thedixitjain 🔧 GitHub Workflow Automation
Patterns for automating GitHub workflows with AI assistance, inspired by Gemini CLI and modern DevOps practices.
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when:
- Automating PR reviews with AI
- Setting up issue triage automation
- Creating GitHub Actions workflows
- Integrating AI into CI/CD pipelines
- Automating Git operations (rebases, cherry-picks)
1. Automated PR Review
1.1 PR Review Action
# .github/workflows/ai-review.yml
name: AI Code Review
on:
pull_request:
types: [opened, synchronize]
jobs:
review:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
permissions:
contents: read
pull-requests: write
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
fetch-depth: 0
- name: Get changed files
id: changed
run: |
files=$(git diff --name-only origin/${{ github.base_ref }}...HEAD)
echo "files<<EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
echo "$files" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
echo "EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
- name: Get diff
id: diff
run: |
diff=$(git diff origin/${{ github.base_ref }}...HEAD)
echo "diff<<EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
echo "$diff" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
echo "EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
- name: AI Review
uses: actions/github-script@v7
with:
script: |
const { Anthropic } = require('@anthropic-ai/sdk');
const client = new Anthropic({ apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY });
const response = await client.messages.create({
model: "claude-3-sonnet-20240229",
max_tokens: 4096,
messages: [{
role: "user",
content: `Review this PR diff and provide feedback:
Changed files: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.files }}
Diff:
${{ steps.diff.outputs.diff }}
Provide:
1. Summary of changes
2. Potential issues or bugs
3. Suggestions for improvement
4. Security concerns if any
Format as GitHub markdown.`
}]
});
await github.rest.pulls.createReview({
owner: context.repo.owner,
repo: context.repo.repo,
pull_number: context.issue.number,
body: response.content[0].text,
event: 'COMMENT'
});
env:
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
1.2 Review Comment Patterns
# AI Review Structure
## 📋 Summary
Brief description of what this PR does.
## ✅ What looks good
- Well-structured code
- Good test coverage
- Clear naming conventions
## ⚠️ Potential Issues
1. **Line 42**: Possible null pointer exception
```javascript
// Current
user.profile.name;
// Suggested
user?.profile?.name ?? "Unknown";
```
- Line 78: Consider error handling
// Add try-catch or .catch()
💡 Suggestions
- Consider extracting the validation logic into a separate function
- Add JSDoc comments for public methods
🔒 Security Notes
- No sensitive data exposure detected
- API key handling looks correct
### 1.3 Focused Reviews
```yaml
# Review only specific file types
- name: Filter code files
run: |
files=$(git diff --name-only origin/${{ github.base_ref }}...HEAD | \
grep -E '\.(ts|tsx|js|jsx|py|go)$' || true)
echo "code_files=$files" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
# Review with context
- name: AI Review with context
run: |
# Include relevant context files
context=""
for file in ${{ steps.changed.outputs.files }}; do
if [[ -f "$file" ]]; then
context+="=== $file ===\n$(cat $file)\n\n"
fi
done
# Send to AI with full file context
2. Issue Triage Automation
2.1 Auto-label Issues
# .github/workflows/issue-triage.yml
name: Issue Triage
on:
issues:
types: [opened]
jobs:
triage:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
permissions:
issues: write
steps:
- name: Analyze issue
uses: actions/github-script@v7
with:
script: |
const issue = context.payload.issue;
// Call AI to analyze
const analysis = await analyzeIssue(issue.title, issue.body);
// Apply labels
const labels = [];
if (analysis.type === 'bug') {
labels.push('bug');
if (analysis.severity === 'high') labels.push('priority: high');
} else if (analysis.type === 'feature') {
labels.push('enhancement');
} else if (analysis.type === 'question') {
labels.push('question');
}
if (analysis.area) {
labels.push(`area: ${analysis.area}`);
}
await github.rest.issues.addLabels({
owner: context.repo.owner,
repo: context.repo.repo,
issue_number: issue.number,
labels: labels
});
// Add initial response
if (analysis.type === 'bug' && !analysis.hasReproSteps) {
await github.rest.issues.createComment({
owner: context.repo.owner,
repo: context.repo.repo,
issue_number: issue.number,
body: `Thanks for reporting this issue!
