GitHub Integration Skill

Complete integration with GitHub for repository management, issue tracking, pull requests, releases, and automation via GitHub API and CLI.

Overview

The GitHub Integration Skill provides:

• Repository Management: Create, update, configure repositories
• Topics & Metadata: Add/update topics, description, website
• Issue Tracking: Create, update, query, label issues
• Pull Requests: Create, review, merge PRs
• Releases: Create releases, upload assets, manage tags
• Actions & Workflows: Trigger workflows, check runs
• User/Org Management: Teams, permissions, collaborators
• GitHub CLI: Direct gh command integration

When to Use This Skill

Activate this skill when the user needs to:

• Update repository topics/tags/description
• Create or manage GitHub repositories
• Work with issues and pull requests
• Create releases and tags
• Manage repository settings
• Trigger GitHub Actions workflows
• Manage collaborators and permissions
• Query GitHub data via API

Capabilities

Repository Management

• Create Repository: Initialize new repos (public/private)
• Update Settings: Description, website, topics, visibility
• Topics/Tags: Add, remove, replace repository topics
• Branch Protection: Configure branch rules
• Webhooks: Configure repository webhooks
• Secrets: Manage repository secrets (Actions)
• Collaborators: Add, remove, manage permissions
• Transfer: Transfer ownership
• Archive/Delete: Archive or delete repositories

Topics & Metadata Management

• Add Topics: Add tags to repository for discoverability
• Remove Topics: Remove outdated or incorrect tags
• Update Description: Set repository description
• Set Homepage: Configure repository website URL
• Update README: Generate or update README.md
• Social Preview: Update social media preview image

Issue Management

• Create Issues: Create with templates, labels, assignees
• Update Issues: Edit title, body, labels, assignees
• Query Issues: Search with filters and queries
• Labels: Create, update, delete labels
• Milestones: Create and manage milestones
• Comments: Add, edit, delete comments
• Close/Reopen: Change issue state
• Lock/Unlock: Lock conversations

Pull Request Operations

• Create PR: From branch or fork
• Review PR: Add review comments, approve/reject
• Merge PR: Merge, squash, or rebase
• Request Reviews: Assign reviewers
• Check Status: CI/CD status, conflicts
• Draft PRs: Create draft pull requests
• Auto-merge: Enable auto-merge when checks pass

Release Management

• Create Release: Tag and create release
• Upload Assets: Attach binaries, archives
• Pre-release: Mark as pre-release or draft
• Release Notes: Auto-generate from commits
• Edit Release: Update release info
• Delete Release: Remove releases

GitHub Actions

• Trigger Workflows: Manually trigger workflows
• Check Runs: View workflow run status
• Download Artifacts: Get workflow artifacts
• Secrets Management: Add/update Actions secrets
• View Logs: Check workflow logs

GitHub CLI Integration

This skill uses gh (GitHub CLI) for most operations:

Repository Commands

• gh repo create - Create repository
• gh repo edit - Update repository settings
• gh repo view - View repository details
• gh repo clone - Clone repository
• gh repo fork - Fork repository

Issue Commands

• gh issue create - Create issue
• gh issue list - List issues
• gh issue view - View issue details
• gh issue edit - Update issue
• gh issue close - Close issue

PR Commands

• gh pr create - Create pull request
• gh pr list - List pull requests
• gh pr view - View PR details
• gh pr review - Review PR
• gh pr merge - Merge PR
• gh pr checks - Check PR status

Release Commands

• gh release create - Create release
• gh release list - List releases
• gh release view - View release
• gh release upload - Upload assets
• gh release delete - Delete release

Usage Examples

Example 1: Update Repository Topics

User: "Add topics claude-code, cursor, ai-assistant to my repo"

Workflow:
1. Identify current repository (from git remote or ask)
2. Get current topics: gh repo view --json repositoryTopics
3. Add new topics: gh repo edit --add-topic claude-code --add-topic cursor --add-topic ai-assistant
4. Verify topics added
5. Return success with updated topics list

