diff --git a/.claude/tasks/0004-issue-create-and-comment.md b/.claude/tasks/0004-issue-create-and-comment.md
index 6d8aa12..0f5e154 100644
--- a/.claude/tasks/0004-issue-create-and-comment.md
+++ b/.claude/tasks/0004-issue-create-and-comment.md
@@ -13,11 +13,31 @@ Create output is the entity block `issue: { number, title, state, url }` with ex
 
 ## Acceptance criteria
 
-- [ ] `issue create --title` creates an issue and outputs `issue: { number, title, state, url }` where `url` is `html_url`
-- [ ] Missing `--title` fails immediately with `VALIDATION_ERROR` (exit 2) before any API call
-- [ ] `--body-file <path>` reads the body from a file; `--body` and `--body-file` together are rejected
-- [ ] `--label` resolves each name to an ID via case-insensitive lookup against the repo's labels; an unknown name yields `VALIDATION_ERROR`
-- [ ] `--milestone` resolves the name via the milestone query; an unknown name yields `VALIDATION_ERROR`
-- [ ] `issue comment <n> --body` posts and outputs `comment: { number, author, created, body }` built from the POST response, body cleaned and truncated at 800 chars, where `number` is the issue number
-- [ ] `issue comment` accepts a PR number without a type-guard error
-- [ ] Fixture-server tests cover create with labels/milestone, both body sources, comment output shape, and each validation failure
+- [x] `issue create --title` creates an issue and outputs `issue: { number, title, state, url }` where `url` is `html_url`
+- [x] Missing `--title` fails immediately with `VALIDATION_ERROR` (exit 2) before any API call
+- [x] `--body-file <path>` reads the body from a file; `--body` and `--body-file` together are rejected
+- [x] `--label` resolves each name to an ID via case-insensitive lookup against the repo's labels; an unknown name yields `VALIDATION_ERROR`
+- [x] `--milestone` resolves the name via the milestone query; an unknown name yields `VALIDATION_ERROR`
+- [x] `issue comment <n> --body` posts and outputs `comment: { number, author, created, body }` built from the POST response, body cleaned and truncated at 800 chars, where `number` is the issue number
+- [x] `issue comment` accepts a PR number without a type-guard error
+- [x] Fixture-server tests cover create with labels/milestone, both body sources, comment output shape, and each validation failure
+
+## Implementation Notes
+
+**Shared machinery introduced here** (all of it is what `pr create` in task 0010 reuses):
+`src/body-source.ts` (`resolveBodySource` / `requireBodySource`) resolves `--body` vs `--body-file`;
+`src/lookup.ts` (`resolveLabelIds`, `resolveMilestoneId`) does name→ID resolution;
+`parseFlags` grew a `repeatable` flag kind, accumulating occurrences into a separate `lists` map so `--label` can repeat without changing the type of the single-valued `flags` map;
+`fields.ts` grew the `joined` array-join extractor and `selectExtraFields` for `--fields`.
+
+**Label lookup paginates.** The spec just says `GET /labels`, but that endpoint pages (default 30), so a repo with more labels than one page would fail to resolve a perfectly valid name. `listAllLabels` pages at 50 until exhausted, with a 20-page (1000-label) runaway guard.
+
+**`--fields` is additive, not a replacement.** The spec calls these "extra fields available via `--fields`", so the four default fields always render and `--fields` appends to them. An unknown name is a `VALIDATION_ERROR` listing the valid ones rather than being ignored.
+
+**Milestone resolution re-checks the title client-side.** The `?name=` query only narrows the candidates; the returned title is then compared case-insensitively, so neither the caller's casing nor a looser server-side match (Gitea filters with a `LIKE`) can resolve to a milestone the caller did not name. Whether Gitea's filter is itself case-insensitive is the one assumption fixtures cannot settle, so the end-to-end tier now seeds a mixed-case label and milestone and passes both in a *different* case — if the live behaviour differs, CI fails rather than the user finding out.
+
+**Deviation: `issue comment` also accepts `--full`.** The spec lists only `--body`/`--body-file` for it. But the shared 800-char truncation hint literally reads "use `--full` to see complete body", and without the flag that hint names a command that errors out. The flag is documented in `issue comment --help`.
+
+**Deviation: no `issue view` suggestion after commenting on a PR.** `issue comment` is deliberately permissive toward PR numbers, but `issue view` type-guards them — so the obvious next-step suggestion would have been a command guaranteed to fail. The PR case is detected from the POST response's `pull_request_url` (no extra call) and falls back to the `--help` suggestion; `pr view` will be the right suggestion once task 0009 lands it.
+
+**Follow-up worth flagging.** `src/commands/issue.ts` is now ~540 lines holding four subcommands, each with its own help text, field table, and suggestion builder. It's readable today, but tasks 0005–0007 add five more subcommands to it; a split into `src/commands/issue/<subcommand>.ts` is the natural next move, and is better done as its own refactor than smuggled into a feature task.
diff --git a/src/body-source.ts b/src/body-source.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d71714d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/body-source.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { isAbsolute, resolve } from "node:path";
+import type { CliDeps } from "./deps.js";
+import { axiError } from "./errors.js";
+import { flagValue } from "./flags.js";
+
+/**
+ * Resolve the body text a mutation should send from its `--body`/`--body-file`
+ * flags. Shared by every command that accepts a body (issue create, issue
+ * comment, and the edit/close commands that follow).
+ *
+ * The two flags are mutually exclusive: accepting both and picking a winner
+ * would silently discard text the caller meant to send.
+ */
+export function resolveBodySource(
+  deps: CliDeps,
+  flags: Record<string, string | true>,
+  command: string,
+): string | undefined {
+  const body = flagValue(flags, "--body");
+  const path = flagValue(flags, "--body-file");
+
+  if (body !== undefined && path !== undefined) {
+    throw axiError(
+      "Flags --body and --body-file are mutually exclusive",
+      "VALIDATION_ERROR",
+      bodyFlagSuggestion(command),
+    );
+  }
+  if (body !== undefined) {
+    return body;
+  }
+  if (path !== undefined) {
+    return readBodyFile(deps, path, command);
+  }
+  return undefined;
+}
+
+/** As {@link resolveBodySource}, for the commands where a body is mandatory. */
+export function requireBodySource(
+  deps: CliDeps,
+  flags: Record<string, string | true>,
+  command: string,
+): string {
+  const body = resolveBodySource(deps, flags, command);
+  if (body === undefined) {
+    throw axiError(
+      `${command} requires --body <text> or --body-file <path>`,
+      "VALIDATION_ERROR",
+      bodyFlagSuggestion(command),
+    );
+  }
+  return body;
+}
+
+function bodyFlagSuggestion(command: string): string[] {
+  return [
+    `Run \`gitea-axi ${command} --body <text>\` or \`gitea-axi ${command} --body-file <path>\``,
+  ];
+}
+
+function readBodyFile(deps: CliDeps, path: string, command: string): string {
+  const absolute = isAbsolute(path) ? path : resolve(deps.cwd, path);
+  try {
+    return readFileSync(absolute, "utf8");
+  } catch (error) {
+    const reason = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+    throw axiError(
+      `Cannot read --body-file ${path}: ${reason}`,
+      "VALIDATION_ERROR",
+      bodyFlagSuggestion(command),
+    );
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/cli.ts b/src/cli.ts
index 47c3847..c42fa43 100644
--- a/src/cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli.ts
@@ -12,8 +12,10 @@ const DESCRIPTION = "Agent-ergonomic CLI for Gitea issues and pull requests";
 const TOP_LEVEL_HELP = `usage: gitea-axi <command> [flags]
 