To help us investigate, could you please provide:
- Steps to reproduce the issue
- Expected behavior
- Actual behavior
- Environment (OS, version, etc.)
This will help us resolve your issue faster. 🙏`
});
}
2.2 Issue Analysis Prompt
const TRIAGE_PROMPT = `
Analyze this GitHub issue and classify it:
Title: {title}
Body: {body}
Return JSON with:
{
"type": "bug" | "feature" | "question" | "docs" | "other",
"severity": "low" | "medium" | "high" | "critical",
"area": "frontend" | "backend" | "api" | "docs" | "ci" | "other",
"summary": "one-line summary",
"hasReproSteps": boolean,
"isFirstContribution": boolean,
"suggestedLabels": ["label1", "label2"],
"suggestedAssignees": ["username"] // based on area expertise
}
`;
2.3 Stale Issue Management
# .github/workflows/stale.yml
name: Manage Stale Issues
on:
schedule:
- cron: "0 0 * * *" # Daily
jobs:
stale:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/stale@v9
with:
stale-issue-message: |
This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had
recent activity. It will be closed in 14 days if no further activity occurs.
If this issue is still relevant:
- Add a comment with an update
- Remove the `stale` label
Thank you for your contributions! 🙏
stale-pr-message: |
This PR has been automatically marked as stale. Please update it or it
will be closed in 14 days.
days-before-stale: 60
days-before-close: 14
stale-issue-label: "stale"
stale-pr-label: "stale"
exempt-issue-labels: "pinned,security,in-progress"
exempt-pr-labels: "pinned,security"
3. CI/CD Integration
3.1 Smart Test Selection
# .github/workflows/smart-tests.yml
name: Smart Test Selection
on:
pull_request:
jobs:
analyze:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
outputs:
test_suites: ${{ steps.analyze.outputs.suites }}
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
fetch-depth: 0
- name: Analyze changes
id: analyze
run: |
# Get changed files
changed=$(git diff --name-only origin/${{ github.base_ref }}...HEAD)
# Determine which test suites to run
suites="[]"
if echo "$changed" | grep -q "^src/api/"; then
suites=$(echo $suites | jq '. + ["api"]')
fi
if echo "$changed" | grep -q "^src/frontend/"; then
suites=$(echo $suites | jq '. + ["frontend"]')
fi
if echo "$changed" | grep -q "^src/database/"; then
suites=$(echo $suites | jq '. + ["database", "api"]')
fi
# If nothing specific, run all
if [ "$suites" = "[]" ]; then
suites='["all"]'
fi
echo "suites=$suites" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
test:
needs: analyze
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
strategy:
matrix:
suite: ${{ fromJson(needs.analyze.outputs.test_suites) }}
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Run tests
run: |
if [ "${{ matrix.suite }}" = "all" ]; then
npm test
else
npm test -- --suite ${{ matrix.suite }}
fi
3.2 Deployment with AI Validation
# .github/workflows/deploy.yml
name: Deploy with AI Validation
on:
push:
branches: [main]
jobs:
validate:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Get deployment changes
id: changes
run: |
# Get commits since last deployment
last_deploy=$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2>/dev/null || echo "")
if [ -n "$last_deploy" ]; then
changes=$(git log --oneline $last_deploy..HEAD)
else
changes=$(git log --oneline -10)
fi
echo "changes<<EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
echo "$changes" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
echo "EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
- name: AI Risk Assessment
id: assess
uses: actions/github-script@v7
with:
script: |
// Analyze changes for deployment risk
const prompt = `
Analyze these changes for deployment risk:
${process.env.CHANGES}
Return JSON:
{
"riskLevel": "low" | "medium" | "high",
"concerns": ["concern1", "concern2"],
"recommendations": ["rec1", "rec2"],
"requiresManualApproval": boolean
}
`;
// Call AI and parse response
const analysis = await callAI(prompt);
if (analysis.riskLevel === 'high') {
core.setFailed('High-risk deployment detected. Manual review required.');
}
return analysis;
env:
CHANGES: ${{ steps.changes.outputs.changes }}
deploy:
needs: validate
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
environment: production
steps:
- name: Deploy
run: |
echo "Deploying to production..."