Example 2: Update Repository Description & Homepage

User: "Update repo description and add homepage URL"

Workflow:
1. Get repository info
2. Ask user for new description
3. Ask user for homepage URL
4. Update: gh repo edit --description "New description" --homepage "https://example.com"
5. Verify changes
6. Return success

Example 3: Create GitHub Issue

User: "Create bug issue for login failure"

Workflow:
1. Use issue template if available
2. Gather details:
   - Title: "Login fails on mobile"
   - Body: User description
   - Labels: bug, high-priority
   - Assignee: Optional
3. Create: gh issue create --title "..." --body "..." --label bug
4. Return issue URL

Example 4: Create Pull Request

User: "Create PR from feature/login to main"

Workflow:
1. Verify current branch or checkout branch
2. Push branch to remote if needed
3. Generate PR description from commits
4. Create: gh pr create --base main --head feature/login --title "Add login feature" --body "..."
5. Assign reviewers if specified
6. Return PR URL

Example 5: Create Release

User: "Create v1.0.0 release with changelog"

Workflow:
1. Verify tag doesn't exist
2. Generate release notes from commits
3. Create: gh release create v1.0.0 --title "Version 1.0.0" --notes "Changelog..."
4. Upload assets if provided
5. Return release URL

Example 6: Set Multiple Repository Topics

User: "Tag this repo with Claude Code, Cursor, AI tools"

Workflow:
1. Parse desired topics (normalize: claude-code, cursor, ai-tools)
2. Get current topics
3. Merge with new topics (avoid duplicates)
4. Set all topics: gh repo edit --add-topic claude-code,cursor,ai-tools
5. Return complete topic list

Example 7: Check PR Status

User: "What's the status of PR #42?"

Workflow:
1. Get PR details: gh pr view 42
2. Check CI/CD status: gh pr checks 42
3. Check reviews
4. Check merge conflicts
5. Format and return status report

Example 8: Trigger GitHub Actions Workflow

User: "Run the deploy workflow"

Workflow:
1. List workflows: gh workflow list
2. Find deploy workflow
3. Trigger: gh workflow run deploy.yml
4. Get run ID
5. Monitor progress
6. Return run status and URL

Configuration

Automatic GitHub CLI Setup

IMPORTANT: This skill requires GitHub CLI (gh). The skill will automatically:

1. Check if gh is installed
2. If not installed, provide platform-specific installation instructions
3. Guide user through authentication if needed

GitHub CLI Installation

Automatic Check: Before any GitHub operation, the skill will verify gh is installed:

gh --version

If not installed, provide instructions based on platform:

Windows:

winget install GitHub.cli

macOS:

brew install gh

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):

sudo apt install gh

Linux (Fedora/RHEL):

sudo dnf install gh

Linux (Arch):

sudo pacman -S github-cli

Authentication Setup

After installation, authenticate with GitHub:

gh auth login

# Set default repository (optional)
gh repo set-default owner/repo

Environment Variables

# GitHub token (optional, gh auth is preferred)
GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_your_token_here

# Default repository
GITHUB_REPO=owner/repo

Git Configuration

# Ensure git is configured
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"

Repository Topics Guidelines

Best Practices for Topics

Topic Format:

• Lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens
• Max 50 characters per topic
• Max 20 topics per repository
• Use hyphens not spaces: claude-code not claude code

Recommended Topics for AI/IDE Projects:

# Primary
claude-code, cursor, anthropic, ai-assistant

# Project Type
project-template, boilerplate, starter-kit

# Technologies
mcp, mcp-server, python, nodejs

# Features
task-management, automation, web-scraping

# Integrations
jira, confluence, github, atlassian

Topic Categories:

1. Platform/IDE: claude-code, cursor, vscode, windsurf
2. AI/ML: anthropic, openai, llm, ai-tools
3. Language: python, javascript, typescript
4. Framework: react, nodejs, playwright
5. Purpose: automation, integration, productivity
6. Domain: devtools, enterprise, productivity

