ghs-dev-loop

Act as an autonomous developer for a repository --- triage, analyze, implement, review, merge, and release in priority-driven cycles.

Skill Info

Version: 1.0.0 Arguments: [owner/repo] [--budget <N>] [--cycle single|continuous] [--include-health] [--include-deps]Trigger phrases: "dev loop", "be my developer", "autonomous developer", "work on my repo", "process all issues", "developer mode", "full dev loop", "maintain this repo", "handle everything", "automate development", "dev cycle"

What It Does

ghs-dev-loop replaces a human developer for a single repository. It processes work in priority-driven cycles: health maintenance, issue triage/analysis/implementation, code review, PR merging, dependency updates, and optional releases. Each cycle enforces human checkpoints for irreversible operations.

How It Differs from ghs-orchestrate

Skill	Scope	Focus
ghs-orchestrate	Multi-repo pipeline	Health maintenance across repos
ghs-dev-loop	Single-repo developer	Full issue lifecycle + health

Scope Boundary

Orchestrates only --- never directly modifies code. All mutations flow through existing skills.

Skill Dependency Map

Priority Queue

Priority	Category	Trigger
P0	Health critical	Health score < 50%
P1	Critical bugs	priority:critical label
P2	Health maintenance	Health score < 80%
P3	High-priority issues	priority:high label
P4	Normal issues	priority:medium, priority:low, or unlabeled
P5	Dependencies	Renovate/bot PRs pending
P6	Release	Configured threshold met + --auto-release

Cycle Modes

Mode	Behavior	Use When
single	Run one cycle, then stop	Manual invocation, testing
continuous	Repeat until no work remains	Batch processing backlog
watch	Poll for new issues at interval	Long-running maintenance

Checkpoint Gates

Gate	Default	Can Disable?	Why
Before health fix	ON	Yes (--no-checkpoint)	Fixes create PRs
Before implement (High+)	ON	No	Complex changes need sign-off
Before merge	ON	Yes (--auto-merge)	Merging is irreversible
Before release	ON	No	Releases are public and versioned

Process (Per Cycle)

1. Pre-flight --- Auth, repo access, write permission, GSD, skill availability
2. Load state --- Read state issue (GitHub Issue with ghs:state label), offer resume or fresh start
3. Priority assessment --- Health score, issue inventory, dependency PRs
4. Health maintenance --- If score < threshold: scan, fix, merge
5. Issue processing --- For each issue (up to budget): triage, analyze, implement, review, merge
6. Dependency management --- Review and merge Renovate/bot PRs
7. Release decision --- If criteria met and --auto-release: draft release + checkpoint
8. Cycle report --- Health delta, issues processed, PRs created/merged
9. State update --- Write session entry to state issue (ghs:state GitHub Issue)
10. Next cycle --- Stop, continue, or poll based on mode

Flags

Flag	Default	Effect
--budget N	5	Max issues per cycle
--continuous	off	Repeat cycles until empty
--watch INTERVAL	off	Poll for new issues
--auto-merge	off	Skip merge checkpoint (non-High+ PRs)
--auto-release	off	Enable release step (still checkpointed)
--no-checkpoint	off	Disable optional checkpoints
--health-threshold N	80	Score % below which maintenance triggers
--skip-health	off	Skip health maintenance
--skip-dependencies	off	Skip bot PR merging

Example

## Dev Loop: Cycle #1 --- phmatray/Formidable

### Health
  Score: 65% -> 82% (+17%)
  Fixed: 3 items (2 Tier 1, 1 Tier 2)
  PRs: #45, #46, #47 (merged)

### Issues Processed (4/5 budget)

| # | Issue | Action | Result | PR |
|---|-------|--------|--------|----|
| #12 | Login crash | Implement | [PASS] | #49 (merged) |
| #15 | Dark mode toggle | Implement | [PASS] | #50 (merged) |
| #18 | Refactor auth | Analyze | Deferred (VeryHigh --- next cycle) |
| #22 | Fix pagination | Implement | [PASS] | #51 (merged) |

### Dependencies
  Merged: 2 Renovate PRs (#41, #43)

---

Summary:
  Issues: 4 processed, 3 merged, 1 deferred
  Health: +17% improvement
  PRs created: 3, PRs merged: 8
  Next: 8 issues remaining, score at 82%

Cycle complete. To continue: /ghs-dev-loop --continuous phmatray/Formidable

Circuit Breaker

Condition	Action
3 failed implementations in one cycle	Stop issue processing, report failures
Health scan fails	Skip maintenance, proceed with warning
Rate limit detected	Pause cycle, report, offer resume
3 consecutive skill failures	Stop cycle, preserve state issue

Routes To

• ghs-backlog-board --- view dashboard after cycle

Routes From

• ghs-backlog-board --- start dev loop from dashboard
• ghs-backlog-next --- dev loop after recommendation

Technical Details

Property	Value
Allowed tools	Bash(gh:*), Bash(git:*), Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, Skill
Spawns sub-agents	No --- delegates to individual skills via Skill tool
Cycle budget	Default 5 issues per cycle
Bias guards	Automation, Sunk cost, Optimism, Anchoring, Completion, Availability
Requires	gh CLI (authenticated), git, all ghs-skills, GSD framework