better-github-skill
Raw gh first when you know the command; the scripts replace only the flows
agents repeatedly get wrong. Scripts run TS directly (node ≥ 23.6), no deps.
Scripts
| script |
use for |
scripts/pr-snapshot.ts [pr] [-R o/r] |
full PR state in one call: meta, mergeability, checks, files, reviews, comments, thread counts. Use instead of hand-assembling pr view --json field sets or chaining view/checks/comments calls. |
scripts/pr-threads.ts [pr] [-R o/r] [--all] [--author X] [--since ISO] |
the full review conversation: review bodies, issue comments, and unresolved inline threads (resolution state porcelain gh cannot get). Resolved/outdated threads are hidden by default, counted in the header; --all includes them. Read-only: never reply to or resolve threads unless explicitly told to. |
scripts/ci-failures.ts [run-id] [--pr N] [--list] [-R o/r] |
failing checks → failing jobs/steps → log snippet each; full logs saved to files (paths printed); rg those instead of re-fetching. --list [--workflow W] [-L n] shows recent runs with conclusions; use it to find the failing run id instead of gh run list --json field sets. |
Rule of thumb: pr-snapshot answers "what's the state of this PR", pr-threads
answers "what did reviewers write". Neither replaces the other.
All scripts: --json for structured output, --help for usage (includes the
--json shape). Omit the PR number to use the current branch's PR. Default
output is sized for context; pass --full only when a truncation marker
([…+N chars]) hides something you need. They exit 0 when the report
succeeds even if CI is red or threads are unresolved.
Gotchas (each one burned real sessions repeatedly)
- Never pipe gh into
head: SIGPIPE can kill gh mid-write (spurious nonzero
exit, shell-dependent) or silently truncate large output.
Redirect to a file and read that, or trim with --jq '.[0:20]'.
gh pr diff has no --stat and no positive pathspec (--name-only and
-e/--exclude globs exist in gh ≥ 2.95). Per-file stats:
gh api 'repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/N/files' --jq '.[]|[.filename,.additions,.deletions]|@tsv'
Full diff: gh pr diff N > "$TMPDIR/pr.diff" once, then rg/sed the file.gh pr checks exits 1 = failing, 8 = pending by design; append || true, read the table.- File at any ref, no base64 dance:
gh api 'repos/{owner}/{repo}/contents/PATH?ref=SHA' -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github.raw'
gh api fills {owner}/{repo} from the cwd repo (GH_REPO=o/r overrides).
Quote any api path containing ? (zsh globs it), or use -X GET -F per_page=100
(any -f/-F silently flips the request to POST without -X GET).--paginate on any list endpoint (/comments, /files, /reviews); --jq
already runs per page; don't add --slurp.- PR/comment bodies:
--body-file file.md or a quoted heredoc. Never inline
--body "..." containing backticks.
- Field cheat-sheet: CI status on a PR =
statusCheckRollup (pr view); steps
live under gh run view N --json jobs; gh search prs fields ≠ gh pr view fields.
- gh has no
-C; pass -R owner/repo to every command, or cd first.
- Branch rules live at
gh api 'repos/{owner}/{repo}/rulesets' on modern repos;
/branches/main/protection 404s unless classic protection is on AND you have
admin ("Branch not protected" or plain "Not Found" both mean check rulesets;
neither is a path error).
- Branch drift:
gh api 'repos/{owner}/{repo}/compare/BASE...HEAD' --jq '{ahead_by,behind_by}'
- jq beyond one line: write the program to a file and
jq -f prog.jq; inline
zsh quoting breaks.
- Don't sleep-poll runs or checks;
gh run watch ID and
gh pr checks N --watch --fail-fast exist; let the harness background them.
