What types of issues can the agent fix automatically?

The agent works best on well-defined issues with clear requirements: bug fixes with reproduction steps, documentation updates, simple feature additions, and code cleanup tasks. Complex architectural changes still benefit from human-led implementation.

What happens if the agent's fix is wrong?

The PR goes through normal code review before merging. If the fix is incorrect, you can close the PR and remove the auto-fix label from the issue. The agent learns from explicit feedback you provide in the PR comments.

Can I limit how many issues the agent processes per day?

Yes. In the skill configuration, set a daily issue limit and a concurrent processing limit. This prevents the agent from overwhelming your CI pipeline or opening too many PRs at once.

Development

Automated Issue Fixes: gh-issues Skill

Configure your agent to pick up GitHub issues, implement fixes using sub-agents, and open pull requests with the changes, turning your backlog into completed work.

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What You Will Get

After completing this guide, your OpenClaw agent will monitor your GitHub issues for tasks tagged with a specific label. When it finds a new issue, it reads the description, analyzes the codebase context, spawns a coding sub-agent to implement the fix, and opens a pull request with the changes.

This turns your issue tracker into a self-healing system. Bug reports with clear reproduction steps get fixed automatically. Small feature requests get implemented and submitted for review. Your team reviews completed PRs instead of starting from scratch on every ticket.

The gh-issues skill handles the orchestration: fetching issues, parsing requirements, delegating to coding agents, running tests, and creating PRs with descriptive commit messages and linked issue references.

How to Set It Up

Step-by-step configuration for automated issue handling

Install the gh-issues Skill

Navigate to your agent's Skills section and search for gh-issues. Install the skill and verify it appears in your active skills list. This skill provides the issue fetching, parsing, and PR creation capabilities that power the automation pipeline.

Connect GitHub with Write Access

Ensure your GitHub connection has write access to the target repositories. The agent needs permission to create branches, push commits, and open pull requests. Go to Connections, select your GitHub integration, and verify the permission scope includes repo write access.

Configure Issue Labels

Create a label in your GitHub repository, such as agent-fix or auto-fix. This label tells the agent which issues to pick up. In your agent's skill configuration, set the trigger label to match. Only issues with this label will be processed, giving you full control over what the agent works on.

Set Up the Coding Sub-Agent

The gh-issues skill delegates actual code changes to a coding sub-agent. Configure which coding tool the sub-agent should use, such as Codex or Claude Code. Set the working directory, branch naming convention, and commit message format. A typical branch name pattern is fix/issue-{number}-{short-title}.

Define Scope and Guardrails

Set limits on what the agent can change. You can restrict it to specific directories, file types, or maximum lines changed per PR. For safety, start with a small scope like fixing typos or updating documentation, then expand as you build confidence. Enable the dry-run mode initially to preview what the agent would do without actually pushing code.

Enable Test Validation

Configure the agent to run your test suite before opening a PR. Specify the test command, such as npm test or pytest. If tests fail, the agent retries the fix up to a configurable number of attempts. If it cannot produce a passing implementation, it comments on the issue explaining what it tried and where it got stuck.

Monitor and Iterate

Watch the first few automated PRs closely. Check that the code changes are correct, the commit messages are clear, and the PR descriptions reference the original issue. Adjust the coding prompt, scope limits, and test validation settings based on what you observe. Gradually expand the types of issues the agent handles.

Tips and Best Practices

Write Clear Issue Descriptions

The agent's fix quality depends heavily on the issue description. Include specific file paths, expected behavior, actual behavior, and reproduction steps. The more context the issue provides, the better the automated fix will be.

Use Templates for Common Issue Types

Create GitHub issue templates for bug reports, small feature requests, and documentation updates. Structured templates help the agent parse requirements consistently and produce better results.

Review PRs Before Merging

Even though the agent creates PRs automatically, always have a human review before merging. The agent handles the implementation grunt work, but human judgment is still essential for verifying correctness and catching edge cases.

Manual vs. Automated Issue Handling

Manual Process

Developer reads issue and context
Creates branch, writes fix, runs tests
Opens PR, writes description
Typical turnaround: hours to days
Limited by developer availability

Automated with gh-issues

Agent monitors issues continuously
Sub-agent implements fix and validates
PR opened with linked issue reference
Typical turnaround: minutes
Runs 24/7, handles backlog overnight

Frequently Asked Questions

GitHub PR Review Automation Coding Agent Delegation Git Workflow Automation

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