Label Taxonomy

Try this to apply workflow labels:

Apply the go:yes label to issue #42 and target it for v0.5.0

Try this to filter by priority:

Show me all issues with priority:p0

Try this to route work to a specific agent:

Add squad:fenster to issue #23

Squad uses structured, namespaced labels as the state machine. Labels drive workflow automation — not just tags. Five namespaces control lifecycle, priority, ownership, and release targeting.

The Five Namespaces

Mutual Exclusivity Rules

Within go:, release:, type:, and priority: namespaces, only one label is allowed. Applying a second label in the same namespace auto-removes the first.

Example:

• Issue has go:needs-research
• You apply go:yes
• Result: go:needs-research removed, go:yes applied

The squad:{member} namespace allows multiple labels for collaborative work:

• squad:fenster + squad:hockney = pair programming or handoff

Workflow Automation

Labels drive four automation layers:

1. Enforcement (Mutual Exclusivity)

GitHub Actions workflow label-enforcement.yml watches for label changes. If multiple labels from the same namespace are applied, it removes all but the most recent.

2. Sync (Cross-Namespace Consistency)

Some label changes trigger cascading updates:

• go:no applied → auto-adds release:backlog, removes other release targets
• priority:p0 applied → ensures go:yes is set (p0 implies approved)

3. Triage (Auto-Assignment)

Ralph (work monitor) uses labels to route work:

• squad:fenster → Fenster picks it up
• No squad:* + type:bug → Routes to Tester or Lead based on routing.md
• go:needs-research → Routes to Lead for investigation

4. Heartbeat (Periodic Check)

The squad-heartbeat.yml workflow runs every 30 minutes and:

• Finds issues with squad label but no squad:{member} → auto-triages
• Finds go:yes + squad:{member} but no assignee → spawns agent
• Finds stale go:needs-research (>7 days) → escalates to Lead

State Machine Flow

New issue → squad label → Triage
                            ↓
                       Lead assigns go:* + type:* + priority:*
                            ↓
                      go:yes → squad:{member} assigned
                            ↓
                      Agent works → Draft PR
                            ↓
                      Review → Approved
                            ↓
                      Merge → Issue closed

Adding Labels

Labels are created automatically during init or upgrade. To add custom labels:

gh label create "squad:designer" --color "0366d6" --description "Work assigned to Designer"

Or via the GitHub UI: Issues → Labels → New label

Label Colors

Squad uses a consistent color scheme:

Querying by Label

# All approved features for v0.4.0
gh issue list --label "go:yes,release:v0.4.0,type:feature"

# All p0 bugs assigned to Fenster
gh issue list --label "priority:p0,type:bug,squad:fenster"

# All issues needing research
gh issue list --label "go:needs-research"

Sample Prompts

Mark issue #42 as approved for v0.4.0

Applies go:yes and release:v0.4.0 labels. Removes any conflicting labels.

Change issue #15 from needs-research to no

Updates verdict: removes go:needs-research, applies go:no, adds release:backlog.

Assign issue #28 to Fenster and Hockney for pair work

Applies squad:fenster and squad:hockney labels. Both agents can pick it up.

List all p0 features approved for the next release

Queries: priority:p0 + type:feature + go:yes + release:{current milestone}.

Show me all issues in the backlog

Filters for release:backlog or go:no labels.