diff --git a/pkg/cmd/discussion/client/client_impl.go b/pkg/cmd/discussion/client/client_impl.go
index 88aa7f170..78108a233 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/discussion/client/client_impl.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/discussion/client/client_impl.go
@@ -775,8 +775,188 @@ func (c *discussionClient) ListCategories(repo ghrepo.Interface) ([]DiscussionCa
 	return categories, nil
 }
 
-func (c *discussionClient) Create(_ ghrepo.Interface, _ CreateDiscussionInput) (*Discussion, error) {
-	return nil, fmt.Errorf("not implemented")
+// repositoryMeta holds the node ID and feature flags fetched for a repository.
+type repositoryMeta struct {
+	ID                    string
+	HasDiscussionsEnabled bool
+}
+
+// getRepositoryMeta fetches the node ID and discussion-enabled flag for a repository.
+func (c *discussionClient) getRepositoryMeta(repo ghrepo.Interface) (*repositoryMeta, error) {
+	var query struct {
+		Repository struct {
+			ID                    string
+			HasDiscussionsEnabled bool
+		} `graphql:"repository(owner: $owner, name: $name)"`
+	}
+
+	variables := map[string]interface{}{
+		"owner": githubv4.String(repo.RepoOwner()),
+		"name":  githubv4.String(repo.RepoName()),
+	}
+
+	if err := c.gql.Query(repo.RepoHost(), "RepositoryMeta", &query, variables); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	return &repositoryMeta{
+		ID:                    query.Repository.ID,
+		HasDiscussionsEnabled: query.Repository.HasDiscussionsEnabled,
+	}, nil
+}
+
+// resolveLabels fetches all labels for a repository and matches the requested names
+// case-insensitively. Returns an error if any requested label name is not found.
+func (c *discussionClient) resolveLabels(repo ghrepo.Interface, labelNames []string) ([]DiscussionLabel, error) {
+	if len(labelNames) == 0 {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+
+	var query struct {
+		Repository struct {
+			Labels struct {
+				Nodes []struct {
+					ID    string
+					Name  string
+					Color string
+				}
+				PageInfo struct {
+					HasNextPage bool
+					EndCursor   string
+				}
+			} `graphql:"labels(first: 100, after: $endCursor)"`
+		} `graphql:"repository(owner: $owner, name: $name)"`
+	}
+
+	variables := map[string]interface{}{
+		"owner":     githubv4.String(repo.RepoOwner()),
+		"name":      githubv4.String(repo.RepoName()),
+		"endCursor": (*githubv4.String)(nil),
+	}
+
+	wanted := make(map[string]bool, len(labelNames))
+	for _, n := range labelNames {
+		wanted[strings.ToLower(n)] = true
+	}
+
+	found := make(map[string]DiscussionLabel, len(labelNames))
+	for {
+		if err := c.gql.Query(repo.RepoHost(), "RepositoryLabels", &query, variables); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		for _, n := range query.Repository.Labels.Nodes {
+			if wanted[strings.ToLower(n.Name)] {
+				found[strings.ToLower(n.Name)] = DiscussionLabel{ID: n.ID, Name: n.Name, Color: n.Color}
+			}
+		}
+		if len(found) == len(wanted) {
+			break
+		}
+		if !query.Repository.Labels.PageInfo.HasNextPage {
+			break
+		}
+		variables["endCursor"] = githubv4.String(query.Repository.Labels.PageInfo.EndCursor)
+	}
+
+	if len(found) != len(wanted) {
+		var missing []string
+		for _, name := range labelNames {
+			if _, ok := found[strings.ToLower(name)]; !ok {
+				missing = append(missing, name)
+			}
+		}
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("labels not found: %s", strings.Join(missing, ", "))
+	}
+
+	result := make([]DiscussionLabel, 0, len(labelNames))
+	for _, name := range labelNames {
+		result = append(result, found[strings.ToLower(name)])
+	}
+	return result, nil
+}
+
+// addLabelsToDiscussion applies labels to a discussion via the addLabelsToLabelable mutation.
