Issue Gate

GitHub issue forms and a chooser config that make "doesn't work" impossible to file without a reproduction. No dependencies, no API keys, no bot.

Why

GitHub already ships this gate, for free: YAML issue forms plus .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/config.yml with blank_issues_enabled: false, which removes the blank-issue bypass. The problem is that nobody sets it up, and the default bug form GitHub ships has Steps To Reproduce marked required: false — so a useless report walks straight through the form and lands on a maintainer anyway.

Issue Gate writes those same native files with the fields that actually cost maintainer time marked required, prefills the environment block for the ecosystems your repo uses, and orders the contact links so questions get routed to docs, upstream, or Discussions instead of the tracker.

Nothing to install on the contributor's side. No bot. No AI.

Used on

Running on our own public repos, merged as PRs:

• danyblitz-bit/data-scraper (Rust)
• danyblitz-bit/site-auditor (Python)
• danyblitz-bit/pdf-metaclean (Python)
• danyblitz-bit/photo-metaclean (Python)

Install & Run

No dependencies — Python 3.10+.

Landing page: https://danyblitz-bit.github.io/issue-gate/ · machine-readable summary: llms.txt

git clone https://github.com/danyblitz-bit/issue-gate.git
cd issue-gate

# See the diff, write nothing
python __main__.py /path/to/repo --dry-run

# A Node library, questions routed to Discussions
python __main__.py ~/code/my-lib --discussions

# Add contact links, then write
python __main__.py ~/code/my-lib \
  --docs https://mylib.dev/docs \
  --upstream https://github.com/vendor/base-lib \
  --discussions

# Print the generated files in full
python __main__.py ~/code/my-lib --verbose

# Verify the tool works on your machine
python __main__.py --self-check

Then push and open /issues/new/choose on the repo to see the gate.

Options

What you get

It never overwrites. An existing file is reported and left alone; merge by hand.

Two manual steps GitHub does not do for you: create the labels (needs-triage, bug, enhancement, question — a form cannot add a label that does not exist) and open /issues/new/choose to confirm the chooser renders.

Why required: true and not a bot

GitHub enforces a required form field at submit time, before the issue exists. A triage bot has to run afterwards, costs money per issue, and is exactly the "hostile gate" maintainers complain about — a comment bot telling someone their issue is invalid. The form just asks once, politely, and GitHub does the rest.

Support the Project

Issue Gate is free and open source. Like it?

• Get your site audited — €49 — I run the audit and send you the fixes
• Buy me a coffee — one-time support

Report a bug

Found a bug or something weird? Run:

python __main__.py --report

This opens a pre-filled email. Send it and I'll get notified automatically.

You can also email danyblitz@googlemail.com directly. Use the subject format:

[TOOL-REPORT] issue-gate <what happened>

License

MIT