Create a Development Branch

Sets up a new git branch for implementing a GitHub issue. The branch name follows a predictable pattern so anyone on the team can map a branch back to its issue instantly.

Naming Convention

issue-<number>

• •<number> is the GitHub issue number (without the #)
• •Examples: issue-42, issue-7, issue-138

Why this format? The issue itself already holds the full context — title, description, labels, discussion. The branch name only needs to point back to it.

Steps

1. Identify the Issue

Find the issue number from the conversation:

• •Look for explicit mentions like "issue #42" or "implement #15"
• •If the number isn't clear, list recent issues: gh issue list --limit 10
• •If still ambiguous, ask the user which issue to target

Confirm the issue exists and is open:

gh issue view <number> --json state,title

If the issue is closed or missing, let the user know and stop.

2. Create the Branch

git checkout -b issue-<number>

Confirm to the user:

Created and switched to branch: issue-<number>

Error Handling