 commands:
-  issue list    List issues in the current repository
-  issue view    Show a single issue's details
+  issue list       List issues in the current repository
+  issue view       Show a single issue's details
+  issue create     Create an issue
+  issue comment    Post a comment on an issue or pull request
 
 global flags:
   -R, --repo <OWNER/NAME>   Override the repository detected from the git origin remote
diff --git a/src/commands/issue.ts b/src/commands/issue.ts
index 42044ad..2571b58 100644
--- a/src/commands/issue.ts
+++ b/src/commands/issue.ts
@@ -1,15 +1,25 @@
-import type { Comment, Issue } from "gitea-js";
+import type { Comment, CreateIssueOption, Issue } from "gitea-js";
 import {
   BODY_TRUNCATE_LIMIT,
   COMMENT_TRUNCATE_LIMIT,
   truncateBody,
 } from "../body.js";
+import { requireBodySource, resolveBodySource } from "../body-source.js";
 import { createClient } from "../client.js";
 import { resolveRepoContext, type RepoContext } from "../context.js";
 import type { CliDeps } from "../deps.js";
 import { axiError, classifyHttpError } from "../errors.js";
-import { extractRow, lowercased, pluck, relativeTimeField, type FieldDef } from "../fields.js";
-import { parseFlags } from "../flags.js";
+import {
+  extractRow,
+  joined,
+  lowercased,
+  pluck,
+  relativeTimeField,
+  selectExtraFields,
+  type FieldDef,
+} from "../fields.js";
+import { flagValue, parseFlags } from "../flags.js";
+import { resolveLabelIds, resolveMilestoneId } from "../lookup.js";
 import { formatCountLine, renderDetail, renderList, type DetailBlock } from "../render.js";
 import { relativeTime } from "../time.js";
 import { suggestCommand } from "../suggestions.js";
@@ -17,12 +27,49 @@ import { suggestCommand } from "../suggestions.js";
 export const ISSUE_HELP = `usage: gitea-axi issue <command> [flags]
 
 commands:
-  list    List issues in the current repository
-  view    Show a single issue's details
+  list       List issues in the current repository
+  view       Show a single issue's details
+  create     Create an issue
+  comment    Post a comment on an issue or pull request
 
 Run \`gitea-axi issue <command> --help\` for the flags of a command.
 `;
 
+export const ISSUE_CREATE_HELP = `usage: gitea-axi issue create --title <text> [flags]
+
+Create an issue in the current repository.
+
+flags:
+  --title <text>        Issue title (required)
+  --body <text>         Issue body
+  --body-file <path>    Read the issue body from a file (mutually exclusive with --body)
+  --assignee <login>    Assign the issue to a user
+  --label <name>        Apply a label by name (repeatable, case-insensitive)
+  --milestone <name>    Assign a milestone by name (case-insensitive)
+  --fields <a,b,c>      Append extra fields: labels, assignees, milestone, body
+  --help                Show this help
+
+global flags:
+  -R, --repo <OWNER/NAME>     Override the repository detected from the git origin remote
+  --login <name>              Select a tea login profile by name
+`;
+
+export const ISSUE_COMMENT_HELP = `usage: gitea-axi issue comment <number> [flags]
+
+Post a comment on an issue. Pull request numbers are accepted — issues and pull
+requests share the comment endpoint.
+
+flags:
+  --body <text>         Comment body (required unless --body-file is given)
+  --body-file <path>    Read the comment body from a file (mutually exclusive with --body)
+  --full                Echo the posted body in full, without truncating it at 800 chars
+  --help                Show this help
+
+global flags:
+  -R, --repo <OWNER/NAME>     Override the repository detected from the git origin remote
+  --login <name>              Select a tea login profile by name
+`;
+
 export const ISSUE_VIEW_HELP = `usage: gitea-axi issue view <number> [flags]
 
 Show a single issue. Pull request numbers are rejected — use \`pr view\` instead.
@@ -167,11 +214,8 @@ async function issueList(deps: CliDeps, args: string[]): Promise<string> {
   });
 }
 
-const ISSUE_VIEW_HELP_SUGGESTION = [
-  "Run `gitea-axi issue view --help` to see available flags",
-];
-
 function parseIssueNumber(positionals: string[], command: string): number {
+  const helpSuggestion = [`Run \`gitea-axi ${command} --help\` to see available flags`];
   if (positionals.length === 0) {
     throw axiError(`${command} requires an issue number`, "VALIDATION_ERROR", [
       `Run \`gitea-axi ${command} <number>\``,
@@ -181,7 +225,7 @@ function parseIssueNumber(positionals: string[], command: string): number {
     throw axiError(
       `Unexpected argument: ${positionals[1]}`,
       "VALIDATION_ERROR",
-      ISSUE_VIEW_HELP_SUGGESTION,
+      helpSuggestion,
     );
   }
   const raw = positionals[0]!;
@@ -190,7 +234,7 @@ function parseIssueNumber(positionals: string[], command: string): number {
     throw axiError(
       `Invalid issue number: ${raw} (expected a positive integer)`,
       "VALIDATION_ERROR",
-      ISSUE_VIEW_HELP_SUGGESTION,
+      helpSuggestion,
     );
   }
   return number;
@@ -313,6 +357,155 @@ async function issueView(deps: CliDeps, args: string[]): Promise<string> {
   });
 }
 
