APPMODLAB.MD

title	SQUAD + GitHub Issues Workflow
description	Automate issue triage, assignment, and delivery with SQUAD and GitHub Actions
authors	marconsilva
category	Agentic Software Development
industry	Cross-Industry
services
languages	TypeScript
frameworks	Next.js tRPC Prisma PostgreSQL Tailwind CSS
modernizationTools
agenticTools	SQUAD GitHub Copilot Agent
tags	github-actions issue-automation developer-forum workflow-automation triage
extensions	github.copilot
thumbnail	https://raw.githubusercontent.com/EmeaAppGbb/appmodlab-squad-github-issues-workflow/main/assets/thumbnail-gpt-image.png
video
version	1.0.0

Overview

This lab demonstrates how to automate issue triage, assignment, and delivery using SQUAD agents with GitHub Actions. The target codebase is a developer forum application built with Next.js 14 and tRPC.

Understanding the Current Application

The DevConnect developer forum application is a Next.js 14 + tRPC monorepo serving as the target codebase for SQUAD automation workflows.

The main homepage displays the Q&A community feed with recent questions, vote counts, answer counts, and view metrics:

Content & UI Components

The questions list shows all three sample questions rendered from the in-memory tRPC API — an auth question, a search bug report, and a performance issue:

Each question card shows title, description, and engagement stats (votes, answers, views):

Responsive Design

The application features a responsive layout. Below is the mobile view on a 375×812 viewport:

The DevConnect header with app name and tagline adapts across breakpoints:

Screenshots Reference

Screenshot	Description
	Desktop homepage with Q&A feed
	Full questions list
	Individual question card
	Mobile responsive layout
	Header branding component

---

Solution Walkthrough

The completed solution is on the solution-final branch. Each step is tagged for easy navigation.

Step 1: Explore App (step-01-explore-app)

cd C:\code\gbb\labs\appmodlab-squad-github-issues-workflow
git checkout solution-final

# Review the monorepo structure
Get-ChildItem -Recurse -File -Exclude node_modules,.git | Select-Object FullName
cat package.json          # Turborepo workspaces: web, api, shared
cat prisma/schema.prisma  # Question, Answer, Tag models

Key findings: Next.js 14 + tRPC monorepo with 3 packages (web, api, shared). In-memory data store, Prisma schema defined but not connected. Known issues: search returns deleted posts, no pagination, no auth.

Step 2: Initialize Squad (step-02-initialize-squad)

npx @bradygaster/squad-cli init

Output:

Let's build your team.
✔ .squad/config.json
✔ .squad/agents/scribe/charter.md
✔ .squad/agents/ralph/charter.md
✔ .squad/identity/now.md
✔ .github/agents/squad.agent.md
✔ .github/workflows/squad-heartbeat.yml
✔ .github/workflows/squad-issue-assign.yml
✔ .github/workflows/squad-triage.yml
✔ .github/workflows/sync-squad-labels.yml
✔ .copilot/mcp-config.json
Your team is ready. Run squad to start.

Created: Squad workspace (.squad/), 30+ Copilot skills, 4 GitHub Actions workflows, agent prompt (.github/agents/squad.agent.md).

Step 3: Configure Issue Templates (step-03-issue-templates)

gh copilot -- -p "Create GitHub issue templates for this Squad-integrated project.
Create .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ with: feature-request.yml, bug-report.yml, squad-task.yml
for automated agent routing. Each template should include Squad-specific labels and fields."

Actions:

• Created .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/squad-task.yml — task type dropdown, agent target selector, acceptance criteria
• Updated feature_request.yml and bug_report.yml — added squad label for auto-triage

Step 4: Set Up Workflow Automation (step-04-workflow-automation)

gh copilot -- -p "Create GitHub Actions workflows that trigger Squad agents based on issue labels."

Created: .github/workflows/squad-agent-dispatch.yml with:

• Branch creation per agent/issue (squad/{member}/issue-{N})
• Issue category detection (bug-fix, feature, task)
• /squad retriage command via comments

Step 5: Configure Agent-Issue Mapping (step-05-agent-issue-mapping)

npx @bradygaster/squad-cli  # Configure team
gh copilot -- -p "Define routing rules mapping issue labels to Squad agents."

Team Roster:

Agent	Role	Issue Keywords
Ralph	Lead/Architect	architecture, code review, decisions
Frontend	UI Developer	ui, css, component, layout, tailwind
Backend	API Developer	api, database, endpoint, prisma, trpc
QA	Testing & Quality	test, bug, fix, regression, coverage
Scribe	Documentation	README, API docs, diagrams
@copilot	Coding Agent	Auto-evaluated by capability tiers

Step 6: Test the Pipeline (step-06-test-pipeline)

npx @bradygaster/squad-cli triage

Output:

Ralph — Watch Mode
Polling every 10 minute(s) for squad work. Ctrl+C to stop.
Board is clear — Ralph is idling

Validated 6 test cases: Bug→QA, Feature→Frontend, API task→Backend, Docs→Scribe, Lint fix→@copilot, Re-triage via comment.

Step 7: Document Integration (step-07-document-integration)

gh copilot -- -p "Generate workflow diagram and usage guide for Squad + GitHub Issues integration"

Pipeline flow:

Issue Created → 'squad' label applied → squad-triage.yml (Lead analyzes)
  → squad:{member} label → squad-issue-assign.yml → squad-agent-dispatch.yml
    → Agent works on branch → Opens PR → CI → Review → Merge

Outputs: All step outputs saved in assets/outputs/step-01-*.txt through step-07-*.txt.

Tags Reference

Tag	Description
step-01-explore-app	Codebase review and dependency install
step-02-initialize-squad	Squad CLI init (agents, skills, workflows)
step-03-issue-templates	Issue templates with Squad labels
step-04-workflow-automation	Agent dispatch workflow
step-05-agent-issue-mapping	Team roster and routing rules
step-06-test-pipeline	Pipeline validation with test cases
step-07-document-integration	Workflow diagram and usage guide