/triage-issue

name: triage-issue
description: "Intelligently triage bug reports and error messages by searching for duplicates in Jira and offering to create new issues or add comments to existing ones. When an agent needs to: (1) Triage a bug report or error message, (2) Check if an issue is a duplicate, (3) Find similar past issues, (4) Create a new bug ticket with proper context, or (5) Add information to an existing ticket. Searches Jira for similar issues, identifies duplicates, checks fix history, and helps create well-structured bug reports."

Triage Issue

Keywords

triage bug, check duplicate, is this a duplicate, search for similar issues, create bug ticket, file a bug, report this error, triage this error, bug report, error message, similar issues, duplicate bug, who fixed this, has this been reported, search bugs, find similar bugs, create issue, file issue

Overview

Automatically triage bug reports and error messages by searching Jira for duplicates, identifying similar past issues, and helping create well-structured bug tickets or add context to existing issues. This skill eliminates manual duplicate checking and ensures bugs are properly documented with relevant historical context.

**Use this skill when:** Users need to triage error messages, bug reports, or issues to determine if they're duplicates and take appropriate action.

---

Workflow

Follow this 6-step process to effectively triage issues:

Step 1: Extract Key Information

Analyze the bug report or error message to identify search terms.

Extract These Elements:

**Error signature:**

• Error type or exception name (e.g., "NullPointerException", "TimeoutError")
• Error code or status (e.g., "500", "404", "ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED")
• Specific error message text (key phrases, not full stack trace)

**Context:**

• Component or system affected (e.g., "authentication", "payment gateway", "API")
• Environment (e.g., "production", "staging", "mobile app")
• User actions leading to error (e.g., "during login", "when uploading file")

**Symptoms:**

• Observable behavior (e.g., "page blank", "infinite loading", "data not saving")
• Impact (e.g., "users can't login", "payments failing")

Example Extractions:

**Input:** "Users getting 'Connection timeout' error when trying to login on mobile app" **Extracted:**

• Error: "Connection timeout"
• Component: "login", "mobile app"
• Symptom: "can't login"

**Input:** "NullPointerException in PaymentProcessor.processRefund() line 245" **Extracted:**

• Error: "NullPointerException"
• Component: "PaymentProcessor", "refund"
• Location: "processRefund line 245"

---

Step 2: Search for Duplicates

Search Jira using extracted keywords to find similar or duplicate issues.

Search Strategy:

Execute **multiple targeted searches** to catch duplicates that may use different wording:

**Search 1: Error-focused**

searchJiraIssuesUsingJql(
  cloudId="...",
  jql='project = "PROJ" AND (text ~ "error signature" OR summary ~ "error signature") AND type = Bug ORDER BY created DESC',
  fields=["summary", "description", "status", "resolution", "created", "updated", "assignee"],
  maxResults=20
)

**Search 2: Component-focused**

searchJiraIssuesUsingJql(
  cloudId="...",
  jql='project = "PROJ" AND text ~ "component keywords" AND type = Bug ORDER BY updated DESC',
  fields=["summary", "description", "status", "resolution", "created", "updated", "assignee"],
  maxResults=20
)

**Search 3: Symptom-focused**

searchJiraIssuesUsingJql(
  cloudId="...",
  jql='project = "PROJ" AND summary ~ "symptom keywords" AND type = Bug ORDER BY priority DESC, updated DESC',
  fields=["summary", "description", "status", "resolution", "created", "updated", "assignee"],
  maxResults=20
)

Search Tips:

**Use key terms only:**

• ✅ "timeout login mobile"
• ✅ "NullPointerException PaymentProcessor refund"
• ❌ "Users are getting a connection timeout error when..." (too verbose)

**Search recent first:**

• Order by `created DESC` or `updated DESC` to find recent similar issues
• Recent bugs are more likely to be relevant duplicates

**Don't over-filter:**

• Include resolved issues (might have been reopened or regression)
• Search across all bug statuses to find fix history

---

Step 3: Analyze Search Results

Evaluate the search results to determine if this is a duplicate or a new issue.

Duplicate Detection:

**High confidence duplicate (>90%):**

• Exact same error message in summary or description
• Same component + same error type
• Recent issue (< 30 days) with identical symptoms
• **Action:** Strongly recommend adding comment to existing issue

**Likely duplicate (70-90%):**

• Similar error with slight variations
• Same component but different context
• Resolved issue with same root cause
• **Action:** Present as possible duplicate, let user decide

**Possibly related (40-70%):**

• Similar symptoms but different error
• Same component area but different specific error
• Old issue (> 6 months) that might be unrelated
• **Action:** Mention as potentially related

**Likely new issue (<40%):**

• No similar issues found
• Different error signature and component
• Unique symptom or context
• **Action:** Recommend creating new issue

Check Fix History:

If similar resolved issues are found:

**Extract relevant information:**

• Who fixed it? (assignee on resolved issues)
• How was it fixed? (resolution comment or linked PRs)
• When was it fixed? (resolution date)
• Has it regressed? (any reopened issues)

**Present this context** to help with triage decision.

---

Step 4: Present Findings to User

**CRITICAL:** Always present findings and wait for user decision before taking any action.

Format for Likely Duplicate:

🔍 **Triage Results: Likely Duplicate**

I found a very similar issue already reported:

**PROJ-456** - Connection timeout during mobile login
Status: Open | Priority: High | Created: 3 days ago
Assignee: @john.doe
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