Epic: Provider-Aware Issue ID Formatting

[NoahCardoza]

Summary

The codebase has 60+ hardcoded # prefixes before issue IDs (e.g., Issue #123). This is correct for GitHub but wrong for Jira (QLH-4404) and Linear (ENG-123). We need a formatIssueId method on the IssueTracker interface plus a static utility on IssueTrackerFactory for call sites without a provider instance.

Problem

When using Jira or Linear as the issue tracker, user-facing messages display issue IDs incorrectly:

• Current: Issue #QLH-4404 or Issue #ENG-123
• Expected: Issue QLH-4404 or Issue ENG-123

The issuePrefix property already exists on MCP providers (IssueManagementProvider.issuePrefix) but the main IssueTracker interface lacks an equivalent formatting method.

Approach

1. Add formatIssueId(identifier: string | number): string to the IssueTracker interface
2. Add a static IssueTrackerFactory.formatIssueId(providerType, identifier) for call sites without a provider instance
3. Migrate all user-facing hardcoded # prefixes to use these methods
4. Add ISSUE_PREFIX template variable for Handlebars templates

Scope

• In scope: Issue ID formatting in user-facing messages + templates
• Out of scope: PR references (PR #X — PRs are GitHub-only), debug messages (low value, high churn)

Deferred

• Auto-detect debug messages in run.ts, shell.ts, open.ts, vscode.ts, ignite.ts, dev-server.ts, script-command-base.ts, summary.ts — debug-level only, identifier is self-explanatory
• IssueManagementProvider.issuePrefix deprecation — keep for backward compat
• PR references — PRs are GitHub-only, # is correct

Verification

1. pnpm build — TypeScript compiles
2. pnpm test — All existing tests pass (updated expectations)
3. Manual: Configure Jira provider, run il start QLH-4404, confirm output shows Issue QLH-4404 not Issue #QLH-4404
4. Manual: Configure GitHub provider, confirm output still shows Issue #123

[NoahCardoza]

@acreeger I was playing around with the il plan command and didn't realize it was going to create a ticket like this, but that's awesome! However, it seems like I've hit a snag, for some reason I'm not able to create sub-issues.

Error: Failed to create child issue: Command failed with exit code 1: gh api graphql -H GraphQL-Features: sub_issues -f query=
                mutation addSubIssue($parentId: ID!, $subIssueId: ID!) {
                        addSubIssue(input: { issueId: $parentId, subIssueId: $subIssueId }) {
                                issue { id }
                                subIssue { id }
                        }
                }
         -F parentId=I_kwDOPvp_cc7q20lp -F subIssueId=I_kwDOPvp_cc7q24Rd
     gh: NoahCardoza does not have the correct permissions to execute `AddSubIssue`
     {"data":{"addSubIssue":null},"errors":[{"type":"FORBIDDEN","path":["addSubIssue"],"locations":[{"line":3,"column":4}],"message":"NoahCardoza does not have the correct permissions to execute `AddSubIssue`"}]}

I don't even see the ability to to create a sub-issue in the UI. Maybe it's a permissions thing since this isn't my repo? How would you recommend I/we deal with this?

For now, I just had it create normal issues and have the body reference the parent.

I meant to add this in to #588 but it should probably be it's own PR since it will be a wide-spread refactor.

Let me know how is there is something I'm missing to get that planning command to setup the tickets properly.

Thanks!

[NoahCardoza]

Child Issues

Issue	Title	Dependencies
#596	Add formatIssueId to IssueTracker interface and IssueTrackerFactory	None
#598	Update core commands to use formatIssueId	#596
#599	Update settings-access commands and lib files to use formatIssueId	#596
#600	Fix cleanup.ts provider-awareness for issue ID formatting	#596
#601	Add ISSUE_PREFIX template variable and update templates	#596

Dependency Graph

graph TD
    596["#596: Add formatIssueId interface + factory"]
    598["#598: Update core commands"]
    599["#599: Update settings-access commands + libs"]
    600["#600: Fix cleanup.ts provider-awareness"]
    601["#601: Add ISSUE_PREFIX template variable"]
    596 --> 598
    596 --> 599
    596 --> 600
    596 --> 601
    click 596 "https://github.com/iloom-ai/iloom-cli/issues/596"
    click 598 "https://github.com/iloom-ai/iloom-cli/issues/598"
    click 599 "https://github.com/iloom-ai/iloom-cli/issues/599"
    click 600 "https://github.com/iloom-ai/iloom-cli/issues/600"
    click 601 "https://github.com/iloom-ai/iloom-cli/issues/601"

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Notes

• Issues 2–5 (Update core commands to use formatIssueId #598–Add ISSUE_PREFIX template variable and update templates #601) are independent of each other and can be done in any order after Add formatIssueId to IssueTracker interface and IssueTrackerFactory #596
• Sub-issue linking and formal dependencies couldn't be set up (fork permissions), but relationships are documented in each issue body
• Closed Update core commands to use formatIssueId #597 as duplicate of Update core commands to use formatIssueId #598

[acreeger]

Hey @NoahCardoza! Thanks so much for your contributions. It looks like this AddSubIssue error is a quirk/limitation/bug in GH's api! It looks like AddSubIssue is tied to write permission rather than permissions to Add issues - which feels a bit broken. I'll manually add the SubIssue relationship for these issues.

I'll get to the PR review for #588 tomorrow (Sunday) hopefully!