+const ISSUE_CREATE_HELP_SUGGESTION = [
+  "Run `gitea-axi issue create --help` to see available flags",
+];
+
+// Default create output, per the spec: number, title, state, url (= html_url).
+const ISSUE_CREATE_FIELDS: FieldDef<Issue>[] = [
+  pluck("number"),
+  pluck("title"),
+  lowercased("state"),
+  pluck("url", "html_url"),
+];
+
+// Appended to the defaults on request via `--fields`, never replacing them.
+const ISSUE_CREATE_EXTRA_FIELDS: Record<string, FieldDef<Issue>> = {
+  labels: joined("labels", "labels", "name"),
+  assignees: joined("assignees", "assignees", "login"),
+  milestone: pluck("milestone", "milestone.title"),
+  body: pluck("body"),
+};
+
+async function issueCreate(deps: CliDeps, args: string[]): Promise<string> {
+  if (args.includes("--help")) {
+    return ISSUE_CREATE_HELP;
+  }
+  const { flags, lists, positionals } = parseFlags(
+    args,
+    {
+      "--title": { takesValue: true },
+      "--body": { takesValue: true },
+      "--body-file": { takesValue: true },
+      "--assignee": { takesValue: true },
+      "--label": { takesValue: true, repeatable: true },
+      "--milestone": { takesValue: true },
+      "--fields": { takesValue: true },
+    },
+    "issue create",
+  );
+  if (positionals.length > 0) {
+    throw axiError(
+      `Unexpected argument: ${positionals[0]}`,
+      "VALIDATION_ERROR",
+      ISSUE_CREATE_HELP_SUGGESTION,
+    );
+  }
+
+  // Everything that can fail on the caller's own input is settled before any
+  // request goes out, so a rejected invocation never half-creates an issue.
+  const title = flagValue(flags, "--title");
+  if (title === undefined) {
+    throw axiError("issue create requires --title <text>", "VALIDATION_ERROR", [
+      "Run `gitea-axi issue create --title <text>`",
+    ]);
+  }
+  const body = resolveBodySource(deps, flags, "issue create");
+  const extraFields = selectExtraFields(
+    flagValue(flags, "--fields"),
+    ISSUE_CREATE_EXTRA_FIELDS,
+    "issue create",
+  );
+  const assignee = flagValue(flags, "--assignee");
+  const milestoneName = flagValue(flags, "--milestone");
+  const labelNames = lists["--label"] ?? [];
+
+  const context = await resolveRepoContext(deps);
+  const api = createClient(context);
+
+  const payload: CreateIssueOption = { title };
+  if (body !== undefined) {
+    payload.body = body;
+  }
+  if (assignee !== undefined) {
+    payload.assignees = [assignee];
+  }
+  const labelIds = await resolveLabelIds(api, context, labelNames);
+  if (labelIds.length > 0) {
+    payload.labels = labelIds;
+  }
+  if (milestoneName !== undefined) {
+    payload.milestone = await resolveMilestoneId(api, context, milestoneName);
+  }
+
+  let issue: Issue;
+  try {
+    const response = await api.repos.issueCreateIssue(context.owner, context.name, payload);
+    issue = response.data;
+  } catch (error) {
+    throw classifyHttpError(error);
+  }
+
+  const item = extractRow(issue, [...ISSUE_CREATE_FIELDS, ...extraFields], { now: new Date() });
+  return renderDetail({
+    noun: "issue",
+    item,
+    help: [
+      suggestCommand(context, `issue view ${issue.number}`, "to see the issue in full"),
+    ],
+  });
+}
+
+async function issueComment(deps: CliDeps, args: string[]): Promise<string> {
+  if (args.includes("--help")) {
+    return ISSUE_COMMENT_HELP;
+  }
+  const { flags, positionals } = parseFlags(
+    args,
+    {
+      "--body": { takesValue: true },
+      "--body-file": { takesValue: true },
+      "--full": { takesValue: false },
+    },
+    "issue comment",
+  );
+  const number = parseIssueNumber(positionals, "issue comment");
+  const body = requireBodySource(deps, flags, "issue comment");
+  const full = flags["--full"] === true;
+
+  // No type guard here: issues and pull requests genuinely share this endpoint,
+  // so a PR number is a valid target and is never fetched to be checked.
+  const context = await resolveRepoContext(deps);
+  const api = createClient(context);
+  let comment: Comment;
+  try {
+    const response = await api.repos.issueCreateComment(context.owner, context.name, number, {
+      body,
+    });
+    comment = response.data;
+  } catch (error) {
+    throw classifyHttpError(error);
+  }
+
+  const raw = comment.body ?? "";
+  const item = {
+    // The issue the comment was posted to — the comment's own id is not output.
+    number,
+    author: comment.user?.login ?? "",
+    created: relativeTime(comment.created_at, new Date()),
+    body: full ? raw : truncateBody(raw, COMMENT_TRUNCATE_LIMIT, context.host),
+  };
+
+  // Gitea marks a comment posted on a pull request with `pull_request_url`. Only
+  // an issue target gets the `issue view` suggestion: `issue view` type-guards
+  // pull requests, so suggesting it after commenting on one would hand back a
+  // command that is guaranteed to fail.
+  const help = comment.pull_request_url
+    ? [suggestCommand(context, "issue comment --help", "to see all issue comment flags")]
+    : [suggestCommand(context, `issue view ${number} --comments`, "to see the full thread")];
+  return renderDetail({ noun: "comment", item, help });
+}
+
 export function issueCommand(deps: CliDeps) {
   return async (args: string[]): Promise<string> => {
     const [subcommand, ...rest] = args;
@@ -325,6 +518,12 @@ export function issueCommand(deps: CliDeps) {
     if (subcommand === "view") {
       return issueView(deps, rest);
     }
+    if (subcommand === "create") {
+      return issueCreate(deps, rest);
+    }
+    if (subcommand === "comment") {
+      return issueComment(deps, rest);
+    }
     throw axiError(`Unknown issue command: ${subcommand}`, "VALIDATION_ERROR", [
       "Run `gitea-axi issue --help` to see available issue commands",
     ]);
diff --git a/src/fields.ts b/src/fields.ts
index e8eace0..2c1cc44 100644
--- a/src/fields.ts
+++ b/src/fields.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { axiError } from "./errors.js";
 import { relativeTime } from "./time.js";
 
 export interface ExtractContext {
@@ -31,6 +32,26 @@ export function lowercased<T>(name: string, path: string = name): FieldDef<T> {
   };
 }
 
+/**
+ * Join a field holding an array of objects (labels, assignees) into a single
+ * string of each element's `key` property.
+ */
+export function joined<T>(name: string, path: string, key: string): FieldDef<T> {
+  return {
+    name,
+    extract: (raw) => {
+      const value = pluckPath(raw, path);
+      if (!Array.isArray(value)) {
+        return "";
+      }
+      return value
+        .map((item) => pluckPath(item, key))
+        .filter((item): item is string => typeof item === "string" && item.length > 0)
+        .join(", ");
+    },
+  };
+}
+
 export function relativeTimeField<T>(name: string, path: string): FieldDef<T> {
   return {
     name,
@@ -41,6 +62,48 @@ export function relativeTimeField<T>(name: string, path: string): FieldDef<T> {
   };
 }
 
