Respect repository issue templates and blank issue restrictions in gh issue create #14385

As a maintainer, you can define issue templates in a repo’s .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE directory to guide users through opening an issue:

These templates help us collect the information we need to investigate a report, such as reproduction steps, environment details, and expected behaviour.

However, with more people using AI agents that interact with GitHub through the gh CLI, we’re seeing issues that don’t follow those templates. The agent decides what information to include, which doesn’t always match what we’ve asked for. This creates extra back-and-forth before we can investigate.

On GitHub.com, maintainers can disable the blank issue option(https://docs.github.com/en/communities/using-templates-to-encourage-useful-issues-and-pull-requests/configuring-issue-templates-for-your-repository) using blank_issues_enabled: false. However, that restriction doesn’t appear to carry through to issues created through the CLI.

I’m aware that gh issue create supports --template, but optional template support relies on the person or agent knowing to use it.

I’d like gh issue create to respect the repository’s issue template configuration, including when running non-interactively. Ideally:

• When blank issues are disabled, require a template to be selected rather than accepting an arbitrary issue body.
• Provide a way for scripts and agents to discover available templates and the information they request.
• For issue forms, support supplying answers to individual fields and validate required fields before submitting.
• If the selected template or form can’t be completed through the CLI, return an actionable error with a link to complete it on GitHub.com.

The aim is for maintainers to receive the information they’ve requested, regardless of whether an issue is opened through the website, a terminal, or an AI agent.