laurigates/github-issue-search

GitHub Issue Search for Solutions

When to Use This Skill

| Use this skill when... | Use github-actions-inspection instead when... | |---|---| | Looking up upstream bug reports for an OSS library error message | Investigating a failing workflow run in your own repository | | Finding closed-issue workarounds before filing a new bug | Pulling logs, statuses, or job conclusions from gh run | | Surveying reactions/comments to gauge issue popularity or fix availability | Rerunning failed jobs or watching an in-progress workflow |

Search GitHub repository issues to find solutions, workarounds, and discussions for open source software problems.

For detailed examples, advanced patterns, and best practices, see REFERENCE.md.

When to Use

Use this skill automatically when:

• User encounters errors or problems with open source software
• User mentions a library/package name with an error message
• User asks "has anyone reported this issue before?"
• User needs workarounds for known bugs
• User wants to understand if a problem is already tracked
• Debugging reveals potential upstream issues

Core Capabilities

Search Issues by Error Message

When encountering an error, search the repository for related issues:

Error Message -> Extract Keywords -> Search Issues -> Find Solutions

MCP Tool Used: mcp__github__search_issues

Search Query Construction:

1. Extract error type (e.g., "TypeError", "ECONNREFUSED", "panic")
2. Extract key terms from error message
3. Identify repository from context (package.json, go.mod, error stack trace)
4. Construct targeted search query

Search Patterns

By Error Message:

Query: "TypeError: Cannot read property 'map' of undefined repo:facebook/react"

By Symptom:

Query: "memory leak kubernetes deployment repo:kubernetes/kubernetes"

By Feature/Behavior:

Query: "authentication timeout websocket repo:socketio/socket.io"

By Version:

Query: "breaking change v2.0.0 migration repo:vuejs/vue"

Search Strategy Summary

| Strategy | When to Use | Key Approach | |----------|-------------|--------------| | Error-focused | Specific error message | Extract unique error terms, search repo | | Symptom-based | Observable behavior, no exact error | Describe behavior + version/component | | Version-specific | Issue after upgrading | Version number + issue type, check migration | | Workaround discovery | Known issue, need temp fix | Search closed issues for code snippets |

Using GitHub MCP Tools

Search Issues

Tool: mcp__github__search_issues

Parameters:
- query: Search query with GitHub search syntax
- owner: Repository owner (optional, can be in query)
- repo: Repository name (optional, can be in query)
- sort: "comments", "created", "updated", "reactions"
- order: "asc" or "desc"
- perPage: Number of results (max 100)
- page: Page number for pagination

Examples:

// Search by error message
{
  "query": "TypeError map undefined repo:facebook/react",
  "sort": "updated",
  "order": "desc",
  "perPage": 20
}

// Search by label and state
{
  "query": "label:bug is:closed memory leak repo:nodejs/node",
  "sort": "reactions",
  "order": "desc"
}

// Search recent issues
{
  "query": "authentication failed created:>2024-01-01 repo:auth0/auth0-spa-js",
  "sort": "created",
  "order": "desc"
}

Get Issue Details

Tool: mcp__github__issue_read

Parameters:
- method: "get" (issue details), "get_comments" (comments)
- owner: Repository owner
- repo: Repository name
- issue_number: Issue number
- perPage: Results per page
- page: Page number

Example:

// Get issue details
{
  "method": "get",
  "owner": "facebook",
  "repo": "react",
  "issue_number": 12345
}

// Get issue comments (where solutions often are)
{
  "method": "get_comments",
  "owner": "facebook",
  "repo": "react",
  "issue_number": 12345,
  "perPage": 50
}

Quick Reference: Search Query Syntax

| Filter | Syntax | Example | |--------|--------|---------| | Repository | repo:owner/repo | repo:facebook/react | | Open only | is:open | bug is:open | | Closed only | is:closed | fix is:closed | | Issues only | is:issue | error is:issue | | Label | label:name | label:bug | | Exclude label | -label:name | -label:wontfix | | Created after | created:>DATE | created:>2024-01-01 | | Updated after | updated:>DATE | updated:>2024-11-01 | | Author | author:user | author:octocat | | Reactions | reactions:>N | reactions:>10 | | Comments | comments:>N | comments:>5 | | Exclude term | -term | -test -mock | | Organization | org:name | org:kubernetes |

Agentic Optimizations

| Context | Command | |---------|---------| | Quick error search | mcp__github__search_issues with error keywords + repo: filter | | Find workarounds | Search closed issues: query + is:closed repo:owner/repo | | Popular issues | Sort by reactions: sort: "reactions" | | Recent issues | Filter by date: created:>YYYY-MM-DD | | Get solution details | mcp__github__issue_read with method: "get_comments" |

Related Skills

• System Debugging - Use issue search during debugging
• Helm Debugging - Search helm/helm for Helm issues
• Package Management - Search dependency issues
• Git Operations - Link issues in commits/PRs

References

• GitHub Search Syntax
• GitHub Search Qualifiers
• GitHub Issues Documentation
• GitHub MCP Server Tools