How do I install the Github skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add understudy-ai/github in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

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Which AI agents work with Github?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Github free to use?

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Who published Github?

understudy-ai (@understudy-ai) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Github by understudy-ai — Agent Skill

Name: Github
Author: understudy-ai

Github

GitHub operations via `gh` CLI: issues, PRs, CI runs, code review, API queries. Use when: (1) checking PR status or CI, (2) creating/commenting on issues, (3) listing/filtering PRs or issues, (4) viewing run logs. NOT for: complex web UI interactions requiring manual browser flows (use browser tooling when available), bulk operations across many repos (script with gh api), or when gh auth is not configured.

understudy-ai Updated Sep 21, 2026

File contents

GitHub Skill

Use the gh CLI to interact with GitHub repositories, issues, PRs, and CI.

When to Use

✅ USE this skill when:

Checking PR status, reviews, or merge readiness
Viewing CI/workflow run status and logs
Creating, closing, or commenting on issues
Creating or merging pull requests
Querying GitHub API for repository data
Listing repos, releases, or collaborators

When NOT to Use

❌ DON'T use this skill when:

Local git operations (commit, push, pull, branch) → use git directly
Non-GitHub repos (GitLab, Bitbucket, self-hosted) → different CLIs
Cloning repositories → use git clone
Reviewing actual code changes → use coding-agent skill
Complex multi-file diffs → use coding-agent or read files directly

Setup

# Authenticate (one-time)
gh auth login

# Verify
gh auth status

Common Commands

Pull Requests

# List PRs
gh pr list --repo owner/repo

# Check CI status
gh pr checks 55 --repo owner/repo

# View PR details
gh pr view 55 --repo owner/repo

# Create PR
gh pr create --title "feat: add feature" --body "Description"

# Merge PR
gh pr merge 55 --squash --repo owner/repo

Issues

# List issues
gh issue list --repo owner/repo --state open

# Create issue
gh issue create --title "Bug: something broken" --body "Details..."

# Close issue
gh issue close 42 --repo owner/repo

CI/Workflow Runs

# List recent runs
gh run list --repo owner/repo --limit 10

# View specific run
gh run view <run-id> --repo owner/repo

# View failed step logs only
gh run view <run-id> --repo owner/repo --log-failed

# Re-run failed jobs
gh run rerun <run-id> --failed --repo owner/repo

API Queries

# Get PR with specific fields
gh api repos/owner/repo/pulls/55 --jq '.title, .state, .user.login'

# List all labels
gh api repos/owner/repo/labels --jq '.[].name'

# Get repo stats
gh api repos/owner/repo --jq '{stars: .stargazers_count, forks: .forks_count}'

JSON Output

Most commands support --json for structured output with --jq filtering:

gh issue list --repo owner/repo --json number,title --jq '.[] | "\(.number): \(.title)"'
gh pr list --json number,title,state,mergeable --jq '.[] | select(.mergeable == "MERGEABLE")'

Templates

PR Review Summary

# Get PR overview for review
PR=55 REPO=owner/repo
echo "## PR #$PR Summary"
gh pr view $PR --repo $REPO --json title,body,author,additions,deletions,changedFiles \
  --jq '"**\(.title)** by @\(.author.login)\n\n\(.body)\n\n📊 +\(.additions) -\(.deletions) across \(.changedFiles) files"'
gh pr checks $PR --repo $REPO

Issue Triage

# Quick issue triage view
gh issue list --repo owner/repo --state open --json number,title,labels,createdAt \
  --jq '.[] | "[\(.number)] \(.title) - \([.labels[].name] | join(", ")) (\(.createdAt[:10]))"'

Notes

Always specify --repo owner/repo when not in a git directory
Use URLs directly: gh pr view https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/55
Rate limits apply; use gh api --cache 1h for repeated queries

---name: githubdescription: GitHub operations via `gh` CLI: issues, PRs, CI runs, code review, API queries. Use when: (1) checking PR status or CI, (2) creating/commenting on issues, (3) listing/filtering PRs or issues, (4) viewing run logs. NOT for: complex web UI interactions requiring manual browser flows (use browser tooling when available), bulk operations across many repos (script with gh api), or when gh auth is not configured.---# GitHub SkillUse the `gh` CLI to interact with GitHub repositories, issues, PRs, and CI.## When to Use✅ **USE this skill when:**- Checking PR status, reviews, or merge readiness- Viewing CI/workflow run status and logs- Creating, closing, or commenting on issues- Creating or merging pull requests- Querying GitHub API for repository data- Listing repos, releases, or collaborators## When NOT to Use❌ **DON'T use this skill when:**- Local git operations (commit, push, pull, branch) → use `git` directly- Non-GitHub repos (GitLab, Bitbucket, self-hosted) → different CLIs- Cloning repositories → use `git clone`- Reviewing actual code changes → use `coding-agent` skill- Complex multi-file diffs → use `coding-agent` or read files directly## Setup```bash# Authenticate (one-time)gh auth login# Verifygh auth status```## Common Commands### Pull Requests```bash# List PRsgh pr list --repo owner/repo# Check CI statusgh pr checks 55 --repo owner/repo# View PR detailsgh pr view 55 --repo owner/repo# Create PRgh pr create --title "feat: add feature" --body "Description"# Merge PRgh pr merge 55 --squash --repo owner/repo```### Issues```bash# List issuesgh issue list --repo owner/repo --state open# Create issuegh issue create --title "Bug: something broken" --body "Details..."# Close issuegh issue close 42 --repo owner/repo```### CI/Workflow Runs```bash# List recent runsgh run list --repo owner/repo --limit 10# View specific rungh run view <run-id> --repo owner/repo# View failed step logs onlygh run view <run-id> --repo owner/repo --log-failed# Re-run failed jobsgh run rerun <run-id> --failed --repo owner/repo```### API Queries```bash# Get PR with specific fieldsgh api repos/owner/repo/pulls/55 --jq '.title, .state, .user.login'# List all labelsgh api repos/owner/repo/labels --jq '.[].name'# Get repo statsgh api repos/owner/repo --jq '{stars: .stargazers_count, forks: .forks_count}'```## JSON OutputMost commands support `--json` for structured output with `--jq` filtering:```bashgh issue list --repo owner/repo --json number,title --jq '.[] | "\(.number): \(.title)"'gh pr list --json number,title,state,mergeable --jq '.[] | select(.mergeable == "MERGEABLE")'```## Templates### PR Review Summary```bash# Get PR overview for reviewPR=55 REPO=owner/repoecho "## PR #$PR Summary"gh pr view $PR --repo $REPO --json title,body,author,additions,deletions,changedFiles \ --jq '"**\(.title)** by @\(.author.login)\n\n\(.body)\n\n📊 +\(.additions) -\(.deletions) across \(.changedFiles) files"'gh pr checks $PR --repo $REPO```### Issue Triage```bash# Quick issue triage viewgh issue list --repo owner/repo --state open --json number,title,labels,createdAt \ --jq '.[] | "[\(.number)] \(.title) - \([.labels[].name] | join(", ")) (\(.createdAt[:10]))"'```## Notes- Always specify `--repo owner/repo` when not in a git directory- Use URLs directly: `gh pr view https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/55`- Rate limits apply; use `gh api --cache 1h` for repeated queries

Frequently asked questions