+/**
+ * Resolve a comma-separated `--fields` value against the extra fields a command
+ * offers on top of its defaults. Unknown names are a `VALIDATION_ERROR` naming
+ * what is available, since a silently ignored field would look like a command
+ * that returned nothing for it.
+ */
+export function selectExtraFields<T>(
+  value: string | undefined,
+  registry: Record<string, FieldDef<T>>,
+  command: string,
+): FieldDef<T>[] {
+  if (value === undefined) {
+    return [];
+  }
+  const available = Object.keys(registry);
+  const suggestion = [
+    `Run \`gitea-axi ${command} --fields <a,b,c>\` with any of: ${available.join(", ")}`,
+  ];
+  const selected: FieldDef<T>[] = [];
+  const seen = new Set<string>();
+  for (const raw of value.split(",")) {
+    const name = raw.trim();
+    if (!name) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    const field = registry[name];
+    if (!field) {
+      throw axiError(
+        `Unknown --fields name: ${name} (available: ${available.join(", ")})`,
+        "VALIDATION_ERROR",
+        suggestion,
+      );
+    }
+    if (seen.has(name)) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    seen.add(name);
+    selected.push(field);
+  }
+  return selected;
+}
+
 export function extractRow<T>(
   raw: T,
   fields: FieldDef<T>[],
diff --git a/src/flags.ts b/src/flags.ts
index eb7f680..42bba7b 100644
--- a/src/flags.ts
+++ b/src/flags.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,22 @@
 import { axiError } from "./errors.js";
 
 export interface FlagSpec {
-  /** Flag names (e.g. "--state") mapped to whether they take a value. */
-  [name: string]: { takesValue: boolean };
+  /** Flag names (e.g. "--state") mapped to how they are parsed. */
+  [name: string]: {
+    takesValue: boolean;
+    /** Accumulate every occurrence into `lists` instead of `flags` (e.g. `--label`). */
+    repeatable?: boolean;
+  };
 }
 
 export interface ParsedFlags {
+  /** Single-valued flags: the value, or `true` for a bare switch. */
   flags: Record<string, string | true>;
+  /**
+   * Values of each repeatable flag in argv order. Every repeatable flag in the
+   * spec is present, holding an empty array when it was not passed.
+   */
+  lists: Record<string, string[]>;
   positionals: string[];
 }
 