+func (c *discussionClient) addLabelsToDiscussion(repo ghrepo.Interface, discussionID string, labelIDs []string) error {
+	ids := make([]githubv4.ID, len(labelIDs))
+	for i, id := range labelIDs {
+		ids[i] = githubv4.ID(id)
+	}
+
+	var mutation struct {
+		AddLabelsToLabelable struct {
+			Typename string `graphql:"__typename"`
+		} `graphql:"addLabelsToLabelable(input: $input)"`
+	}
+
+	variables := map[string]interface{}{
+		"input": githubv4.AddLabelsToLabelableInput{
+			LabelableID: githubv4.ID(discussionID),
+			LabelIDs:    ids,
+		},
+	}
+
+	return c.gql.Mutate(repo.RepoHost(), "AddLabelsToDiscussion", &mutation, variables)
+}
+
+func (c *discussionClient) Create(repo ghrepo.Interface, input CreateDiscussionInput) (*Discussion, error) {
+	meta, err := c.getRepositoryMeta(repo)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	if !meta.HasDiscussionsEnabled {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("the '%s/%s' repository has discussions disabled", repo.RepoOwner(), repo.RepoName())
+	}
+
+	var mutation struct {
+		CreateDiscussion struct {
+			Discussion struct {
+				discussionListNode
+				Comments struct {
+					TotalCount int
+				}
+			}
+		} `graphql:"createDiscussion(input: $input)"`
+	}
+
+	variables := map[string]interface{}{
+		"input": githubv4.CreateDiscussionInput{
+			RepositoryID: githubv4.ID(meta.ID),
+			CategoryID:   githubv4.ID(input.CategoryID),
+			Title:        githubv4.String(input.Title),
+			Body:         githubv4.String(input.Body),
+		},
+	}
+
+	if err := c.gql.Mutate(repo.RepoHost(), "CreateDiscussion", &mutation, variables); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	d := mapDiscussionFromListNode(mutation.CreateDiscussion.Discussion.discussionListNode)
+	d.Comments = DiscussionCommentList{TotalCount: mutation.CreateDiscussion.Discussion.Comments.TotalCount}
+
+	for _, rg := range mutation.CreateDiscussion.Discussion.ReactionGroups {
+		d.ReactionGroups = append(d.ReactionGroups, ReactionGroup{
+			Content:    rg.Content,
+			TotalCount: rg.Users.TotalCount,
+		})
+	}
+
+	if len(input.Labels) > 0 {
+		resolvedLabels, err := c.resolveLabels(repo, input.Labels)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		labelIDs := make([]string, len(resolvedLabels))
+		for i, l := range resolvedLabels {
+			labelIDs[i] = l.ID
+		}
+		if err := c.addLabelsToDiscussion(repo, d.ID, labelIDs); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		d.Labels = resolvedLabels
+	}
+
+	return &d, nil
 }
 
 func (c *discussionClient) Update(_ ghrepo.Interface, _ UpdateDiscussionInput) (*Discussion, error) {
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/discussion/client/client_impl_test.go b/pkg/cmd/discussion/client/client_impl_test.go
index 16c0813a2..8ca5f52b2 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/discussion/client/client_impl_test.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/discussion/client/client_impl_test.go
@@ -2475,3 +2475,625 @@ func TestGetCommentReplies(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+func repoMetaResp(id string, discussionsEnabled bool) string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf(`{
+		"data": {
+			"repository": {
+				"id": %q,
+				"hasDiscussionsEnabled": %t
+			}
+		}
+	}`, id, discussionsEnabled)
+}
+
+func TestCreate(t *testing.T) {
+	repo := ghrepo.New("OWNER", "REPO")
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name       string
+		input      CreateDiscussionInput
+		httpStubs  func(*testing.T, *httpmock.Registry)
+		wantErr    string
+		assertDisc *Discussion
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "maps all fields",
+			input: CreateDiscussionInput{
+				CategoryID: "CAT_1",
+				Title:      "New Discussion",
+				Body:       "Discussion body",
+			},
+			httpStubs: func(t *testing.T, reg *httpmock.Registry) {
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`query RepositoryMeta\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(repoMetaResp("R_1", true)),
+				)
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQLMutationMatcher(`mutation CreateDiscussion\b`, func(input map[string]interface{}) bool {
+						assert.Equal(t, "R_1", input["repositoryId"])
