🏷️ Orphan Labels Detected (30)

[github-actions]

Orphan Labels Detected

Current live reconciliation against the canonical .github/labels.yml file shows 30 repository labels that exist in GitHub but are not defined in the canonical label config.

The previous issue title/body was stale: it reported 96/97 orphan labels and referenced the old .github/automation/labels.yml path. The canonical config path is now .github/labels.yml.

Current Counts

Metric	Count
Repository labels on GitHub	179
Canonical labels in .github/labels.yml	149
Canonical labels missing from GitHub	0
Repository labels missing from canonical config	30

Completed So Far

• Added type:question and type:support to the canonical issue type model.
• Removed unprefixed question and support from the canonical label list.
• Added area:labels as a canonical routing label.
• Ran label sync in create/update mode. No labels were deleted.
• Migrated clear active legacy labels on open issues/PRs:
  • test -> type:test
  • ci -> area:ci
  • blocker -> status:blocked
  • documentation -> type:documentation
  • maintenance -> type:maintenance
  • audit -> type:audit
  • a11y -> type:a11y
  • security -> type:security
  • automation -> type:automation
  • dependencies -> area:dependencies
  • javascript -> lang:js

Remaining Orphan Labels

a11y
audit
automation
bats
blocker
bug
checklist
ci
comp:help-tabs
configuration
cross-reference
css
dependencies
documentation
github_actions
governance
javascript
js
lang:javascript
maintenance
meta
meta:duplicate
onboarding
package.json
path-resolution
php
quickstart
security
standards
test

Active Labels Needing Maintainer Decision

These remaining orphan labels are still used on open issues and do not have a clear one-to-one canonical target:

• bats
• checklist
• cross-reference
• governance
• onboarding
• path-resolution
• quickstart
• standards

All other remaining orphan labels appear to be historical-only at the time of the 2026-05-27 audit.

Evidence

• Draft PR: fix(labels): reconcile canonical label families #418
• Audit report: .github/reports/audits/issue-95-orphan-labels-audit-2026-05-27.md

Close Criteria

Close this issue only after either:

• live repository labels exactly match .github/labels.yml; or
• maintainers explicitly document accepted repository-specific exceptions for the remaining orphan labels.

[github-actions]

🔄 Updated orphan labels list. 97 orphan label(s) currently detected.

[github-actions]

🔄 Updated orphan labels list. 97 orphan label(s) currently detected.

[ashleyshaw]

Follow-up update (2026-05-27): PR #436 is merged into develop and established the label-governance workstream scaffold. This issue remains OPEN because remediation work is still pending and was not completed by the scaffold PR.