complete-subtask

Complete a Sub-Issue (Subtask)

Mark a sub-issue as done within an umbrella issue workflow. This is the lightweight counterpart to /complete-task — it handles subtask completion without branch cleanup, PR checks, or ADR prompts.

Typical workflow:

/start-task #36          <- umbrella issue, creates branch
... implement #37 ...
/complete-subtask #37    <- this skill
... implement #38 ...
/complete-subtask #38    <- this skill
... implement #39, #40 ...
/complete-subtask #39
/complete-subtask #40
/complete-task #36       <- closes umbrella, merges PR, cleans up

Input

$ARGUMENTS should contain the sub-issue number (e.g., 37 or #37).

If no argument provided, use AskUserQuestion to ask which sub-issue to complete.

Help

If $ARGUMENTS contains --help or -h, display the following and stop — do not execute the workflow.

/complete-subtask [#N]

  Complete a sub-issue — close it, check parent checkbox, update project status.

Arguments:
  #N              Sub-issue number (e.g., 37 or #37)
  --help, -h      Show this help

What it does:
  1. Fetches sub-issue and detects parent issue
  2. Closes the sub-issue
  3. Updates project status to Done
  4. Checks the checkbox in the parent issue body
  5. Updates design doc status (if exists)

Examples:
  /complete-subtask #37
  /complete-subtask 38

Workflow

1. Fetch Sub-Issue Details

Use mcp__GitHub__get_issue with:

• owner: "log2n-io"
• repo: "Typhon"
• issue_number: <number>

Confirm the issue is open (state = "open"). If already closed, report and exit.

2. Detect Parent (Umbrella) Issue

From the sub-issue body (returned in step 1), search for a parent reference. Common patterns:

• **GitHub Issue:** #NN (umbrella) or Sub-issues: #37, #38, ...
• Parent: #NN
• Part of #NN
• Any #NN reference where NN is a different issue

Look for patterns like:

• A line containing "umbrella" with an issue number
• A line containing "parent" with an issue number
• A "Sub-issues:" or "Part of" reference

If multiple candidates are found, or none are found, ask:

Question: "Which issue is the parent/umbrella for #<number>?"
Header: "Parent"
Options:
  - #<candidate1> - <title> (if candidates found)
  - Enter manually (description: "I'll type the parent issue number")

3. Close the Sub-Issue

Use mcp__GitHub__update_issue with:

• owner: "log2n-io"
• repo: "Typhon"
• issue_number: <number>
• state: "closed"

4. Update Project Status to Done

Project item lookup: Read .claude/skills/_helpers.md Section 2 for the robust patterns.

# Step 1: Find the item ID by piping directly to Python (no temp files)
gh project item-list 1 --owner Log2n-io --limit 200 --format json 2>&1 | python3 -c "
import json, sys
items = json.load(sys.stdin)['items']
for item in items:
    if item.get('content', {}).get('number') == int(sys.argv[1]):
        print(item['id'])
        sys.exit(0)
print('NOT_FOUND')
" <sub_issue_number>

# Step 1b: If NOT_FOUND, add the sub-issue to the project board first
# gh project item-add 1 --owner Log2n-io --url https://github.com/Log2n-io/Typhon/issues/<sub_issue_number>
# Then re-run step 1

# Step 2: Update status to Done (using the item ID from step 1)
gh project item-edit --project-id PVT_kwDOEcGj5M4Bb-8P --id <item_id> \
  --field-id PVTSSF_lADOEcGj5M4Bb-8PzhWrH1A \
  --single-select-option-id 98236657  # "Done"

5. Check Checkbox in Parent Issue

Step 5a: Fetch the parent issue to get its current body.

Use mcp__GitHub__get_issue with:

• owner: "log2n-io"
• repo: "Typhon"
• issue_number: <parent_number>

Step 5b: In the returned body, find a line matching the pattern - [ ] that contains #<sub_number> (the sub-issue number). Replace - [ ] with - [x] on that line.

Checkbox detection patterns (match any):

• - [ ] ... #37 ... (explicit issue reference)
• - [ ] ... #37: ... (reference with colon)
• - [ ] **#37** ... (bold reference)
• - [ ] ... Sub-issue #37 ... (text reference)

If the checkbox line also contains a description, preserve it. Only change [ ] to [x].

Step 5c: Update the parent issue body with the modified content.

Use mcp__GitHub__update_issue with:

• owner: "log2n-io"
• repo: "Typhon"
• issue_number: <parent_number>
• body: "<modified body with checkbox checked>"

This replaces the old temp file + Python + gh issue edit --body-file pattern. The body is passed directly — no temp files, no encoding issues.

If no matching checkbox is found, report it but don't fail — the parent may use a different format.

6. Update Design Doc Status (if exists)

Look for a design doc reference in the sub-issue body (links to claude/design/).

If found, read the design doc and update its status line:

# BEFORE:
**Status:** Ready for implementation

# AFTER:
**Status:** Implemented

Only update the **Status:** line in the YAML-like header at the top of the doc. Don't modify anything else.

If no design doc is found or referenced, skip this step silently.

7. Report Summary

Completed sub-issue #<number>: <title>

  Issue: #<number> closed
  Project: Status -> Done
  Parent: #<parent> checkbox checked
  Design: claude/design/<path> -> Status: Implemented (or "no design doc")

Parent #<parent> progress: X/Y sub-issues complete

For the progress line, count checked vs total checkboxes in the parent body that reference sub-issues.

Edge Cases

Sub-issue has no parent

If no parent can be detected and the user doesn't provide one:

• Still close the sub-issue and update project status
• Skip checkbox update
• Report that no parent was found

Parent has no checkboxes

If the parent issue body doesn't have checkboxes:

• Still close the sub-issue and update project status
• Report that no checkbox was found to check

Design doc not in expected format

If the design doc doesn't have a **Status:** line:

• Skip the update
• Report that the design doc format wasn't recognized

Status Field Option IDs

For reference:

• Todo: f75ad846
• In Progress: 47fc9ee4
• Done: 98236657

Field IDs

• Status: PVTSSF_lADOEcGj5M4Bb-8PzhWrH1A
• Project ID: PVT_kwDOEcGj5M4Bb-8P