GitHub Automation

This Skill helps you manage GitHub operations using the gh CLI, including repositories, issues, pull requests, releases, and GitHub Actions workflows.

Capabilities

• Repositories: Create, clone, fork, view, and manage repos
• Issues: Create, list, view, close, comment, and label issues
• Pull Requests: Create, review, merge, list, and comment on PRs
• Releases: Create releases and manage tags
• Workflows: View and manage GitHub Actions
• Gists: Create and manage gists
• Search: Search repos, issues, PRs, code, and users

Authentication

The GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable is pre-configured. Verify with:

gh auth status

Instructions

Phase 1: Understand the Request

1. Clarify what GitHub operation the user needs
2. Identify the target repository (if not specified, ask)
3. Confirm any destructive operations before executing

Phase 2: Execute the Operation

Use gh CLI commands. Common patterns:

Repository Operations

gh repo view [owner/repo]
gh repo clone [owner/repo]
gh repo create [name] --public/--private
gh repo list [owner]

Issue Operations

gh issue list --repo [owner/repo]
gh issue create --repo [owner/repo] --title "Title" --body "Body"
gh issue view [number] --repo [owner/repo]
gh issue close [number] --repo [owner/repo]
gh issue comment [number] --repo [owner/repo] --body "Comment"

Pull Request Operations

gh pr list --repo [owner/repo]
gh pr create --repo [owner/repo] --title "Title" --body "Body"
gh pr view [number] --repo [owner/repo]
gh pr merge [number] --repo [owner/repo]
gh pr review [number] --repo [owner/repo] --approve/--comment/--request-changes
gh pr checks [number] --repo [owner/repo]

Search Operations

gh search repos [query]
gh search issues [query]
gh search prs [query]
gh search code [query]

GitHub Actions

gh run list --repo [owner/repo]
gh run view [run-id] --repo [owner/repo]
gh workflow list --repo [owner/repo]

Releases

gh release list --repo [owner/repo]
gh release create [tag] --repo [owner/repo] --title "Title" --notes "Notes"

Guidelines

• Always specify --repo owner/repo when not in a cloned repository
• For destructive operations (delete, close, merge), confirm with user first
• Use --json flag when you need to parse output programmatically
• Handle errors gracefully and suggest fixes
• When creating issues/PRs, use clear titles and descriptive bodies

Phase 3: Report Results

• Summarize what was done
• Provide relevant links (PR URLs, issue numbers, etc.)
• Suggest next steps if applicable

Output Format

When listing items, format clearly:

#123 - Issue title (open/closed) - @author
#456 - PR title (open/merged/closed) - @author

When creating items, always report:

• The created item's number/ID
• Direct URL to the item
• Any relevant status information

Examples

Create an issue:

gh issue create --repo owner/repo --title "Bug: Login fails" --body "Steps to reproduce..."

List open PRs awaiting review:

gh pr list --repo owner/repo --state open --search "review:required"

Get PR details as JSON:

gh pr view 123 --repo owner/repo --json title,state,reviews,checks

Prerequisites

This Skill requires the GitHub CLI (gh) to be installed and authenticated:

gh auth status

If not authenticated, run:

gh auth login

Alternatively, set the GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable with a personal access token.