1---2name: better-github-skill3description: GitHub work via gh CLI: PRs, review conversations, CI failures, repo state. Use when inspecting a PR, reading a review (bodies, comments, inline threads), debugging CI (finding which run failed, why a check or Actions run is red, reading job logs), or composing non-trivial gh commands. Scripts cover what raw gh can't do (thread resolution state) or reliably fumbles (PR snapshots, CI log drilldown); use raw gh directly for everything else.4---56# better-github-skill78Raw `gh` first when you know the command; the scripts replace only the flows9agents repeatedly get wrong. Scripts run TS directly (node ≥ 23.6), no deps.1011## Scripts1213| script | use for |14|---|---|15| `scripts/pr-snapshot.ts [pr] [-R o/r]` | full PR state in one call: meta, mergeability, checks, files, reviews, comments, thread counts. Use instead of hand-assembling `pr view --json` field sets or chaining view/checks/comments calls. |16| `scripts/pr-threads.ts [pr] [-R o/r] [--all] [--author X] [--since ISO]` | the full review conversation: review bodies, issue comments, and unresolved inline threads (resolution state porcelain gh cannot get). Resolved/outdated threads are hidden by default, counted in the header; `--all` includes them. Read-only: never reply to or resolve threads unless explicitly told to. |17| `scripts/ci-failures.ts [run-id] [--pr N] [--list] [-R o/r]` | failing checks → failing jobs/steps → log snippet each; full logs saved to files (paths printed); rg those instead of re-fetching. `--list [--workflow W] [-L n]` shows recent runs with conclusions; use it to find the failing run id instead of `gh run list --json` field sets. |1819Rule of thumb: pr-snapshot answers "what's the state of this PR", pr-threads20answers "what did reviewers write". Neither replaces the other.2122All scripts: `--json` for structured output, `--help` for usage (includes the23`--json` shape). Omit the PR number to use the current branch's PR. Default24output is sized for context; pass `--full` only when a truncation marker25(`[…+N chars]`) hides something you need. They exit 0 when the report26succeeds even if CI is red or threads are unresolved.2728## Gotchas (each one burned real sessions repeatedly)2930- Never pipe gh into `head`: SIGPIPE can kill gh mid-write (spurious nonzero31 exit, shell-dependent) or silently truncate large output.32 Redirect to a file and read that, or trim with `--jq '.[0:20]'`.33- `gh pr diff` has no `--stat` and no positive pathspec (`--name-only` and34 `-e/--exclude` globs exist in gh ≥ 2.95). Per-file stats:35 `gh api 'repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/N/files' --jq '.[]|[.filename,.additions,.deletions]|@tsv'`36 Full diff: `gh pr diff N > "$TMPDIR/pr.diff"` once, then rg/sed the file.37- `gh pr checks` exits 1 = failing, 8 = pending by design; append `|| true`, read the table.38- File at any ref, no base64 dance:39 `gh api 'repos/{owner}/{repo}/contents/PATH?ref=SHA' -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github.raw'`40- `gh api` fills `{owner}/{repo}` from the cwd repo (`GH_REPO=o/r` overrides).41 Quote any api path containing `?` (zsh globs it), or use `-X GET -F per_page=100`42 (any `-f`/`-F` silently flips the request to POST without `-X GET`).43- `--paginate` on any list endpoint (`/comments`, `/files`, `/reviews`); `--jq`44 already runs per page; don't add `--slurp`.45- PR/comment bodies: `--body-file file.md` or a quoted heredoc. Never inline46 `--body "..."` containing backticks.47- Field cheat-sheet: CI status on a PR = `statusCheckRollup` (pr view); steps48 live under `gh run view N --json jobs`; `gh search prs` fields ≠ `gh pr view` fields.49- gh has no `-C`; pass `-R owner/repo` to every command, or cd first.50- Branch rules live at `gh api 'repos/{owner}/{repo}/rulesets'` on modern repos;51 `/branches/main/protection` 404s unless classic protection is on AND you have52 admin ("Branch not protected" or plain "Not Found" both mean check rulesets;53 neither is a path error).54- Branch drift: `gh api 'repos/{owner}/{repo}/compare/BASE...HEAD' --jq '{ahead_by,behind_by}'`55- jq beyond one line: write the program to a file and `jq -f prog.jq`; inline56 zsh quoting breaks.57- Don't sleep-poll runs or checks; `gh run watch ID` and58 `gh pr checks N --watch --fail-fast` exist; let the harness background them.
avgvstvs96