+						assert.Equal(t, "CAT_1", input["categoryId"])
+						assert.Equal(t, "New Discussion", input["title"])
+						assert.Equal(t, "Discussion body", input["body"])
+						return true
+					}),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(heredoc.Doc(`
+						{
+							"data": {
+								"createDiscussion": {
+									"discussion": {
+										"id": "D_new",
+										"number": 99,
+										"title": "New Discussion",
+										"body": "Discussion body",
+										"url": "https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/discussions/99",
+										"closed": false,
+										"stateReason": "",
+										"isAnswered": false,
+										"answerChosenAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"author": {"__typename": "User", "login": "alice", "id": "U1", "name": "Alice"},
+										"category": {"id": "CAT_1", "name": "General", "slug": "general", "emoji": ":speech_balloon:", "isAnswerable": false},
+										"answerChosenBy": null,
+										"labels": {"nodes": []},
+										"reactionGroups": [{"content": "THUMBS_UP", "users": {"totalCount": 0}}],
+										"createdAt": "2025-06-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"updatedAt": "2025-06-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"closedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"locked": false,
+										"comments": {"totalCount": 0}
+									}
+								}
+							}
+						}
+					`)),
+				)
+			},
+			assertDisc: &Discussion{
+				ID:     "D_new",
+				Number: 99,
+				Title:  "New Discussion",
+				Body:   "Discussion body",
+				URL:    "https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/discussions/99",
+				Author: DiscussionActor{ID: "U1", Login: "alice", Name: "Alice"},
+				Category: DiscussionCategory{
+					ID:    "CAT_1",
+					Name:  "General",
+					Slug:  "general",
+					Emoji: ":speech_balloon:",
+				},
+				Labels:         []DiscussionLabel{},
+				ReactionGroups: []ReactionGroup{{Content: "THUMBS_UP", TotalCount: 0}},
+				CreatedAt:      time.Date(2025, 6, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC),
+				UpdatedAt:      time.Date(2025, 6, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC),
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "discussions disabled",
+			input: CreateDiscussionInput{
+				CategoryID: "CAT_1",
+				Title:      "Test",
+				Body:       "Body",
+			},
+			httpStubs: func(t *testing.T, reg *httpmock.Registry) {
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`query RepositoryMeta\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(repoMetaResp("R_1", false)),
+				)
+			},
+			wantErr: "has discussions disabled",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "repo not found",
+			input: CreateDiscussionInput{
+				CategoryID: "CAT_1",
+				Title:      "Test",
+				Body:       "Body",
+			},
+			httpStubs: func(t *testing.T, reg *httpmock.Registry) {
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`query RepositoryMeta\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(heredoc.Doc(`
+						{
+							"data": {
+								"repository": null
+							},
+							"errors": [
+								{
+									"type": "NOT_FOUND",
+									"path": ["repository"],
+									"message": "Could not resolve to a Repository with the name 'OWNER/REPO'."
+								}
+							]
+						}
+					`)),
+				)
+			},
+			wantErr: "Could not resolve to a Repository with the name 'OWNER/REPO'.",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "mutation error",
+			input: CreateDiscussionInput{
+				CategoryID: "BAD_CAT",
+				Title:      "Test",
+				Body:       "Body",
+			},
+			httpStubs: func(t *testing.T, reg *httpmock.Registry) {
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`query RepositoryMeta\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(repoMetaResp("R_1", true)),
+				)
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`mutation CreateDiscussion\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(heredoc.Doc(`
+						{
+							"data": {
+								"createDiscussion": null
+							},
+							"errors": [
+								{
+									"type": "NOT_FOUND",
+									"message": "Could not resolve to a node with the global id of 'BAD_CAT'."