# Deployment commands here
3.3 Rollback Automation
# .github/workflows/rollback.yml
name: Automated Rollback
on:
workflow_dispatch:
inputs:
reason:
description: "Reason for rollback"
required: true
jobs:
rollback:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
fetch-depth: 0
- name: Find last stable version
id: stable
run: |
# Find last successful deployment
stable=$(git tag -l 'v*' --sort=-version:refname | head -1)
echo "version=$stable" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
- name: Rollback
run: |
git checkout ${{ steps.stable.outputs.version }}
# Deploy stable version
npm run deploy
- name: Notify team
uses: slackapi/slack-github-action@v1
with:
payload: |
{
"text": "🔄 Production rolled back to ${{ steps.stable.outputs.version }}",
"blocks": [
{
"type": "section",
"text": {
"type": "mrkdwn",
"text": "*Rollback executed*\n• Version: `${{ steps.stable.outputs.version }}`\n• Reason: ${{ inputs.reason }}\n• Triggered by: ${{ github.actor }}"
}
}
]
}
4. Git Operations
4.1 Automated Rebasing
# .github/workflows/auto-rebase.yml
name: Auto Rebase
on:
issue_comment:
types: [created]
jobs:
rebase:
if: github.event.issue.pull_request && contains(github.event.comment.body, '/rebase')
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
fetch-depth: 0
token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
- name: Setup Git
run: |
git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
- name: Rebase PR
run: |
# Fetch PR branch
gh pr checkout ${{ github.event.issue.number }}
# Rebase onto main
git fetch origin main
git rebase origin/main
# Force push
git push --force-with-lease
env:
GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
- name: Comment result
uses: actions/github-script@v7
with:
script: |
github.rest.issues.createComment({
owner: context.repo.owner,
repo: context.repo.repo,
issue_number: context.issue.number,
body: '✅ Successfully rebased onto main!'
})
4.2 Smart Cherry-Pick
// AI-assisted cherry-pick that handles conflicts
async function smartCherryPick(commitHash: string, targetBranch: string) {
// Get commit info
const commitInfo = await exec(`git show ${commitHash} --stat`);
// Check for potential conflicts
const targetDiff = await exec(
`git diff ${targetBranch}...HEAD -- ${affectedFiles}`
);
// AI analysis
const analysis = await ai.analyze(`
I need to cherry-pick this commit to ${targetBranch}:
${commitInfo}
Current state of affected files on ${targetBranch}:
${targetDiff}
Will there be conflicts? If so, suggest resolution strategy.
`);
if (analysis.willConflict) {
// Create branch for manual resolution
await exec(
`git checkout -b cherry-pick-${commitHash.slice(0, 7)} ${targetBranch}`
);
const result = await exec(`git cherry-pick ${commitHash}`, {
allowFail: true,
});
if (result.failed) {
// AI-assisted conflict resolution
const conflicts = await getConflicts();
for (const conflict of conflicts) {
const resolution = await ai.resolveConflict(conflict);
await applyResolution(conflict.file, resolution);
}
}
} else {
await exec(`git checkout ${targetBranch}`);
await exec(`git cherry-pick ${commitHash}`);
}
}
4.3 Branch Cleanup
# .github/workflows/branch-cleanup.yml
name: Branch Cleanup
on:
schedule:
- cron: '0 0 * * 0' # Weekly
workflow_dispatch:
jobs:
cleanup:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
fetch-depth: 0
- name: Find stale branches
id: stale
run: |
# Branches not updated in 30 days
stale=$(git for-each-ref --sort=-committerdate refs/remotes/origin \
--format='%(refname:short) %(committerdate:relative)' | \
grep -E '[3-9][0-9]+ days|[0-9]+ months|[0-9]+ years' | \
grep -v 'origin/main\|origin/develop' | \
cut -d' ' -f1 | sed 's|origin/||')
echo "branches<<EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
echo "$stale" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
echo "EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
- name: Create cleanup PR
if: steps.stale.outputs.branches != ''
uses: actions/github-script@v7
with:
script: |
const branches = `${{ steps.stale.outputs.branches }}`.split('\n').filter(Boolean);
const body = `## 🧹 Stale Branch Cleanup
The following branches haven't been updated in over 30 days:
${branches.map(b => `- \`${b}\``).join('\n')}
### Actions:
- [ ] Review each branch
- [ ] Delete branches that are no longer needed