@@ -15,6 +25,19 @@ export interface SplitFlag {
   inlineValue?: string;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Read a value-taking flag. `parseFlags` rejects such a flag without a value,
+ * so anything present here is a string; the `true` case only arises for bare
+ * switches, which callers never read through this helper.
+ */
+export function flagValue(
+  flags: Record<string, string | true>,
+  name: string,
+): string | undefined {
+  const value = flags[name];
+  return typeof value === "string" ? value : undefined;
+}
+
 /** Split "--flag=value" into name and inline value; "--flag" has none. */
 export function splitFlag(arg: string): SplitFlag {
   const equals = arg.indexOf("=");
@@ -53,6 +76,12 @@ export function parseFlags(
   helpCommand: string,
 ): ParsedFlags {
   const flags: Record<string, string | true> = {};
+  const lists: Record<string, string[]> = {};
+  for (const [name, entry] of Object.entries(spec)) {
+    if (entry.repeatable) {
+      lists[name] = [];
+    }
+  }
   const positionals: string[] = [];
   const helpSuggestion = [`Run \`gitea-axi ${helpCommand} --help\` to see available flags`];
   for (let i = 0; i < args.length; i++) {
@@ -74,8 +103,12 @@ export function parseFlags(
       continue;
     }
     const consumed = consumeFlagValue(args, i, flag, helpSuggestion);
-    flags[flag.name] = consumed.value;
+    if (entry.repeatable) {
+      lists[flag.name]!.push(consumed.value);
+    } else {
+      flags[flag.name] = consumed.value;
+    }
     i = consumed.lastIndex;
   }
-  return { flags, positionals };
+  return { flags, lists, positionals };
 }
diff --git a/src/lookup.ts b/src/lookup.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b861571
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lookup.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+import type { Label } from "gitea-js";
+import type { GiteaClient } from "./client.js";
+import type { RepoContext } from "./context.js";
+import { axiError, classifyHttpError } from "./errors.js";
+
+/**
+ * Name→ID resolution for the Gitea endpoints that only accept numeric ids.
+ * Shared by every command that takes a `--label` or `--milestone` name.
+ */
+
+const LABEL_PAGE_SIZE = 50;
+/** Guard against an unbounded loop if a server ignores paging and always returns a full page. */
+const LABEL_PAGE_LIMIT = 20;
+
+/** Fetch every label in the repository, paging until the API runs out. */
+async function listAllLabels(api: GiteaClient, context: RepoContext): Promise<Label[]> {
+  const labels: Label[] = [];
+  for (let page = 1; page <= LABEL_PAGE_LIMIT; page++) {
+    let batch: Label[];
+    try {
+      const response = await api.repos.issueListLabels(context.owner, context.name, {
+        page,
+        limit: LABEL_PAGE_SIZE,
+      });
+      batch = response.data ?? [];
+    } catch (error) {
+      throw classifyHttpError(error);
+    }
+    labels.push(...batch);
+    if (batch.length < LABEL_PAGE_SIZE) {
+      break;
+    }
+  }
+  return labels;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Resolve label names to their ids, case-insensitively. Every name must exist:
+ * creating an issue while silently dropping a label the caller asked for would
+ * misreport what was created.
+ */
+export async function resolveLabelIds(
+  api: GiteaClient,
+  context: RepoContext,
+  names: string[],
+): Promise<number[]> {
+  if (names.length === 0) {
+    return [];
+  }
+  const labels = await listAllLabels(api, context);
+  const byName = new Map<string, number>();
+  for (const label of labels) {
+    if (label.name === undefined || label.id === undefined) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    const key = label.name.toLowerCase();
+    // First match wins, so a duplicate name resolves deterministically.
+    if (!byName.has(key)) {
+      byName.set(key, label.id);
+    }
+  }
+
+  const ids: number[] = [];
+  for (const name of names) {
+    const id = byName.get(name.toLowerCase());
+    if (id === undefined) {
+      const available = labels
+        .map((label) => label.name)
+        .filter((label): label is string => Boolean(label));
+      throw axiError(
+        `Label "${name}" not found in ${context.owner}/${context.name}` +
+          (available.length > 0 ? ` (available: ${available.join(", ")})` : ""),
+        "VALIDATION_ERROR",
+      );
+    }
+    ids.push(id);
+  }
+  return ids;
+}
+
+/** Resolve a milestone name to its id via the name-filtered milestone query. */
+export async function resolveMilestoneId(
+  api: GiteaClient,
+  context: RepoContext,
+  name: string,
+): Promise<number> {
+  let milestones;
+  try {
+    const response = await api.repos.issueGetMilestonesList(context.owner, context.name, {
+      name,
+    });
+    milestones = response.data ?? [];
+  } catch (error) {
+    throw classifyHttpError(error);
+  }
+  // The `name` query only narrows the candidates — the title is re-checked here
+  // so that neither the caller's casing nor a looser server-side match (Gitea
+  // filters with a LIKE) can resolve to a milestone the caller did not name.
+  const match = milestones.find(
+    (milestone) => milestone.title?.toLowerCase() === name.toLowerCase(),
+  );
+  if (!match?.id) {
+    throw axiError(
+      `Milestone "${name}" not found in ${context.owner}/${context.name}`,
+      "VALIDATION_ERROR",
+    );
+  }
+  return match.id;
+}
diff --git a/test/e2e/mutations.test.ts b/test/e2e/mutations.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6430d7b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/e2e/mutations.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+import { beforeAll, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { runCliTest } from "../harness.js";
+import {
+  fetchComments,
+  fetchIssue,
+  provisionInstance,
+  type E2EInstance,
+} from "./provision.js";
+
+/**
+ * The end-to-end tier for the issue mutations. These commands lean on behavior
+ * the fixture server cannot attest to — above all that Gitea's label and
+ * milestone name lookups really are case-insensitive, and that `CreateIssueOption`
+ * really takes label *ids* rather than names. Both are asserted here against a
+ * live instance by passing names in a different case than they were seeded in.
+ */
+const E2E_URL = process.env.GITEA_AXI_E2E_URL;
+
+/** Read the `number:` scalar out of a rendered detail block. */
+function renderedNumber(stdout: string): number {
+  const match = stdout.match(/^\s*number:\s*(\d+)$/m);
+  expect(match, `no number field in output:\n${stdout}`).not.toBeNull();
+  return Number(match![1]);
+}
+
+describe.skipIf(!E2E_URL)("end-to-end: issue mutations", () => {
+  let instance: E2EInstance;
+
+  function env(): Record<string, string> {
+    return {
+      GITEA_AXI_API_URL: instance.baseUrl,
+      GITEA_AXI_TOKEN: instance.token,
+      GITEA_AXI_REPO: `${instance.owner}/${instance.repo}`,
+    };
+  }
+
+  beforeAll(async () => {
+    instance = await provisionInstance(E2E_URL!);
+  }, 150_000);
+
+  it("creates an issue and reports the live number, state, and url", async () => {
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "create", "--title", "E2E created issue", "--body", "Created by the e2e tier."],
+      { env: env() },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("issue:");
+    expect(stdout).toContain("title: E2E created issue");
+    expect(stdout).toContain("state: open");
+    expect(stdout).toContain(`${instance.owner}/${instance.repo}/issues/`);
+
+    const created = await fetchIssue(instance, renderedNumber(stdout));
+    expect(created.title).toBe("E2E created issue");
+    expect(created.body).toBe("Created by the e2e tier.");
+  });
+
+  it("resolves a differently-cased --label and --milestone against live Gitea", async () => {
+    // The seeds are "E2E-Bug" and "E2E-Milestone"; both are passed here in a
+    // case that does not match, which is the whole point of the assertion.
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      [
+        "issue",
+        "create",
+        "--title",
+        "E2E labelled issue",
+        "--label",
+        instance.labelName.toLowerCase(),
+        "--milestone",
+        instance.milestoneTitle.toUpperCase(),
+      ],
+      { env: env() },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+
+    const created = await fetchIssue(instance, renderedNumber(stdout));
+    const labels = (created.labels ?? []) as { name?: string }[];
+    expect(labels.map((label) => label.name)).toEqual([instance.labelName]);
+    const milestone = created.milestone as { title?: string } | null;
+    expect(milestone?.title).toBe(instance.milestoneTitle);
+  });
+
+  it("rejects an unknown label name without creating the issue", async () => {
+    const before = await runCliTest(["issue", "list", "--limit", "1"], { env: env() });
+    const totalBefore = before.stdout.match(/of (\d+) total/)![1];
+
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "create", "--title", "E2E never created", "--label", "no-such-label"],
+      { env: env() },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(2);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("code: VALIDATION_ERROR");
+
+    const after = await runCliTest(["issue", "list", "--limit", "1"], { env: env() });
+    expect(after.stdout).toContain(`of ${totalBefore} total`);
+  });
+
+  it("posts a comment on a live issue and echoes it back", async () => {
+    const created = await runCliTest(["issue", "create", "--title", "E2E comment target"], {
+      env: env(),
+    });
+    const number = renderedNumber(created.stdout);
+
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "comment", String(number), "--body", "A comment from the e2e tier."],
+      { env: env() },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("comment:");
+    expect(stdout).toContain(`number: ${number}`);
+    expect(stdout).toContain(`author: ${instance.owner}`);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("body: A comment from the e2e tier.");
+
+    const comments = await fetchComments(instance, number);
+    expect(comments).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(comments[0]!.body).toBe("A comment from the e2e tier.");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/test/e2e/provision.ts b/test/e2e/provision.ts
index 0fa4bb1..56c0ba1 100644
--- a/test/e2e/provision.ts
+++ b/test/e2e/provision.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,14 @@ export interface E2EInstance {
   openTitles: string[];
   /** Title of the single seeded closed issue. */
   closedTitle: string;
+  /**
+   * A label seeded in mixed case. The mutation tier passes it in a *different*
+   * case, so the case-insensitive name→id lookup is exercised against live Gitea
+   * rather than only against fixtures.
+   */
+  labelName: string;
+  /** A milestone seeded in mixed case, for the same reason as {@link labelName}. */
+  milestoneTitle: string;
 }
 
 const USERNAME = "e2e-admin";
@@ -188,7 +196,55 @@ export async function provisionInstance(baseUrl: string): Promise<E2EInstance> {
     state: "closed",
   });
 
