Github CI

GitHub CI / Actions Skill

The gh CLI is installed and authenticated against github.com. All commands accept -R OWNER/REPO to target a specific repository. When working inside a git repo, -R can be omitted and gh infers the remote automatically.

Pull Requests: For creating, editing, or reviewing PRs, load the github skill instead.

Extracting Repo and Run ID from a GitHub Actions URL

When the user pastes an Actions URL, extract the repo and run ID from it:

RUN_URL="https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/actions/runs/RUN_ID"
RUN_ID="${RUN_URL##*/}"
REPO=$(echo "$RUN_URL" | sed 's|https://github.com/||;s|/actions/.*||')
# RUN_ID=<run-id>  REPO=OWNER/REPO

List Runs

# Last 10 runs (all workflows)
gh run list -R OWNER/REPO --limit 10

# Filter by workflow name or branch
gh run list -R OWNER/REPO --workflow "CI" --limit 10
gh run list -R OWNER/REPO --branch main --limit 5

# Only failed runs
gh run list -R OWNER/REPO --status failure --limit 5

# JSON output
gh run list -R OWNER/REPO --limit 5 \
  --json databaseId,name,status,conclusion,headBranch,createdAt \
  --jq '.[]'

View a Run

# Summary with job list
gh run view 22520098533 -R OWNER/REPO

# With detailed step breakdown
gh run view 22520098533 -R OWNER/REPO --verbose

# Structured JSON summary — what failed?
gh run view 22520098533 -R OWNER/REPO \
  --json conclusion,name,jobs \
  --jq '{
    name,
    conclusion,
    failed_jobs: [.jobs[] | select(.conclusion == "failure") | {
      name,
      failed_steps: [.steps[] | select(.conclusion == "failure") | .name]
    }]
  }'

# Get job IDs (needed to fetch logs per job)
gh run view 22520098533 -R OWNER/REPO \
  --json jobs \
  --jq '[.jobs[] | {name, databaseId, conclusion}]'

Read CI Logs

# Logs for failed steps only (fastest way to see what broke)
gh run view 22520098533 -R OWNER/REPO --log-failed

# Full log for a specific job (use job databaseId from the view above)
gh run view --job 65243538037 -R OWNER/REPO --log

# Full log for the entire run (can be large)
gh run view 22520098533 -R OWNER/REPO --log

Tip: --log-failed returns nothing if the run succeeded. Always check the conclusion first with --json conclusion --jq '.conclusion' before deciding whether to use --log-failed or --log.

Rerun Failed Jobs

# Rerun only the failed jobs (not the whole run)
gh run rerun 22520098533 -R OWNER/REPO --failed

# Rerun the entire run
gh run rerun 22520098533 -R OWNER/REPO

Workflow for Diagnosing a Failing CI Run

Given a URL like https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/actions/runs/RUN_ID:

# 1. Extract repo and run ID
RUN_URL="https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/actions/runs/RUN_ID"
RUN_ID="${RUN_URL##*/}"
REPO=$(echo "$RUN_URL" | sed 's|https://github.com/||;s|/actions/.*||')

# 2. Get a structured summary
gh run view "$RUN_ID" -R "$REPO" \
  --json conclusion,name,jobs \
  --jq '{
    name, conclusion,
    failed_jobs: [.jobs[] | select(.conclusion == "failure") | {
      name,
      failed_steps: [.steps[] | select(.conclusion == "failure") | .name]
    }]
  }'

# 3. Read only the failing log lines
gh run view "$RUN_ID" -R "$REPO" --log-failed

# 4. If you need the full log for a specific job
JOB_ID=$(gh run view "$RUN_ID" -R "$REPO" \
  --json jobs \
  --jq '[.jobs[] | select(.conclusion == "failure") | .databaseId][0]')
gh run view --job "$JOB_ID" -R "$REPO" --log

Error Handling