# triage > A Matt Pocock Claude Code skill that moves incoming issues through a small state machine of triage roles — bug or feature, refined through clarification and scope decisions — with an explicit AI-disclaimer requirement on every comment and supporting AGENT-BRIEF.md and OUT-OF-SCOPE.md knowledge-base sub-docs. **Use case**: Triage incoming issues through a state-machine of roles **Canonical URL**: https://agentcookbooks.com/skills/triage/ **Topics**: claude-code, skills, planning **Trigger phrases**: "triage these issues", "review incoming bugs", "prep issues for an AFK agent" **Source**: [Matt Pocock](https://github.com/mattpocock/skills/tree/main/skills/engineering/triage) **License**: MIT --- ## What it does `triage` moves issues through a small state machine of triage roles. The skill ships with two reference sub-docs (`AGENT-BRIEF.md` for how to write durable agent briefs, `OUT-OF-SCOPE.md` for how the `.out-of-scope/` knowledge base works) and a hard requirement: every triage comment posted to the tracker **must** begin with `> *This was generated by AI during triage.*`. The two **category** roles: - `bug` — something is broken - `feature` — something new is being requested The machine moves issues from incoming → clarified → scoped (in-scope, out-of-scope, deferred). In-scope issues get durable agent briefs written so an AFK agent can grab them. Out-of-scope issues get added to the `.out-of-scope/` knowledge base for traceability later. ## When to use it Reach for it when: - The issue tracker has accumulated more than a handful of incoming bugs or feature requests and you can't read each one in depth - You want to prep issues for an AFK agent to grab independently and they need to be agent-ready (clear repro, clear scope, clear acceptance criteria) - The scope of what you're saying "no" to has become important enough to track as a knowledge base, not just as closed-with-no-action issues - You need to enforce a consistent disclosure discipline (the AI-disclaimer at the top of every comment) When *not* to reach for it: - Single-issue triage that fits in your head — the state-machine overhead exceeds the win - A tracker where you're the only consumer and durable briefs aren't needed - An issue without enough context to triage at all — ask for repro first, triage after ## Install The skill is distributed via Pocock's [skills repo](https://github.com/mattpocock/skills). Install via his recommended path (`npx skills add` or manual copy of the `SKILL.md` + the `AGENT-BRIEF.md` and `OUT-OF-SCOPE.md` sub-docs into `.claude/skills/triage/`) — see the repo README for canonical install instructions. Issue-tracker config and triage label vocabulary should be set up via `setup-matt-pocock-skills` first. ## What a session looks like A typical session starts with the agent reading the incoming issue, applying the category role (`bug` / `feature`), and either asking for clarification, accepting it as in-scope, deferring, or adding it to `.out-of-scope/`. Each comment posted to the tracker opens with the AI-disclaimer. In-scope issues get an agent brief written following the `AGENT-BRIEF.md` template — the brief is what makes the issue AFK-grabbable. Out-of-scope issues get a short note explaining the reasoning and a pointer into the knowledge base. The discipline that makes it work: scope decisions are durable. Saying "no" with a knowledge-base entry beats saying "no" by closing without comment, because the next similar request gets routed to the prior decision. ## Receipts TODO — to be filled in from a real session. When the skill is triggered in production use, capture: number of incoming issues triaged, ratio of in-scope / out-of-scope / deferred / needs-clarification, whether the AI-disclaimer requirement held up across every comment, and whether the `.out-of-scope/` knowledge base caught a repeat request later in the project. ## Source and attribution Originally written by [Matt Pocock](https://github.com/mattpocock). The canonical `SKILL.md` plus the `AGENT-BRIEF.md` and `OUT-OF-SCOPE.md` sub-docs live in the [`engineering/triage` folder](https://github.com/mattpocock/skills/tree/main/skills/engineering/triage) of his public skills repository. License: MIT. You can install, adapt, and redistribute the skill, with attribution preserved. This page documents the skill from a practitioner's perspective. For the formal spec and any updates, defer to the source repo.