-  return { baseUrl: normalized, owner: USERNAME, repo, token, openTitles, closedTitle };
+  const labelName = "E2E-Bug";
+  await apiRequest(normalized, "POST", `/repos/${USERNAME}/${repo}/labels`, token, {
+    name: labelName,
+    color: "#ff0000",
+  });
+
+  const milestoneTitle = "E2E-Milestone";
+  await apiRequest(normalized, "POST", `/repos/${USERNAME}/${repo}/milestones`, token, {
+    title: milestoneTitle,
+  });
+
+  return {
+    baseUrl: normalized,
+    owner: USERNAME,
+    repo,
+    token,
+    openTitles,
+    closedTitle,
+    labelName,
+    milestoneTitle,
+  };
+}
+
+/** Fetch a single issue as Gitea returns it, for verifying what a mutation wrote. */
+export async function fetchIssue(
+  instance: E2EInstance,
+  number: number,
+): Promise<Record<string, unknown>> {
+  const res = await apiRequest(
+    instance.baseUrl,
+    "GET",
+    `/repos/${instance.owner}/${instance.repo}/issues/${number}`,
+    instance.token,
+  );
+  return (await res.json()) as Record<string, unknown>;
+}
+
+/** Fetch an issue's comments as Gitea returns them. */
+export async function fetchComments(
+  instance: E2EInstance,
+  number: number,
+): Promise<Record<string, unknown>[]> {
+  const res = await apiRequest(
+    instance.baseUrl,
+    "GET",
+    `/repos/${instance.owner}/${instance.repo}/issues/${number}/comments`,
+    instance.token,
+  );
+  return (await res.json()) as Record<string, unknown>[];
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/test/fixture-server.ts b/test/fixture-server.ts
index f80a25c..57e1cbd 100644
--- a/test/fixture-server.ts
+++ b/test/fixture-server.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
-import { createServer, type Server } from "node:http";
+import { createServer, type IncomingMessage, type Server } from "node:http";
 
 export interface FixtureRoute {
   method: string;
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@ export interface RecordedRequest {
   path: string;
   query: Record<string, string>;
   headers: Record<string, string>;
+  /** Parsed JSON request body; undefined when the request carried none. */
+  body?: unknown;
 }
 
 export interface FixtureServer {
@@ -49,6 +51,26 @@ function matches(route: FixtureRoute, request: RecordedRequest): boolean {
   return true;
 }
 
+/** Collect the request stream, parsing it as JSON when it carried a payload. */
+async function readRequestBody(req: IncomingMessage): Promise<unknown> {
+  const chunks: Buffer[] = [];
+  for await (const chunk of req) {
+    chunks.push(chunk as Buffer);
+  }
+  if (chunks.length === 0) {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+  const raw = Buffer.concat(chunks).toString("utf8");
+  if (!raw) {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+  try {
+    return JSON.parse(raw);
+  } catch {
+    return raw;
+  }
+}
+
 export async function startFixtureServer(routes: FixtureRoute[]): Promise<FixtureServer> {
   const requests: RecordedRequest[] = [];
   const server: Server = createServer((req, res) => {
@@ -62,21 +84,24 @@ export async function startFixtureServer(routes: FixtureRoute[]): Promise<Fixtur
       ),
     };
     requests.push(recorded);
-    const route = routes.find((candidate) => matches(candidate, recorded));
-    if (!route) {
-      res.writeHead(599, { "content-type": "application/json" });
-      res.end(
-        JSON.stringify({
-          message: `no fixture route matched ${recorded.method} ${recorded.path} ${JSON.stringify(recorded.query)}`,
-        }),
-      );
-      return;
-    }
-    res.writeHead(route.status ?? 200, {
-      "content-type": "application/json",
-      ...route.headers,
+    void readRequestBody(req).then((body) => {
+      recorded.body = body;
+      const route = routes.find((candidate) => matches(candidate, recorded));
+      if (!route) {
+        res.writeHead(599, { "content-type": "application/json" });
+        res.end(
+          JSON.stringify({
+            message: `no fixture route matched ${recorded.method} ${recorded.path} ${JSON.stringify(recorded.query)}`,
+          }),
+        );
+        return;
+      }
+      res.writeHead(route.status ?? 200, {
+        "content-type": "application/json",
+        ...route.headers,
+      });
+      res.end(JSON.stringify(loadBody(route)));
     });
-    res.end(JSON.stringify(loadBody(route)));
   });
   await new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
     server.listen(0, "127.0.0.1", resolve);
diff --git a/test/harness.ts b/test/harness.ts
index f2e695c..70f10de 100644
--- a/test/harness.ts
+++ b/test/harness.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
+import { mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { expect } from "vitest";
 import { runCli } from "../src/cli.js";
+import type { FixtureServer } from "./fixture-server.js";
 