+								}
+							]
+						}
+					`)),
+				)
+			},
+			wantErr: "Could not resolve to a node with the global id of 'BAD_CAT'.",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "paginates labels across multiple pages",
+			input: CreateDiscussionInput{
+				CategoryID: "CAT_1",
+				Title:      "New Discussion",
+				Body:       "Discussion body",
+				Labels:     []string{"bug", "enhancement"},
+			},
+			httpStubs: func(t *testing.T, reg *httpmock.Registry) {
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`query RepositoryMeta\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(repoMetaResp("R_1", true)),
+				)
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`mutation CreateDiscussion\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(heredoc.Doc(`
+						{
+							"data": {
+								"createDiscussion": {
+									"discussion": {
+										"id": "D_new",
+										"number": 99,
+										"title": "New Discussion",
+										"body": "Discussion body",
+										"url": "https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/discussions/99",
+										"closed": false,
+										"stateReason": "",
+										"isAnswered": false,
+										"answerChosenAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"author": {"__typename": "User", "login": "alice", "id": "U1", "name": "Alice"},
+										"category": {"id": "CAT_1", "name": "General", "slug": "general", "emoji": ":speech_balloon:", "isAnswerable": false},
+										"answerChosenBy": null,
+										"labels": {"nodes": []},
+										"reactionGroups": [],
+										"createdAt": "2025-06-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"updatedAt": "2025-06-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"closedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"locked": false,
+										"comments": {"totalCount": 0}
+									}
+								}
+							}
+						}
+					`)),
+				)
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`query RepositoryLabels\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(heredoc.Doc(`
+						{
+							"data": {
+								"repository": {
+									"labels": {
+										"nodes": [
+											{"id": "L_bug", "name": "bug", "color": "d73a4a"}
+										],
+										"pageInfo": {"hasNextPage": true, "endCursor": "LABEL_CUR_1"}
+									}
+								}
+							}
+						}
+					`)),
+				)
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`query RepositoryLabels\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(heredoc.Doc(`
+						{
+							"data": {
+								"repository": {
+									"labels": {
+										"nodes": [
+											{"id": "L_enh", "name": "enhancement", "color": "a2eeef"}
+										],
+										"pageInfo": {"hasNextPage": false, "endCursor": ""}
+									}
+								}
+							}
+						}
+					`)),
+				)
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`mutation AddLabelsToDiscussion\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(`{"data":{"addLabelsToLabelable":{"__typename":"Discussion"}}}`),
+				)
+			},
+			assertDisc: &Discussion{
+				ID:     "D_new",
+				Number: 99,
+				Title:  "New Discussion",
+				Body:   "Discussion body",
+				URL:    "https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/discussions/99",
+				Author: DiscussionActor{ID: "U1", Login: "alice", Name: "Alice"},
+				Category: DiscussionCategory{
+					ID:    "CAT_1",
+					Name:  "General",
+					Slug:  "general",
+					Emoji: ":speech_balloon:",
+				},
+				Labels: []DiscussionLabel{
+					{ID: "L_bug", Name: "bug", Color: "d73a4a"},
+					{ID: "L_enh", Name: "enhancement", Color: "a2eeef"},
+				},
+				CreatedAt: time.Date(2025, 6, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC),
+				UpdatedAt: time.Date(2025, 6, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC),
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "stops paginating labels when all found",
+			input: CreateDiscussionInput{
+				CategoryID: "CAT_1",
+				Title:      "New Discussion",
+				Body:       "Discussion body",
+				Labels:     []string{"bug", "enhancement"},
+			},
+			httpStubs: func(t *testing.T, reg *httpmock.Registry) {
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`query RepositoryMeta\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(repoMetaResp("R_1", true)),
+				)
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`mutation CreateDiscussion\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(heredoc.Doc(`
+						{
+							"data": {
+								"createDiscussion": {
+									"discussion": {
+										"id": "D_new",
+										"number": 99,
+										"title": "New Discussion",
+										"body": "Discussion body",
+										"url": "https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/discussions/99",
+										"closed": false,
+										"stateReason": "",
+										"isAnswered": false,
+										"answerChosenAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"author": {"__typename": "User", "login": "alice", "id": "U1", "name": "Alice"},
+										"category": {"id": "CAT_1", "name": "General", "slug": "general", "emoji": ":speech_balloon:", "isAnswerable": false},
+										"answerChosenBy": null,
+										"labels": {"nodes": []},
+										"reactionGroups": [],
+										"createdAt": "2025-06-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"updatedAt": "2025-06-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"closedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"locked": false,
+										"comments": {"totalCount": 0}
+									}
+								}
+							}
+						}
+					`)),
+				)
+				// Register a single page that returns both labels but claims more pages exist.
+				// The code should stop paginating once all wanted labels are found.