- Comment \`/keep branch-name\` to preserve specific branches
`;
await github.rest.issues.create({
owner: context.repo.owner,
repo: context.repo.repo,
title: 'Stale Branch Cleanup',
body: body,
labels: ['housekeeping']
});
5. On-Demand Assistance
5.1 @mention Bot
# .github/workflows/mention-bot.yml
name: AI Mention Bot
on:
issue_comment:
types: [created]
pull_request_review_comment:
types: [created]
jobs:
respond:
if: contains(github.event.comment.body, '@ai-helper')
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Extract question
id: question
run: |
# Extract text after @ai-helper
question=$(echo "${{ github.event.comment.body }}" | sed 's/.*@ai-helper//')
echo "question=$question" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
- name: Get context
id: context
run: |
if [ "${{ github.event.issue.pull_request }}" != "" ]; then
# It's a PR - get diff
gh pr diff ${{ github.event.issue.number }} > context.txt
else
# It's an issue - get description
gh issue view ${{ github.event.issue.number }} --json body -q .body > context.txt
fi
echo "context=$(cat context.txt)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
env:
GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
- name: AI Response
uses: actions/github-script@v7
with:
script: |
const response = await ai.chat(`
Context: ${process.env.CONTEXT}
Question: ${process.env.QUESTION}
Provide a helpful, specific answer. Include code examples if relevant.
`);
await github.rest.issues.createComment({
owner: context.repo.owner,
repo: context.repo.repo,
issue_number: context.issue.number,
body: response
});
env:
CONTEXT: ${{ steps.context.outputs.context }}
QUESTION: ${{ steps.question.outputs.question }}
5.2 Command Patterns
## Available Commands
| Command | Description |
| :------------------- | :-------------------------- |
| `@ai-helper explain` | Explain the code in this PR |
| `@ai-helper review` | Request AI code review |
| `@ai-helper fix` | Suggest fixes for issues |
| `@ai-helper test` | Generate test cases |
| `@ai-helper docs` | Generate documentation |
| `/rebase` | Rebase PR onto main |
| `/update` | Update PR branch from main |
| `/approve` | Mark as approved by bot |
| `/label bug` | Add 'bug' label |
| `/assign @user` | Assign to user |
6. Repository Configuration
6.1 CODEOWNERS
# .github/CODEOWNERS
# Global owners
* @org/core-team
# Frontend
/src/frontend/ @org/frontend-team
*.tsx @org/frontend-team
*.css @org/frontend-team
# Backend
/src/api/ @org/backend-team
/src/database/ @org/backend-team
# Infrastructure
/.github/ @org/devops-team
/terraform/ @org/devops-team
Dockerfile @org/devops-team
# Docs
/docs/ @org/docs-team
*.md @org/docs-team
# Security-sensitive
/src/auth/ @org/security-team
/src/crypto/ @org/security-team
6.2 Branch Protection
# Set up via GitHub API
- name: Configure branch protection
uses: actions/github-script@v7
with:
script: |
await github.rest.repos.updateBranchProtection({
owner: context.repo.owner,
repo: context.repo.repo,
branch: 'main',
required_status_checks: {
strict: true,
contexts: ['test', 'lint', 'ai-review']
},
enforce_admins: true,
required_pull_request_reviews: {
required_approving_review_count: 1,
require_code_owner_reviews: true,
dismiss_stale_reviews: true
},
restrictions: null,
required_linear_history: true,
allow_force_pushes: false,
allow_deletions: false
});
Best Practices
Security
- Store API keys in GitHub Secrets
- Use minimal permissions in workflows
- Validate all inputs
- Don't expose sensitive data in logs
Performance
- Cache dependencies
- Use matrix builds for parallel testing
- Skip unnecessary jobs with path filters
- Use self-hosted runners for heavy workloads
Reliability
- Add timeouts to jobs
- Handle rate limits gracefully
- Implement retry logic
- Have rollback procedures
Resources
Limitations
- Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
- Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
- Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.
Source: sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills → skills/github-workflow-automation/SKILL.md
Also appears in: sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/plugins/agentic-awesome-skills/skills/github-workflow-automation/SKILL.md, sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/plugins/agentic-awesome-skills-claude/skills/github-workflow-automation/SKILL.md