 export interface CliResult {
   stdout: string;
@@ -40,3 +45,40 @@ export function testModeEnv(apiUrl: string): Record<string, string> {
     GITEA_AXI_REPO: "testowner/testrepo",
   };
 }
+
+/**
+ * Throwaway files for the `--body-file` paths, cleaned up together. Call
+ * {@link TempFiles.write} to create one and {@link TempFiles.cleanup} from an
+ * `afterEach`.
+ */
+export interface TempFiles {
+  write: (name: string, content: string) => string;
+  cleanup: () => void;
+}
+
+export function tempFiles(): TempFiles {
+  const dirs: string[] = [];
+  return {
+    write: (name, content) => {
+      const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "gitea-axi-test-"));
+      dirs.push(dir);
+      const path = join(dir, name);
+      writeFileSync(path, content, "utf8");
+      return path;
+    },
+    cleanup: () => {
+      for (const dir of dirs.splice(0)) {
+        rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+      }
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+/** The parsed body of the single POST the CLI sent to `path`; fails if it sent none. */
+export function postedBody(server: FixtureServer, path: string): Record<string, unknown> {
+  const post = server.requests.find(
+    (request) => request.method === "POST" && request.path === path,
+  );
+  expect(post, `expected a POST to ${path}`).toBeDefined();
+  return post!.body as Record<string, unknown>;
+}
diff --git a/test/issue-comment.test.ts b/test/issue-comment.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e40797a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/issue-comment.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,190 @@
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { startFixtureServer, type FixtureServer } from "./fixture-server.js";
+import { postedBody, runCliTest, tempFiles, testModeEnv } from "./harness.js";
+
+const COMMENTS_PATH = "/api/v1/repos/testowner/testrepo/issues/42/comments";
+
+let server: FixtureServer;
+const files = tempFiles();
+
+afterEach(async () => {
+  await server.close();
+  files.cleanup();
+});
+
+function createdComment(fields: Record<string, unknown> = {}): Record<string, unknown> {
+  return {
+    id: 900,
+    user: { login: "alexion" },
+    created_at: "2026-07-01T00:00:00Z",
+    body: "Looks good to me.",
+    ...fields,
+  };
+}
+
+function postedComment(): Record<string, unknown> {
+  return postedBody(server, COMMENTS_PATH);
+}
+
+describe("issue comment", () => {
+  it("posts the comment and renders number, author, created, and body", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      { method: "POST", path: COMMENTS_PATH, status: 201, body: createdComment() },
+    ]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "comment", "42", "--body", "Looks good to me."],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("comment:");
+    // `number` is the issue commented on, not the comment's own id.
+    expect(stdout).toContain("number: 42");
+    expect(stdout).toContain("author: alexion");
+    expect(stdout).toContain("body: Looks good to me.");
+    expect(stdout).not.toContain("900");
+    expect(postedComment()).toEqual({ body: "Looks good to me." });
+  });
+
+  it("reads the body from --body-file", async () => {
+    const path = files.write("comment.md", "From a file.");
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      { method: "POST", path: COMMENTS_PATH, status: 201, body: createdComment() },
+    ]);
+    const { exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "comment", "42", "--body-file", path],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(postedComment()).toEqual({ body: "From a file." });
+  });
+
+  it("truncates a comment body over 800 chars in the output, with the inline hint", async () => {
+    const body = "z".repeat(1000);
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      { method: "POST", path: COMMENTS_PATH, status: 201, body: createdComment({ body }) },
+    ]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "comment", "42", "--body", body],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(stdout).toContain(
+      `... (truncated, ${body.length} chars total - use --full to see complete body)`,
+    );
+    // The posted body itself is never truncated — only its echo in the output.
+    expect(postedComment()).toEqual({ body });
+  });
+
+  it("echoes the untruncated body with --full", async () => {
+    const body = "z".repeat(1000);
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      { method: "POST", path: COMMENTS_PATH, status: 201, body: createdComment({ body }) },
+    ]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "comment", "42", "--body", body, "--full"],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(stdout).toContain(body);
+    expect(stdout).not.toContain("truncated");
+  });
+
+  it("cleans a long comment body before truncating it", async () => {
+    const body = `See http://127.0.0.1/o/r/pulls/9 for context. ${"y".repeat(900)}`;
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      { method: "POST", path: COMMENTS_PATH, status: 201, body: createdComment({ body }) },
+    ]);
+    const { stdout } = await runCliTest(["issue", "comment", "42", "--body", body], {
+      env: testModeEnv(server.url),
+    });
+
+    expect(stdout).toContain("PR#9");
+  });
+
+  it("suggests viewing the thread when the target is an issue", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      { method: "POST", path: COMMENTS_PATH, status: 201, body: createdComment() },
+    ]);
+    const { stdout } = await runCliTest(["issue", "comment", "42", "--body", "hi"], {
+      env: testModeEnv(server.url),
+    });
+
+    expect(stdout).toContain("issue view 42 --comments");
+  });
+
+  it("accepts a pull request number without a type-guard error", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      {
+        method: "POST",
+        path: COMMENTS_PATH,
+        status: 201,
+        body: createdComment({
+          pull_request_url: "http://127.0.0.1/testowner/testrepo/pulls/42",
+        }),
+      },
+    ]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "comment", "42", "--body", "Looks good to me."],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(stdout).not.toContain("is a pull request");
+    // The issue is never fetched, so a PR number simply flows through.
+    expect(server.requests.every((request) => request.method === "POST")).toBe(true);
+    // `issue view` type-guards PRs, so it must never be suggested for a PR
+    // target — the suggestion would be a command guaranteed to fail.
+    expect(stdout).not.toContain("issue view 42");
+  });
+
+  it("rejects a missing body before calling the API", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(["issue", "comment", "42"], {
+      env: testModeEnv(server.url),
+    });
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(2);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("code: VALIDATION_ERROR");
+    expect(stdout).toContain("--body");
+    expect(server.requests).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it("rejects a missing issue number before calling the API", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(["issue", "comment", "--body", "hi"], {
+      env: testModeEnv(server.url),
+    });
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(2);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("code: VALIDATION_ERROR");
+    expect(server.requests).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it("reports a nonexistent issue as ISSUE_NOT_FOUND with exit 1", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      { method: "POST", path: COMMENTS_PATH, status: 404, body: { message: "Not Found" } },
+    ]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "comment", "42", "--body", "hi"],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(1);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("code: ISSUE_NOT_FOUND");
+  });
+
+  it("prints help with --help without calling the API", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(["issue", "comment", "--help"], {
+      env: testModeEnv(server.url),
+    });
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("usage: gitea-axi issue comment <number>");
+    expect(server.requests).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/test/issue-create.test.ts b/test/issue-create.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..59023a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/issue-create.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,353 @@
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { startFixtureServer, type FixtureServer } from "./fixture-server.js";
+import { postedBody, runCliTest, tempFiles, testModeEnv } from "./harness.js";
+
+const ISSUES_PATH = "/api/v1/repos/testowner/testrepo/issues";
+const LABELS_PATH = "/api/v1/repos/testowner/testrepo/labels";
+const MILESTONES_PATH = "/api/v1/repos/testowner/testrepo/milestones";
+
+let server: FixtureServer;
+const files = tempFiles();
+
+afterEach(async () => {
+  await server.close();
+  files.cleanup();
+});
+
+function createdIssue(fields: Record<string, unknown> = {}): Record<string, unknown> {
+  return {
+    number: 7,
+    title: "Fix the thing",
+    state: "open",
+    html_url: "http://127.0.0.1/testowner/testrepo/issues/7",
+    user: { login: "alexion" },
+    created_at: "2026-07-01T00:00:00Z",
+    body: "",
+    labels: [],
+    assignees: [],
+    ...fields,
+  };
+}
+
+/** The single POST the CLI sent to the issues endpoint. */
+function postedIssue(): Record<string, unknown> {
+  return postedBody(server, ISSUES_PATH);
+}
+
+describe("issue create", () => {
+  it("creates an issue and renders number, title, state, and url", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      { method: "POST", path: ISSUES_PATH, status: 201, body: createdIssue() },
+    ]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "create", "--title", "Fix the thing"],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("issue:");
+    expect(stdout).toContain("number: 7");
+    expect(stdout).toContain("title: Fix the thing");
+    expect(stdout).toContain("state: open");
+    // TOON quotes the URL because it contains the key/value separator.
+    expect(stdout).toContain('url: "http://127.0.0.1/testowner/testrepo/issues/7"');
+    expect(postedIssue()).toEqual({ title: "Fix the thing" });
+  });
+
+  it("suggests viewing the issue it just created, with the real number", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      { method: "POST", path: ISSUES_PATH, status: 201, body: createdIssue() },
