<milestone_number>$ARGUMENTS</milestone_number>
Start Milestone
Transition a milestone from planning to active: bulk-update labels and Project board status.
API references: milestones.md | projects-v2.md
Arguments
<milestone_number/> — milestone number (required).
/start-milestone 3
Workflow
Step 1: Resolve Milestone
Call mcp__plugin_dh_backlog__backlog_list_milestones(state="open").
From the returned list, find the entry where number == <milestone_number/>.
If not found in the open list, call mcp__plugin_dh_backlog__backlog_list_milestones(state="all") and filter again.
If milestone is closed, report and stop.
If open_issues == 0, warn: "No open issues. Add items first with /group-items-to-milestone {number}"
Step 2: List Issues
Call mcp__plugin_dh_backlog__backlog_list_issues(milestone="{title}", state="open").
The response contains a list of issues with number, title, state, and labels fields.
Step 3: Confirm
Start milestone "{title}" — {N} open issues
Issues to transition (status:needs-grooming → status:in-progress):
#12 SAM: Error Recovery [priority:p1, status:needs-grooming]
#8 gitlab-skill: Remove URL [priority:p1, status:needs-grooming]
#14 create-backlog-item skill [priority:p2, status:needs-grooming]
Proceed?
Use AskUserQuestion with Yes / No options. Stop without changes if No.
Step 4: Bulk Label Transition
Use the Python automation script (preferred — avoids per-issue bash loops):
uv run .claude/skills/gh/scripts/github_project_setup.py milestone start \
--number {number}
Or, to preview changes without applying them:
uv run .claude/skills/gh/scripts/github_project_setup.py milestone start \
--number {number} --dry-run
The script removes status:needs-grooming and adds status:in-progress to each
open issue, creates the label if missing, reports per-issue results, and exits
non-zero if any issue fails.
Step 5: Update Project V2
Run:
uv run .claude/skills/gh/scripts/github_project_setup.py project update-status \
--milestone {number} --status "In Progress"
See projects-v2.md for details.
Step 6: Report
Milestone #{N} "{title}" started.
{count} issues transitioned to status:in-progress
{failed_count} issues failed (see details above)
Work on individual items:
/work-backlog-item {title}
Error Handling
- Milestone not found: list open milestones and stop.
- Milestone already closed: report closed date and stop.
- Label edit fails for specific issue: log and continue; report failures at end.
- User declines confirmation: stop without changes.