Commands for Easy Issue Assignment

[Harsh-vardhan09]

Summary

Add simple GitHub issue commands to make issue assignment easier for contributors, maintainers, and admins.

• Contributors can use /claim to assign an unassigned issue to themselves.
  
• Maintainers and admins can use /assign @username to assign an issue to a specific contributor.
  

Commands

/claim

Allowed for: Contributors, Maintainers, Admins

When a contributor comments:

/claim

The bot should:

1. Check whether the issue is already assigned.
2. If unassigned, assign the issue to the person who used /claim.
3. Add a confirmation comment.
4. Optionally add a claimed label.

Example response:

✅ @username has claimed this issue.

If the issue is already assigned:

⚠️ This issue is already assigned to @current-assignee.

The bot must not change the existing assignee.

---

/assign @username

Allowed for: Maintainers and Admins only

Example:

/assign @contributor

The bot should:

1. Verify that the person using the command is a maintainer or admin.
2. Validate the GitHub username.
3. Assign the issue to the specified user.
4. Remove the claimed label if applicable.
5. Add a confirmation comment.

Example response:

✅ This issue has been assigned to @contributor by @maintainer.

If a regular contributor tries to use /assign:

❌ Only maintainers and admins can use /assign.

Permission Matrix

 

CommandContributorMaintainerAdmin
/claim
/assign @username

Edge Cases

• /claim on an already-assigned issue must not change the assignee.
  
• /assign without a username should show the correct usage.
  
• Invalid GitHub usernames should return a clear error.
  
• Repeated /claim commands should not create duplicate actions.
  
• Commands should be processed idempotently to prevent duplicate assignments.
  
• The bot should handle closed issues appropriately.
  

Example Workflow

1. A maintainer creates an issue.
2. A contributor finds the issue they want to work on.
3. The contributor comments:

/claim

4. The bot assigns the issue to that contributor.
5. The contributor works on the issue.
6. If reassignment is needed, a maintainer comments:

/assign @another-contributor

7. The bot updates the assignee and confirms the change.

Acceptance Criteria

• Contributors can claim unassigned issues using /claim.
  
• /claim automatically assigns the issue to the commenter.
  
• /claim cannot override an existing assignee.
  
• Maintainers can assign issues using /assign @username.
  
• Admins can assign issues using /assign @username.
  
• Regular contributors cannot use /assign.
  
• Invalid command usage returns a helpful message.
  
• Successful commands produce confirmation comments.
  
• Duplicate command processing is prevented.
  
• Tests cover permission checks and assignment edge cases.
  

Suggested Implementation

Implement the commands using a GitHub Action triggered by issue_comment events or through a GitHub App/bot.

The implementation should use the minimum required GitHub token permissions needed to manage issue assignments.