Skip to main content

GitHub Labels Reference

Scraut uses a specific set of GitHub labels for story points, type, priority, status, ceremony, agent state, and Definition of Done. These are created automatically by scraut init or npx create-scraut when GITHUB_TOKEN is set.


Story point labels

Used for velocity tracking and sprint capacity planning.

LabelColorDescription
sp:1Blue1 story point
sp:2Blue2 story points
sp:3Blue3 story points
sp:5Blue5 story points
sp:8Blue8 story points
sp:13Blue13 story points

Story points follow the Fibonacci sequence. Use the estimation ceremony to vote on story points asynchronously.


Issue type labels

Used for backlog categorisation and grooming.

LabelColorDescription
storyLight blueUser story (feature, user-facing work)
bugRedSomething isn't working
taskYellowTechnical task (not user-facing)
spikeOrangeResearch or investigation
choreLight yellowMaintenance, refactoring

Priority labels

Used for backlog ordering and sprint planning.

LabelColorDescription
p:highDark redMust be in next sprint
p:mediumYellowTarget within 2 sprints
p:lowGreenNice to have

Status labels

Applied automatically by Scraut workflows.

LabelColorDescriptionApplied by
in-sprintDark blueIssue is committed in current sprintSprint plan merge
in-reviewPurplePR open for this issuePR linker
blockedDark redBlocked by dependencyManual or agent
escalate:humanCrimsonNeeds human interventionAgent escalation

Ceremony labels

Applied during standup processing to link issues mentioned in standups.

LabelColorDescription
standupLight blueReferenced in a standup
retrospectiveLight blueDiscussed in a retrospective
sprint-reviewPurpleIncluded in sprint review
sprint-planningSalmonDiscussed in sprint planning

Agent labels

Applied by agent workflows.

LabelColorDescriptionApplied by
agent-assignedGoldIssue claimed by an AI agentAgent orchestrator
agent-blockedOrangeAgent is blocked on this issueAgent workflow

Definition of Done labels

Applied after DoD check when sprint issues close.

LabelColorDescriptionApplied by
dod:pendingLight yellowDoD check failed — needs attentiondod-check.yml
dod:approvedGreenDoD check passeddod-check.yml

Milestone labels

Applied during milestone health monitoring.

LabelColorDescriptionApplied by
milestone-riskDark redThis issue's milestone is at riskmilestone-planning.yml

Creating labels manually

If you need to recreate labels after setup:

export GITHUB_TOKEN=your_personal_access_token
python apps/automation/scraut/platform/setup/create_labels.py --repo myorg/my-repo

Or use the GitHub CLI:

gh label create "sp:1" --color "0075ca" --description "1 story point" --repo myorg/my-repo

Label conventions

  • One sp:N label per issue — velocity calculation sums the value from the first matching label
  • One p:* label per issue — for sprint planning prioritisation
  • One type label per issue — (story, bug, task, spike, chore)
  • Multiple status labels allowed — an issue can be both in-sprint and blocked