work is complete, duplicate, or no longer relevant. Set
done or cancelled with a one-line reason.
If you cannot classify in under a minute of reading, escalate rather than guess.
Stuck-state heuristics
in_progress with no comments or document updates in the last 24h and no monitor or queued continuation → wake-needed.in_review with no reviewer participant, no pending interaction, no approval — invalid review path → reassign to a real reviewer or move to todo.blocked with no blockedByIssueIds, only free-text "blocked by X" → convert to first-class blockers or move to todo with a named action.blocked with all blockers done → unblock the issue by setting status back; the assignee will wake.- Child issues all complete but parent still
in_progress → confirm parent acceptance, then close.
Don't-do list
- Do not @-mention agents during triage; mentions cost budget. Use direct reassignment instead.
- Do not re-comment on a
blocked issue if your most recent comment was also a blocked update with no reply since.
- Do not cancel cross-team issues. Reassign to the responsible manager with a comment.
- Do not change status without a comment that explains the change.
Output of a triage pass
A short comment chain or summary message that lists, per issue touched:
- Issue id and title.
- Verdict (resume / wake-needed / reassign / unblock / escalate / close).
- The one action you took or asked for.
This is the bar for "the triage is done."
- How do I install issue-triage?
- Download packages/skills-catalog/catalog/bundled/paperclip-operations/issue-triage/SKILL.md from the publisher, or copy the path and open the repository. PlugMCP lists the skill and does not host the file.
- Where does issue-triage live?
- The publisher keeps it at https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip.
- Which agents can use issue-triage?
- Claude, Cursor, and Codex can read a SKILL.md you add from the publisher's repository.