+    ]);
+    const { stdout } = await runCliTest(["issue", "create", "--title", "Fix the thing"], {
+      env: testModeEnv(server.url),
+    });
+
+    expect(stdout).toContain("issue view 7");
+  });
+
+  it("sends the body from --body", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      { method: "POST", path: ISSUES_PATH, status: 201, body: createdIssue() },
+    ]);
+    const { exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "create", "--title", "T", "--body", "Some details."],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(postedIssue()).toEqual({ title: "T", body: "Some details." });
+  });
+
+  it("reads the body from --body-file", async () => {
+    const path = files.write("body.md", "From a file.\nSecond line.\n");
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      { method: "POST", path: ISSUES_PATH, status: 201, body: createdIssue() },
+    ]);
+    const { exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "create", "--title", "T", "--body-file", path],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(postedIssue()).toEqual({ title: "T", body: "From a file.\nSecond line.\n" });
+  });
+
+  it("rejects --body and --body-file together before calling the API", async () => {
+    const path = files.write("body.md", "x");
+    server = await startFixtureServer([]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "create", "--title", "T", "--body", "x", "--body-file", path],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(2);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("code: VALIDATION_ERROR");
+    expect(server.requests).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it("reports an unreadable --body-file as VALIDATION_ERROR", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "create", "--title", "T", "--body-file", "/nonexistent/nope.md"],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(2);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("code: VALIDATION_ERROR");
+    expect(server.requests).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it("rejects a missing --title before calling the API", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(["issue", "create"], {
+      env: testModeEnv(server.url),
+    });
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(2);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("code: VALIDATION_ERROR");
+    expect(stdout).toContain("--title");
+    expect(server.requests).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it("resolves repeated --label names to ids, case-insensitively", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      {
+        method: "GET",
+        path: LABELS_PATH,
+        body: [
+          { id: 11, name: "bug" },
+          { id: 22, name: "Priority: High" },
+          { id: 33, name: "chore" },
+        ],
+      },
+      { method: "POST", path: ISSUES_PATH, status: 201, body: createdIssue() },
+    ]);
+    const { exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "create", "--title", "T", "--label", "BUG", "--label", "priority: high"],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(postedIssue()).toEqual({ title: "T", labels: [11, 22] });
+  });
+
+  it("rejects an unknown --label name with VALIDATION_ERROR and creates nothing", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      { method: "GET", path: LABELS_PATH, body: [{ id: 11, name: "bug" }] },
+    ]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "create", "--title", "T", "--label", "nope"],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(2);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("code: VALIDATION_ERROR");
+    expect(stdout).toContain("nope");
+    expect(server.requests.some((request) => request.method === "POST")).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("finds a label that only appears on a later page of labels", async () => {
+    const firstPage = Array.from({ length: 50 }, (_, index) => ({
+      id: index + 1,
+      name: `filler-${index}`,
+    }));
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      { method: "GET", path: LABELS_PATH, query: { page: "1" }, body: firstPage },
+      {
+        method: "GET",
+        path: LABELS_PATH,
+        query: { page: "2" },
+        body: [{ id: 99, name: "needle" }],
+      },
+      { method: "POST", path: ISSUES_PATH, status: 201, body: createdIssue() },
+    ]);
+    const { exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "create", "--title", "T", "--label", "needle"],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(postedIssue()).toEqual({ title: "T", labels: [99] });
+  });
+
+  it("surfaces a failure to list labels", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      { method: "GET", path: LABELS_PATH, status: 403, body: { message: "forbidden" } },
+    ]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "create", "--title", "T", "--label", "bug"],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(1);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("code: FORBIDDEN");
+    expect(server.requests.some((request) => request.method === "POST")).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("surfaces a failure to list milestones", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      { method: "GET", path: MILESTONES_PATH, status: 403, body: { message: "forbidden" } },
+    ]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "create", "--title", "T", "--milestone", "v1.0"],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(1);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("code: FORBIDDEN");
+    expect(server.requests.some((request) => request.method === "POST")).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("renders empty extra fields when the issue has no labels, assignees, or milestone", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      { method: "POST", path: ISSUES_PATH, status: 201, body: createdIssue({ labels: null }) },
+    ]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "create", "--title", "T", "--fields", "labels,assignees,milestone"],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(stdout).toContain('labels: ""');
+    expect(stdout).toContain('assignees: ""');
+    expect(stdout).toContain('milestone: ""');
+  });
+
+  it("resolves --milestone to its id, case-insensitively", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      {
+        method: "GET",
+        path: MILESTONES_PATH,
+        query: { name: "v1.0" },
+        body: [{ id: 5, title: "V1.0" }],
+      },
+      { method: "POST", path: ISSUES_PATH, status: 201, body: createdIssue() },
+    ]);
+    const { exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "create", "--title", "T", "--milestone", "v1.0"],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(postedIssue()).toEqual({ title: "T", milestone: 5 });
+  });
+
+  it("rejects an unknown --milestone name with VALIDATION_ERROR and creates nothing", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      { method: "GET", path: MILESTONES_PATH, body: [] },
+    ]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "create", "--title", "T", "--milestone", "ghost"],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(2);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("code: VALIDATION_ERROR");
+    expect(stdout).toContain("ghost");
+    expect(server.requests.some((request) => request.method === "POST")).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("passes --assignee through as an assignees list", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      { method: "POST", path: ISSUES_PATH, status: 201, body: createdIssue() },
+    ]);
+    const { exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "create", "--title", "T", "--assignee", "alexion"],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(postedIssue()).toEqual({ title: "T", assignees: ["alexion"] });
+  });
+
+  it("appends the extra fields named by --fields", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      {
+        method: "POST",
+        path: ISSUES_PATH,
+        status: 201,
+        body: createdIssue({
+          body: "The body.",
+          labels: [{ id: 11, name: "bug" }, { id: 22, name: "chore" }],
+          assignees: [{ login: "alexion" }],
+          milestone: { id: 5, title: "v1.0" },
+        }),
+      },
+    ]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "create", "--title", "T", "--fields", "labels,assignees,milestone,body"],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+    // TOON quotes the joined labels because they contain its list delimiter.
+    expect(stdout).toContain('labels: "bug, chore"');
+    expect(stdout).toContain("assignees: alexion");
+    expect(stdout).toContain("milestone: v1.0");
+    expect(stdout).toContain("body: The body.");
+    // The default fields stay in place alongside the requested extras.
+    expect(stdout).toContain("number: 7");
+  });
+
+  it("rejects an unknown --fields name with VALIDATION_ERROR", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(
+      ["issue", "create", "--title", "T", "--fields", "nonsense"],
+      { env: testModeEnv(server.url) },
+    );
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(2);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("code: VALIDATION_ERROR");
+    expect(stdout).toContain("nonsense");
+    expect(server.requests).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it("surfaces a server-side rejection of the create", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([
+      {
+        method: "POST",
+        path: ISSUES_PATH,
+        status: 422,
+        body: { message: "title is empty" },
+      },
+    ]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(["issue", "create", "--title", "T"], {
+      env: testModeEnv(server.url),
+    });
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(2);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("code: VALIDATION_ERROR");
+    expect(stdout).toContain("title is empty");
+  });
+
+  it("prints help with --help without calling the API", async () => {
+    server = await startFixtureServer([]);
+    const { stdout, exitCode } = await runCliTest(["issue", "create", "--help"], {
+      env: testModeEnv(server.url),
+    });
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(stdout).toContain("usage: gitea-axi issue create");
+    expect(server.requests).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+});