AI SKILL github

GitHub

Task-organized, faithful guidance for working with GitHub: repositories and branch protection, pull requests, issues and Projects, GitHub Actions, and the gh CLI (with more areas added in later batches). Content is original; identifiers (commands, flags, workflow YAML keys, API fields) are preserved exactly. Core git mechanics live in the separate git skill.

When to use this skill

Reach for this skill whenever a task touches GitHub-the-platform: repos/branch protection, pull requests, issues/Projects, GitHub Actions workflow authoring, or the gh CLI — including when the user opens a file under .github/ (a workflow, CODEOWNERS, an issue template) or pastes a GitHub Actions error, without naming "GitHub".

How to use it (runtime workflow)

1. Read this file, then consult the task router below (or references/topics.json).
2. Open only the one or two reference files relevant to the task — do not read everything.
3. Answer strictly from the reference; preserve command/flag/YAML-key/API-field names exactly.
4. If something is not covered, say so and mark it TODO — never invent a flag, field, or key.
5. For core git operations (commit/branch/push/rebase mechanics), use the git skill instead.

Task router

If the task is about…	Read
creating/cloning repos, visibility, branch protection rules, rulesets	references/repositories.md
opening/reviewing/merging PRs, merge vs squash vs rebase, CODEOWNERS, draft PRs	references/pull-requests.md
issues, labels, milestones, issue templates/forms, Projects (v2)	references/issues-and-projects.md
workflow file structure (on, jobs, runs-on, steps, uses, with, permissions, matrix)	references/actions-workflow-syntax.md
triggers/events, contexts (github, runner, needs, matrix), ${{ }} expressions	references/actions-events-and-contexts.md
runners, GITHUB_TOKEN/permissions, caching, artifacts, reusable workflows	references/actions-runners-and-features.md
the gh CLI (auth, repo, pr, issue, run, workflow, release, gh api)	references/gh-cli.md
REST API: base URL, auth, X-GitHub-Api-Version, pagination, rate limits	references/rest-api.md
GraphQL API: endpoint, query/mutation, cursor pagination	references/graphql-api.md
GitHub Apps vs OAuth apps, app auth (JWT/installation tokens), webhooks + signature validation	references/apps-and-webhooks.md
tokens (PAT fine-grained/classic), SSH keys, Dependabot, code scanning (CodeQL), secret scanning	references/authentication-and-security.md
keeping your commit email private (noreply addresses, the GH007 blocked push, git config user.email)	references/commit-email-privacy.md
GitHub Pages: site URLs, branch vs Actions publishing, custom domains/HTTPS	references/pages.md
GitHub Packages, the ghcr.io Container registry, package auth/visibility	references/packages.md
Codespaces and devcontainer.json configuration, prebuilds	references/codespaces.md
organization roles, repository roles (Read/Triage/Write/Maintain/Admin), teams, audit log	references/organizations-and-admin.md

Gotchas

Recurring failure modes and what to do instead live in the sibling GOTCHA.md.

Verification notes

Validate the package structure (the validator ships with the skill-drafting skill; paths use the DEVROOT env var — adjust to your layout):

python "$env:DEVROOT\SKILLS\skills\skill-drafting\scripts\validate_skill_package.py" "$env:DEVROOT\SKILLS\skills\github"

Built and checked with the three-layer method (Spec → Verifier → Environment). Ground-truth checks live in AI/work/verify_github.py: every reference is listed in references/INDEX.md, has exactly one references/topics.json entry, resolves its cross-links, and contains a summary, a "When this applies" line, an example, and a do/don't or anti-patterns section. The verifier also greps a preserve-glossary of load-bearing identifiers (commands, flags, workflow keys, API fields) against the shipped references and enforces that no source branding/attribution leaks into the original content.

Reference map

Start at references/INDEX.md. Metadata: references/topics.json (topic → file + keywords). Coverage is comprehensive across 16 references: repos, pull requests, issues/Projects, GitHub Actions, the gh CLI, REST and GraphQL APIs, Apps & webhooks, authentication & security, commit email privacy, Pages, Packages, Codespaces, and organizations & administration.

Official documentation

Includes original content written for this skill. The official documentation is at https://docs.github.com/en — consult it to verify anything uncertain, conflicting, or version-specific.