Issue Reply

issue-reply

Read the full thread of a GitHub issue and draft a context-aware reply. The agent previews the draft before posting — it never sends a reply without your explicit confirmation.

When to Use It

• Responding to a bug report with triage information
• Following up on a feature request with a decision
• Answering a question posted in an issue thread
• Closing out a stale issue with an explanation

How to Launch It

In GitHub Copilot Chat:

/issue-reply owner/repo#89

With reply intent:

/issue-reply owner/repo#89 "this is a known issue, fix is in v2.1"
/issue-reply owner/repo#89 close as won't fix
/issue-reply owner/repo#89 ask for reproduction steps

What to Expect

1. Read full thread — Fetches the original issue, all comments, and labels
2. Understand context — Identifies the issue type, current state, and any pending questions
3. Draft reply — Writes a reply appropriate to the context and your stated intent
4. Preview — Shows you the full draft with issue summary and proposed comment
5. Confirm and post — Posts only after you say yes

Reply Intent Detection

You say	Agent drafts
(no intent)	Context-aware response based on thread state
"close as won't fix"	Polite won't-fix explanation and closes issue
"ask for reproduction steps"	Asks for OS, browser, version, steps
"fix is in vX.Y"	Links to version, explains what will change
"needs more info"	Asks specific follow-up questions
"thank and close"	Grateful acknowledgment and closure

Sample Flow

You: /issue-reply owner/repo#89 ask for reproduction steps

Agent: Issue #89 — "Login flickers on mobile"
  Current state: Open, awaiting triage, no maintainer reply yet

  Draft reply:
  ────────────────────────────────────
  Thank you for reporting this! To help us investigate, 
  could you provide:
  - Device and OS (e.g., iPhone 14, iOS 17.2)
  - Browser (e.g., Safari 17)
  - Steps to reproduce exactly
  - Does it happen on the first login or only subsequent?
  ────────────────────────────────────

  Post this reply? (yes/no/edit)

Example Variations

/issue-reply owner/repo#89                     # Context-aware draft
/issue-reply #89 close as duplicate of #44     # Close as duplicate
/issue-reply #89 "fixed in PR #102"            # Link to fix
/issue-reply #89 needs more info               # Request clarification

Connected Agents

Agent	Role
issue-tracker agent	Executes this prompt

Related Prompts

• manage-issue — edit labels, assign, close, or lock issues
• triage — prioritize issues in bulk
• my-issues — see issues that need your attention