feat: add github action to self-assign the issue

.github/workflows/take.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+
+name: Assign the issue via a `take` comment
+on:
+  issue_comment:
+    types: created
+
+permissions:
+  issues: write
+
+jobs:
+  issue_assign:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: (!github.event.issue.pull_request) && github.event.comment.body == 'take'
+    concurrency:
+      group: ${{ github.actor }}-issue-assign
+    steps:
+      - run: |
+          CODE=$(curl -H "Authorization: token ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}" -LI https://api.github.com/repos/${{ github.repository }}/issues/${{ github.event.issue.number }}/assignees/${{ github.event.comment.user.login }} -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}\n' -s)
+          if [ "$CODE" -eq "204" ]
+          then
+            echo "Assigning issue ${{ github.event.issue.number }} to ${{ github.event.comment.user.login }}"
+            curl -H "Authorization: token ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}" -d '{"assignees": ["${{ github.event.comment.user.login }}"]}' https://api.github.com/repos/${{ github.repository }}/issues/${{ github.event.issue.number }}/assignees
+          else
+            echo "Cannot assign issue ${{ github.event.issue.number }} to ${{ github.event.comment.user.login }}"
+          fi

docs/source/contributor-guide/index.md

@@ -46,6 +46,14 @@ been able to finish it yet, you should feel free to work on it as well. In
 general it is both polite and will help avoid unnecessary duplication of work if
 you leave a note on an issue when you start working on it.
 
+If you want to work on an issue which is not already assigned to someone else
+and there are no comment indicating that someone is already working on that
+issue then you can assign the issue to yourself by submitting a single word
+comment `take`. This will assign the issue to yourself. However, if you are
+unable to make progress you should unassign the issue by using the `unassign me`
+link at the top of the issue page (and ask for help if are stuck) so that
+someone else can get involved in the work.
+
 If you plan to work on a new feature that doesn't have an existing ticket, it is
 a good idea to open a ticket to discuss the feature. Advanced discussion often
 helps avoid wasted effort by determining early if the feature is a good fit for