Bulk-create GitHub issues from Markdown files using GitHub CLI

# Bulk-create GitHub issues from Markdown files using GitHub CLI

I wanted a simple way to batch create a small GitHub issue backlog from local Markdown files.

GitHub Issues are not stored in the repo itself, so you cannot create issue files locally, commit them, and push them to GitHub. Issues live in GitHub’s database.

But you can use the GitHub CLI to create issues from local Markdown files.

This approach lets you:

write and review issue bodies locally before creating them
create labels first
explicitly target the correct repo
create a batch of issues without copy/pasting each one into GitHub
keep the local drafts out of your repo with .gitignore
Assumptions
GitHub CLI is installed
You are authenticated with gh auth login
You are on Windows
Your local folder looks like this:
issue-drafts/
  create-github-issues.bat
  issues/
    001-fix-login-error.md
    002-add-dark-mode.md
    003-clean-up-state-management.md

If this folder lives inside your repo, add it to .gitignore:

/issue-drafts/

Before running the script, edit this line:

set REPO=YourUserName/YourRepoName

Example:

set REPO=octocat/hello-world

Then run:

create-github-issues.bat

The issues will be created directly in GitHub. No commit or push is required.

create-github-issues.bat
---
@echo off
setlocal EnableExtensions

set REPO=YourUserName/YourRepoName

echo Verifying GitHub CLI authentication...
gh auth status
if errorlevel 1 (
  echo.
  echo GitHub CLI is not authenticated. Run:
  echo gh auth login
  echo.
  pause
  exit /b 1
)

echo.
echo Verifying target repository...
gh repo view %REPO% --json nameWithOwner,url
if errorlevel 1 (
  echo.
  echo Could not access %REPO%.
  echo Check your GitHub login and repo permissions.
  echo.
  pause
  exit /b 1
)

echo.
echo Creating labels if they do not already exist...

call :CreateLabel bug "d73a4a" "Something is not working"
call :CreateLabel feature "a2eeef" "New functionality"
call :CreateLabel technical-debt "d4c5f9" "Internal cleanup or architecture work"

echo.
echo Current labels:
gh label list --repo %REPO% --limit 30

echo.
echo Creating issues...
echo.

call :CreateIssue "Fix login error message alignment" "issues\001-fix-login-error.md" "bug"
call :CreateIssue "Add dark mode" "issues\002-add-dark-mode.md" "feature"
call :CreateIssue "Clean up state management" "issues\003-clean-up-state-management.md" "technical-debt"

echo.
echo Done. Review issues at:
echo https://github.com/%REPO%/issues
echo.
pause
exit /b 0

:CreateLabel
gh label create "%~1" --repo %REPO% --color "%~2" --description "%~3" >nul 2>nul
if errorlevel 1 (
  echo Label exists or could not be created: %~1
) else (
  echo Created label: %~1
)
exit /b 0

:CreateIssue
set TITLE=%~1
set BODY=%~2
set LABEL=%~3

echo Creating issue: %TITLE%

gh issue create ^
  --repo %REPO% ^
  --title "%TITLE%" ^
  --body-file "%BODY%" ^
  --label "%LABEL%"

if errorlevel 1 (
  echo FAILED: %TITLE%
) else (
  echo Created: %TITLE%
)

echo.
exit /b 0

---

issues/001-fix-login-error.md
---
## Problem

The login form error message is visually misaligned with the input field.

## Expected behavior

The error message should align cleanly under the field and remain readable at different viewport sizes.

## Notes

This appears to be a layout/CSS issue rather than a validation logic issue.

---

issues/002-add-dark-mode.md
---
## Goal

Add a dark mode option to the application.

## Initial scope

- Add a user-facing toggle
- Persist the selected mode locally
- Ensure the default theme still works without JavaScript errors

## Notes

This should be implemented without introducing a framework or build step.

---

issues/003-clean-up-state-management.md
---
## Goal

Clean up the state management code.

## Why

Application values are becoming harder to track as more controls are added.

## Suggested direction

Centralize state updates through a small set of helper functions so future features can reuse the same flow.

## Notes

This is internal cleanup and should not change visible behavior.

---

# Optional verification commands

You can verify the target repo before creating issues:

gh repo view YourUserName/YourRepoName --json nameWithOwner,url

You can list existing labels:

gh label list --repo YourUserName/YourRepoName

You can list created issues:

gh issue list --repo YourUserName/YourRepoName --limit 20
Notes

This is not really “committing issues to GitHub.” The Markdown files are just local drafts.

The actual issue creation happens through:

gh issue create --body-file

That command creates the issue directly in GitHub.