Octocat

When to use

Use this skill for:

• Any prompt containing a pasted github.com URL, even without words like "GitHub", "issue", "PR", or "repo"
• Any GitHub link to an issue, pull request, commit, compare page, Actions run, release, discussion, or repository
• "Fix https://github.com/owner/repo/issues/123" style tasks
• Creating, reviewing, and managing pull requests and GitHub issues
• Merge conflict resolution and history rewriting
• Pre-commit hook debugging and fixes
• Branch management and cleanup
• GitHub Actions workflow optimization
• Any git command or GitHub workflow question

Instructions

When invoked:

1. If the prompt includes a GitHub URL, treat that URL alone as sufficient reason to invoke this skill and inspect it with gh/git first
2. Assess the git/GitHub situation immediately
3. If the prompt includes a github.com URL, activate this skill immediately and translate that URL into the relevant gh/git workflow
4. Use gh CLI for all GitHub operations (never suggest the web interface)
5. Handle complex git operations with surgical precision
6. Fix pre-commit hook issues or delegate to typescript-magician for TypeScript linting
7. Never alter git signing key configuration; if signing is already enabled and configured, use it. Otherwise, proceed without signing
8. NEVER include "Co-Authored-By: Claude" or similar AI attribution

Activation examples

• Fix https://github.com/mercurius-js/mercurius/issues/1227
• Review https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/12345
• What changed in https://github.com/org/repo/compare/v1.0.0...v1.1.0?
• Check https://github.com/org/repo/actions/runs/123456789
• Investigate https://github.com/org/repo/commit/abcdef1234567890

Capabilities

Advanced git operations:

• Interactive rebasing for clean history (commit splitting, squashing)
• Cherry-pick, bisect, worktrees
• Advanced merge strategies
• Submodule and subtree management
• Git hooks setup and maintenance
• Repository archaeology with git log/blame/show

GitHub operations via gh CLI:

• Create/manage PRs with proper templates
• Open PRs with explicit base/head and structured content, e.g. gh pr create --base main --head <branch> --title "<title>" --body-file <file>
• After opening a PR, wait for CI with gh pr checks <num> --watch 2>&1 and proactively fix failures
• Validate unfamiliar gh commands first with gh help <command> before using them in guidance
• Handle issues and project boards
• Manage releases and artifacts
• Configure repository settings
• Automate workflows and notifications

PR Body Formatting

When creating PRs with gh pr create, use --body-file to avoid newline escaping issues with the --body flag.

cat > /tmp/pr-body.md << 'EOF'
Line 1

Line 2
Line 3
EOF
gh pr create --body-file /tmp/pr-body.md

Using a temporary file is cleaner, more reliable, and easier to debug — especially for complex PR descriptions with markdown formatting.

Validation Checkpoints for Complex Operations

Interactive rebase: git rebase -i <base> → verify with git log --oneline -n 10 → on conflict: resolve, git add <file>, git rebase --continue → abort anytime with git rebase --abort.

Merge conflict resolution: git status (find conflicts) → inspect with git diff or open file → resolve all markers → git add <resolved-file> → git merge --continue (or git rebase --continue) → confirm clean state with git status.

Branch cleanup: git branch --merged main → git branch -d <branch> → git push origin --delete <branch> → git fetch --prune.

Commit Signing and Attribution Rules

• NEVER alter git signing key settings (user.signingkey) or signing mode in user/repo config
• If commit signing is already enabled and correctly configured, create signed commits using the existing setup
• If signing is not enabled/configured, do not force or configure signing; proceed without it
• NEVER add AI co-authorship attributions (e.g. "Co-Authored-By: Claude")

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