# Managing Forgejo

> Use when working with Forgejo — forgejo self-hosted Git forge management covering repository inventory, organization structure, user administration, webhook monitoring, Actions runner status, and federation configuration. Use when auditing repository settings, investigating CI/CD issues, monitoring instance health, or reviewing access controls on Forgejo instances.

- Skill: `cloudthinker-ai/managing-forgejo` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add cloudthinker-ai/managing-forgejo`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/cloudthinker-ai/managing-forgejo/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector CAUTION)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: DevOps & Infra
- Author: cloudthinker-ai (https://skillmd.com/u/cloudthinker-ai)
- Updated: 2026-09-08
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/cloudthinker-ai/managing-forgejo

---


# Forgejo Management Skill

Manage and monitor Forgejo repositories, organizations, users, Actions runners, and webhooks.

## MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern

**Always list organizations and repositories before querying specific resources.**

### Phase 1: Discovery

```bash
#!/bin/bash

FORGEJO_API="${FORGEJO_URL}/api/v1"

forgejo_api() {
    curl -s -H "Authorization: token $FORGEJO_TOKEN" \
         -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
         "${FORGEJO_API}/${1}"
}

echo "=== Forgejo Version ==="
forgejo_api "version" | jq '.version'

echo ""
echo "=== Organizations ==="
forgejo_api "orgs?limit=20" | jq -r '
    .[] |
    "\(.username)\t\(.full_name // "")\t\(.visibility)"
' | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== Repositories ==="
forgejo_api "repos/search?limit=30&sort=updated&order=desc" | jq -r '
    .data[] |
    "\(.full_name)\t\(.default_branch)\t\(.private)\t\(.updated_at[:10])\t\(.fork)"
' | column -t | head -30

echo ""
echo "=== Users ==="
forgejo_api "admin/users?limit=30" 2>/dev/null | jq -r '
    .[]? |
    "\(.login)\t\(.email)\t\(.is_admin)\t\(.active)\t\(.last_login[:10])"
' | column -t | head -20
```

### Phase 2: Analysis

```bash
#!/bin/bash

echo "=== Actions Runners ==="
forgejo_api "admin/runners" 2>/dev/null | jq -r '
    .[]? |
    "\(.id)\t\(.name)\t\(.status)\t\(.labels | join(","))"
' | column -t | head -15

echo ""
echo "=== Branch Protection ==="
forgejo_api "repos/search?limit=10&sort=updated&order=desc" | jq -r '.data[].full_name' | while read repo; do
    forgejo_api "repos/${repo}/branch_protections" | jq -r --arg repo "$repo" '
        .[]? |
        "\($repo)\t\(.branch_name)\tapprovals=\(.required_approvals)\tpush=\(.enable_push_whitelist)"
    '
done | column -t | head -15

echo ""
echo "=== Webhooks ==="
forgejo_api "repos/search?limit=10&sort=updated&order=desc" | jq -r '.data[].full_name' | while read repo; do
    forgejo_api "repos/${repo}/hooks" | jq -r --arg repo "$repo" '
        .[]? |
        "\($repo)\t\(.type)\t\(.active)\t\(.config.url[:40])"
    '
done | column -t | head -15

echo ""
echo "=== Open Issues & PRs ==="
forgejo_api "repos/search?limit=10&sort=updated&order=desc" | jq -r '.data[] |
    "\(.full_name)\tissues=\(.open_issues_count)\tprs=\(.open_pr_counter)"
' | column -t | head -15

echo ""
echo "=== Federation Status ==="
forgejo_api "nodeinfo" 2>/dev/null | jq '{
    software: .software,
    total_users: .usage.users.total,
    active_users: .usage.users.activeMonth,
    local_posts: .usage.localPosts
}' 2>/dev/null || echo "Federation not enabled"
```

## Output Rules
- **TOKEN EFFICIENCY**: Target <=50 lines per output
- Use limit and sort parameters
- Never dump full repository contents -- extract metadata and status

## Output Format

Present results as a structured report:
```
Managing Forgejo Report
═══════════════════════
Resources discovered: [count]

Resource       Status    Key Metric    Issues
──────────────────────────────────────────────
[name]         [ok/warn] [value]       [findings]

Summary: [total] resources | [ok] healthy | [warn] warnings | [crit] critical
Action Items: [list of prioritized findings]
```

Target ≤50 lines of output. Use tables for multi-resource comparisons.

## Anti-Hallucination Rules

1. **NEVER assume resource names** — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
2. **NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions** — verify against the service documentation or `--help` output.
3. **NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions** — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
4. **ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain** — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
5. **ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully** — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.

## Counter-Rationalizations

| Shortcut | Counter | Why |
|----------|---------|-----|
| "I'll skip discovery and check known resources" | Always run Phase 1 discovery first | Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors |
| "The user only asked for a quick check" | Follow the full discovery → analysis flow | Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures |
| "Default configuration is probably fine" | Audit configuration explicitly | Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled |
| "Metrics aren't needed for this" | Always check relevant metrics when available | API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues |
| "I don't have access to that" | Try the command and report the actual error | Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative |

## Common Pitfalls

- **Gitea compatibility**: Forgejo API is Gitea-compatible but may diverge -- check version-specific docs
- **Actions runners**: Forgejo Actions requires registered runners -- check runner availability
- **Federation**: ActivityPub federation is experimental -- not all instances enable it
- **Admin endpoints**: Admin API requires admin-level tokens
- **Mirror sync**: Mirrored repositories sync on intervals -- check sync timestamps
- **Storage backends**: Forgejo supports multiple storage backends -- check config for S3/minio
- **Package registry**: Built-in package registry shares storage with repository data