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`query RepositoryLabels\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(heredoc.Doc(`
+						{
+							"data": {
+								"repository": {
+									"labels": {
+										"nodes": [
+											{"id": "L_bug", "name": "bug", "color": "d73a4a"},
+											{"id": "L_enh", "name": "enhancement", "color": "a2eeef"}
+										],
+										"pageInfo": {"hasNextPage": true, "endCursor": "LABEL_CUR_999"}
+									}
+								}
+							}
+						}
+					`)),
+				)
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`mutation AddLabelsToDiscussion\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(`{"data":{"addLabelsToLabelable":{"__typename":"Discussion"}}}`),
+				)
+			},
+			assertDisc: &Discussion{
+				ID:     "D_new",
+				Number: 99,
+				Title:  "New Discussion",
+				Body:   "Discussion body",
+				URL:    "https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/discussions/99",
+				Author: DiscussionActor{ID: "U1", Login: "alice", Name: "Alice"},
+				Category: DiscussionCategory{
+					ID:    "CAT_1",
+					Name:  "General",
+					Slug:  "general",
+					Emoji: ":speech_balloon:",
+				},
+				Labels: []DiscussionLabel{
+					{ID: "L_bug", Name: "bug", Color: "d73a4a"},
+					{ID: "L_enh", Name: "enhancement", Color: "a2eeef"},
+				},
+				CreatedAt: time.Date(2025, 6, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC),
+				UpdatedAt: time.Date(2025, 6, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC),
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "creates discussion with labels",
+			input: CreateDiscussionInput{
+				CategoryID: "CAT_1",
+				Title:      "New Discussion",
+				Body:       "Discussion body",
+				Labels:     []string{"bug", "enhancement"},
+			},
+			httpStubs: func(t *testing.T, reg *httpmock.Registry) {
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`query RepositoryMeta\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(repoMetaResp("R_1", true)),
+				)
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`mutation CreateDiscussion\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(heredoc.Doc(`
+						{
+							"data": {
+								"createDiscussion": {
+									"discussion": {
+										"id": "D_new",
+										"number": 99,
+										"title": "New Discussion",
+										"body": "Discussion body",
+										"url": "https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/discussions/99",
+										"closed": false,
+										"stateReason": "",
+										"isAnswered": false,
+										"answerChosenAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"author": {"__typename": "User", "login": "alice", "id": "U1", "name": "Alice"},
+										"category": {"id": "CAT_1", "name": "General", "slug": "general", "emoji": ":speech_balloon:", "isAnswerable": false},
+										"answerChosenBy": null,
+										"labels": {"nodes": []},
+										"reactionGroups": [{"content": "THUMBS_UP", "users": {"totalCount": 0}}],
+										"createdAt": "2025-06-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"updatedAt": "2025-06-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"closedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"locked": false,
+										"comments": {"totalCount": 0}
+									}
+								}
+							}
+						}
+					`)),
+				)
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`query RepositoryLabels\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(heredoc.Doc(`
+						{
+							"data": {
+								"repository": {
+									"labels": {
+										"nodes": [
+											{"id": "L_bug", "name": "bug", "color": "d73a4a"},
+											{"id": "L_enh", "name": "enhancement", "color": "a2eeef"}
+										],
+										"pageInfo": {"hasNextPage": false, "endCursor": ""}
+									}
+								}
+							}
+						}
+					`)),
+				)
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQLMutationMatcher(`mutation AddLabelsToDiscussion\b`, func(input map[string]interface{}) bool {
+						assert.Equal(t, "D_new", input["labelableId"])
+						labelIDs, ok := input["labelIds"].([]interface{})
+						assert.True(t, ok)
+						assert.Equal(t, []interface{}{"L_bug", "L_enh"}, labelIDs)
+						return true
+					}),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(`{"data":{"addLabelsToLabelable":{"__typename":"Discussion"}}}`),
+				)
+			},
+			assertDisc: &Discussion{
+				ID:     "D_new",
+				Number: 99,
+				Title:  "New Discussion",
+				Body:   "Discussion body",
+				URL:    "https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/discussions/99",
+				Author: DiscussionActor{ID: "U1", Login: "alice", Name: "Alice"},
+				Category: DiscussionCategory{
+					ID:    "CAT_1",
+					Name:  "General",
+					Slug:  "general",
+					Emoji: ":speech_balloon:",
+				},
+				Labels: []DiscussionLabel{
+					{ID: "L_bug", Name: "bug", Color: "d73a4a"},
+					{ID: "L_enh", Name: "enhancement", Color: "a2eeef"},
+				},
+				ReactionGroups: []ReactionGroup{{Content: "THUMBS_UP", TotalCount: 0}},
+				CreatedAt:      time.Date(2025, 6, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC),
+				UpdatedAt:      time.Date(2025, 6, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC),
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "label not found returns error",
+			input: CreateDiscussionInput{
+				CategoryID: "CAT_1",
+				Title:      "Test",
+				Body:       "Body",
+				Labels:     []string{"nonexistent", "also-missing"},
+			},
+			httpStubs: func(t *testing.T, reg *httpmock.Registry) {
