GitHub Skill

This skill describes how to interact with GitHub and request the permissions to perform actions that are not authorized by default in the agent environment. This skill is authoritative for the usage of the gh CLI and git command.

By default, the agent is restricted to performing only a subset of actions on GitHub.

How to Interact with GitHub

To perform actions on GitHub:

• Use the gh CLI. Always set the -R ORG/REPO argument.
• Do not use other commmands like curl.
• Do not write scripts to interact with the GitHub API servers directly.

To perform branch operations (e.g., push):

• Use the git command.

Asking for Permissions

Permission Format

The permission format is as follows:

<command-binary>.<action>(<resource_json>)

resource_json has the following fields:

• org: Mandatory GitHub organization. Use '*' to indicate all organizations.
• repo: Mandatory GitHub repository. Use '*' to indicate all repositories.
• pr: Optional pull request number. Use '*' to indicate all pull requests. Supported actions:
  • read: to view PR details, and to run gh search prs.
  • create
  • update: to comment, review, edit, close, reopen, etc.
  • approve
  • merge
• issue: Optional issue number. Use '*' to indicate all issues. Supported actions:
  • read
  • create
  • update: to comment, review, edit, close, reopen, etc.
• branch: Mandatory branch name. Use '*' to indicate all branches. Supported actions:
  • read: to clone, pull, fetch, checkout, and to run gh search commits. Always set branch to * for read.
  • create: to push a new branch.
  • update: to push to an existing remote branch (including force-push).
  • delete: to delete a remote branch.

Other operations are not supported and the corresponding permission will not be granted. If you need support, stop immediately and tell the user you cannot proceed and why.

Examples

Example 1: Creating an Issue

Command: gh issue create --title "Bug report" --body "Description" -R myorg/myrepo Permission: gh.create({"org": "myorg", "repo": "myrepo", "issue": "*"})

Note: keep the permission lean and don't populate empty fields

Example 2: Commenting on a PR

Command: gh pr comment 123 --body "Looks good" -R myorg/myrepo Permission: gh.update({"org": "myorg", "repo": "myrepo", "pr": "123"})

Note: keep the permission lean and don't populate empty fields

Example 3: Closing an Issue

Command: gh issue close 123 --comment "closing issue" -R myorg/myrepo Permission: gh.update({"org": "myorg", "repo": "myrepo", "issue": "123"})

Note: keep the permission lean and don't populate empty fields

Example 4: Approving a PR

Command: gh pr review 123 --approve --body "Looks good" -R myorg/myrepo Permission: gh.approve({"org": "myorg", "repo": "myrepo", "pr": "123"})

Note: keep the permission lean and don't populate empty fields

Example 5: Pushing to an Existing Branch

Command: git push origin feature/my-feature (branch already exists on the remote) Permission: git.update({"org": "myorg", "repo": "myrepo", "branch": "feature/my-feature"})

Note: use update for a force-push too; use create (below) when the branch does not yet exist on the remote.

Example 6: Creating a New Branch

Command: git push origin feature/my-feature (first push of a branch that does not exist on the remote) Permission: git.create({"org": "myorg", "repo": "myrepo", "branch": "feature/my-feature"})

Example 7: Fetching all branches

Command: git fetch --all Permission: git.read({"org": "myorg", "repo": "myrepo", "branch": "*"})

_Note: read cannot be scoped to a single branch; branch must be _.*

Example 8: Cloning a Repository

Command: git clone https://github.com/myorg/myrepo.git Permission: git.read({"org": "myorg", "repo": "myrepo", "branch": "*"})

Example 9: Deleting a Branch

Command: git push origin --delete feature/my-feature Permission: git.delete({"org": "myorg", "repo": "myrepo", "branch": "feature/my-feature"})

Note: keep the permission lean and don't populate empty fields

Example 10: Searching Pull Requests

Command: gh search prs -R myorg/myrepo --author alice Permission: gh.read({"org": "myorg", "repo": "myrepo", "pr": "*"})

_Note: for an organization-wide search, use --owner myorg in the command; the grant then uses repo: "_".*

Example 11: Searching Commits

Command: gh search commits -R myorg/myrepo --author alice Permission: git.read({"org": "myorg", "repo": "myrepo", "branch": "*"})

Note: commit search reuses the git read permission, so request a git._grant, not agh._ grant.

How and When to Ask for Permissions

You should only ask for permissions if the command failed. Each time you ask for a permission, it will prompt the user. Be mindful to only ask when you know the command fails to provide a good user experience.

When you have determined that you need permisison:

1. Constuct the permission string <permission-string> as per previous section.
2. Call the tool ask_permission:

• Set Action="custom", Target=<permission-string>
• Do not set BypassSandbox.

3. Run the original command that was denied.

Never try to pipe or redirect output of the gh command, it will not work in your environment