GitHub Project Skill

GitHub repository configuration, troubleshooting, and collaboration workflow best practices.

When to Use

• PR won't merge, shows BLOCKED, or has unresolved review threads
• Auto-merge not working for Dependabot/Renovate PRs
• Solo maintainer needs auto-approve for their own PRs
• Branch protection, rulesets, or enforce_admins audit
• GitHub Actions workflow problems, CI failures, or permission issues
• Signed commit merge failures (rebase cannot be auto-signed)
• CodeQL default setup conflicts with custom workflows
• OpenSSF Scorecard improvements (token permissions, pinned deps)
• Setting up CODEOWNERS, issue templates, PR templates, or release labeling
• Fork PR merge base issues (too many commits shown)

Quick Diagnostics

PR Won't Merge

gh api graphql -f query='query($owner:String!,$repo:String!,$pr:Int!){
  repository(owner:$owner,name:$repo){pullRequest(number:$pr){
    mergeStateStatus reviewDecision mergeable
    reviewThreads(first:50){nodes{isResolved comments(first:1){nodes{body}}}}
  }}
}' -f owner=OWNER -f repo=REPO -F pr=NUMBER --jq '.data.repository.pullRequest'

Solo Maintainer: PRs Stuck on REVIEW_REQUIRED

Use assets/pr-quality.yml.template for auto-approve with required_approving_review_count >= 1. See references/auto-merge-guide.md.

Auto-merge Setup

Requirements: allow_auto_merge on repo, pull_request_target trigger (not pull_request), check user.login (not github.actor), gh pr merge --auto with dynamic strategy. See references/auto-merge-guide.md.

Auto-merge Not Working

gh api graphql -f query='query{repository(owner:"OWNER",name:"REPO"){
  pullRequest(number:PR){autoMergeRequest{enabledBy{login}}}
}}' --jq '.data.repository.pullRequest.autoMergeRequest'

gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/branches/main/protection/required_pull_request_reviews \
  --jq '.bypass_pull_request_allowances.apps[].slug'

GitHub Actions Failing

gh run list --repo OWNER/REPO --limit 5
gh run view RUN_ID --repo OWNER/REPO --log-failed
gh run rerun RUN_ID --repo OWNER/REPO

Security & Compliance Quick Checks

gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/branches/main/protection --jq '.enforce_admins.enabled'
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/code-scanning/default-setup --jq '.state'
gh api graphql -f query='query($owner:String!,$repo:String!,$pr:Int!){
  repository(owner:$owner,name:$repo){pullRequest(number:$pr){
    reviewThreads(first:50){nodes{id isResolved}}
  }}
}' -f owner=OWNER -f repo=REPO -F pr=NUMBER

Merge Strategy Issues

Rebase merge fails with signed commits: enable squash or auto-detect strategy. Workflow file PRs need manual merge (GITHUB_TOKEN lacks workflows scope). Copilot reviewer race conditions: re-run auto-approve workflow. See references/auto-merge-guide.md.

Running Scripts

scripts/verify-github-project.sh /path/to/repository

References

Topic	Reference
Repository file layout and conventions	references/repository-structure.md
Branch migration (master to main)	references/branch-migration.md
Dependabot/Renovate configuration	references/dependency-management.md
Auto-approve + auto-merge (solo maintainer, bots)	references/auto-merge-guide.md
Merge strategy for signed commits	references/merge-strategy.md
Sub-issues and issue hierarchy	references/sub-issues.md
Release labeling automation	references/release-labeling.md
gh CLI commands	references/gh-cli-reference.md
Go, TYPO3, polyglot CI checklists	references/repo-setup-guide.md
OpenSSF Scorecard, CodeQL, security	references/security-config.md
Workflow linting (actionlint)	references/actionlint-guide.md
PR shows too many commits (fork merge base)	references/pr-commit-cleanup.md

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Contributing: https://github.com/netresearch/github-project-skill