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`query RepositoryMeta\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(repoMetaResp("R_1", true)),
+				)
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`mutation CreateDiscussion\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(heredoc.Doc(`
+						{
+							"data": {
+								"createDiscussion": {
+									"discussion": {
+										"id": "D_new",
+										"number": 99,
+										"title": "Test",
+										"body": "Body",
+										"url": "https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/discussions/99",
+										"closed": false,
+										"stateReason": "",
+										"isAnswered": false,
+										"answerChosenAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"author": {"__typename": "User", "login": "alice", "id": "U1", "name": "Alice"},
+										"category": {"id": "CAT_1", "name": "General", "slug": "general", "emoji": ":speech_balloon:", "isAnswerable": false},
+										"answerChosenBy": null,
+										"labels": {"nodes": []},
+										"reactionGroups": [],
+										"createdAt": "2025-06-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"updatedAt": "2025-06-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"closedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"locked": false,
+										"comments": {"totalCount": 0}
+									}
+								}
+							}
+						}
+					`)),
+				)
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`query RepositoryLabels\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(heredoc.Doc(`
+						{
+							"data": {
+								"repository": {
+									"labels": {
+										"nodes": [],
+										"pageInfo": {"hasNextPage": false, "endCursor": ""}
+									}
+								}
+							}
+						}
+					`)),
+				)
+			},
+			wantErr: `labels not found: nonexistent, also-missing`,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "add labels mutation failure returns error",
+			input: CreateDiscussionInput{
+				CategoryID: "CAT_1",
+				Title:      "Test",
+				Body:       "Body",
+				Labels:     []string{"bug"},
+			},
+			httpStubs: func(t *testing.T, reg *httpmock.Registry) {
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`query RepositoryMeta\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(repoMetaResp("R_1", true)),
+				)
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`mutation CreateDiscussion\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(heredoc.Doc(`
+						{
+							"data": {
+								"createDiscussion": {
+									"discussion": {
+										"id": "D_new",
+										"number": 99,
+										"title": "Test",
+										"body": "Body",
+										"url": "https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/discussions/99",
+										"closed": false,
+										"stateReason": "",
+										"isAnswered": false,
+										"answerChosenAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"author": {"__typename": "User", "login": "alice", "id": "U1", "name": "Alice"},
+										"category": {"id": "CAT_1", "name": "General", "slug": "general", "emoji": ":speech_balloon:", "isAnswerable": false},
+										"answerChosenBy": null,
+										"labels": {"nodes": []},
+										"reactionGroups": [],
+										"createdAt": "2025-06-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"updatedAt": "2025-06-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"closedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+										"locked": false,
+										"comments": {"totalCount": 0}
+									}
+								}
+							}
+						}
+					`)),
+				)
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`query RepositoryLabels\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(heredoc.Doc(`
+						{
+							"data": {
+								"repository": {
+									"labels": {
+										"nodes": [
+											{"id": "L_bug", "name": "bug", "color": "d73a4a"}
+										],
+										"pageInfo": {"hasNextPage": false, "endCursor": ""}
+									}
+								}
+							}
+						}
+					`)),
+				)
+				reg.Register(
+					httpmock.GraphQL(`mutation AddLabelsToDiscussion\b`),
+					httpmock.StringResponse(heredoc.Doc(`
+						{
+							"data": null,
+							"errors": [{"message": "could not apply labels"}]
+						}
+					`)),
+				)
+			},
+			wantErr: "could not apply labels",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			reg := &httpmock.Registry{}
+			defer reg.Verify(t)
+
+			if tt.httpStubs != nil {
+				tt.httpStubs(t, reg)
+			}
+
+			c := newTestDiscussionClient(reg)
+			d, err := c.Create(repo, tt.input)
+
+			if tt.wantErr != "" {
+				require.Error(t, err)
+				assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), tt.wantErr)
+				return
+			}
+
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			require.NotNil(t, d)
+			require.NotNil(t, tt.assertDisc, "assertDisc must be set for non-error cases")
+			assert.Equal(t, tt.assertDisc, d)
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/discussion/client/types.go b/pkg/cmd/discussion/client/types.go
index 1eaab5329..d725ee92c 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/discussion/client/types.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/discussion/client/types.go
@@ -327,10 +327,10 @@ type SearchFilters struct {
 
 // CreateDiscussionInput holds the parameters for creating a discussion.
 type CreateDiscussionInput struct {
-	RepositoryID string
-	CategoryID   string
-	Title        string
-	Body         string
+	CategoryID string
+	Title      string
+	Body       string
+	Labels     []string
 }
 
 // UpdateDiscussionInput holds optional parameters for updating a discussion.