Best Practices

Repository Management

1. Clear Description: Write descriptive, searchable descriptions
2. Relevant Topics: Add 5-15 relevant topics
3. Homepage URL: Link to documentation or project site
4. README: Keep README.md updated
5. License: Always include LICENSE file
6. Contributing: Add CONTRIBUTING.md for contributors

Issue Management

1. Templates: Use issue templates for consistency
2. Labels: Create clear, consistent labels
3. Assignees: Assign issues to responsible parties
4. Milestones: Group issues by milestone
5. Projects: Use GitHub Projects for planning

Pull Requests

1. Descriptive Titles: Clear, concise PR titles
2. Detailed Descriptions: Explain what and why
3. Link Issues: Reference related issues
4. Request Reviews: Assign appropriate reviewers
5. CI/CD: Ensure checks pass before merging

Releases

1. Semantic Versioning: Use semver (v1.2.3)
2. Changelog: Include detailed changelog
3. Assets: Attach relevant binaries/archives
4. Pre-releases: Mark beta/alpha as pre-release
5. Release Notes: Auto-generate from commits

Troubleshooting

Authentication Issues

Problem: gh not authenticated

gh auth status
# If not authenticated:
gh auth login

Problem: Insufficient permissions

• Check token scopes (repo, workflow, etc.)
• Regenerate token with required scopes
• Re-authenticate: gh auth login

Repository Issues

Problem: Can't find repository

• Check repository name/owner
• Verify access permissions
• Use full name: owner/repo

Problem: Topics not updating

• Check topic format (lowercase, hyphens)
• Verify max 20 topics limit
• Check repository permissions

PR/Issue Issues

Problem: Can't create PR

• Ensure branch is pushed to remote
• Check base and head branches exist
• Verify no existing PR for branch

Problem: CI checks failing

• View logs: gh pr checks <number>
• Check GitHub Actions tab
• Fix issues and push new commits

Security Considerations

Token Management

• ✅ Use gh auth instead of tokens when possible
• ✅ Store tokens in environment variables
• ✅ Use minimum required scopes
• ✅ Rotate tokens regularly
• ❌ Never commit tokens to repository

Repository Secrets

• ✅ Use for sensitive data in Actions
• ✅ Never expose in logs
• ✅ Rotate regularly
• ✅ Use environment secrets for sensitive workflows

Permissions

• ✅ Grant minimum required access
• ✅ Use teams for group permissions
• ✅ Review collaborators periodically
• ✅ Enable branch protection for important branches

Advanced Features

Batch Operations

# Add multiple topics at once
gh repo edit --add-topic topic1,topic2,topic3

# Close multiple issues
gh issue list --state open | xargs -I {} gh issue close {}

# Bulk label issues
gh issue list --label needs-triage | xargs -I {} gh issue edit {} --add-label triaged

Automation with GitHub Actions

# Example: Auto-update topics on push
name: Update Topics
on:
  push:
    paths:
      - '.github/topics.txt'
jobs:
  update-topics:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - name: Update Topics
        run: |
          topics=$(cat .github/topics.txt | tr '\n' ',')
          gh repo edit --add-topic $topics
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

API Integration

# Example: Update repository via API
import requests

def update_repo_topics(owner, repo, topics):
    url = f"https://api.github.com/repos/{owner}/{repo}/topics"
    headers = {
        "Authorization": f"token {token}",
        "Accept": "application/vnd.github.mercy-preview+json"
    }
    data = {"names": topics}
    response = requests.put(url, headers=headers, json=data)
    return response.json()

Reference Materials

For detailed implementation information, see:

• reference/github_cli_guide.md - GitHub CLI commands
• reference/github_api_guide.md - GitHub API usage
• reference/topics_guide.md - Repository topics best practices
• examples/repo_workflows.md - Common workflows

Related Skills

• atlassian-integration: Similar workflow for Jira/Confluence
• web-tools: For scraping GitHub pages
• fstrent-task-management: Sync GitHub issues with local tasks

Note: Ensure you have proper permissions before performing repository operations. Always follow your organization's policies for repository management.