Agent skill

gh

Install and configure the GitHub CLI (gh) for AI agent environments where gh may not be pre-installed and git remotes use local proxies instead of github.com. Provides auto-install script with SHA256 verification and GITHUB_TOKEN auth with anonymous fallback. Use when gh command not found, shutil.which("gh") returns None, need GitHub API access (issues, PRs, releases, workflow runs), or repository operations fail with "failed to determine base repo" error. Documents required -R flag for all gh commands in proxy environments. Includes project management: GitHub Projects V2 (gh project), milestones (REST API), issue stories (lifecycle and templates), and label taxonomy management.

View SKILL.md on GitHub Repository
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Install this agent skill to your Project

npx add-skill https://github.com/Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills/tree/main/.claude/skills/gh

SKILL.md

GitHub CLI (gh) — Setup and Usage

Purpose

Ensures the GitHub CLI (gh) is available and provides correct usage patterns for AI agents operating in environments where gh may not be pre-installed and where git remotes point to local proxies instead of github.com.

When to Use

  • gh command not found or shutil.which("gh") returns None
  • Need to interact with GitHub API (issues, PRs, releases, workflows)
  • Repository remote does not point to github.com (proxy environments)
  • Need authenticated GitHub operations with GITHUB_TOKEN
  • Managing GitHub Issues, Projects V2, Milestones, or Labels

Installation

If gh is not installed, run the setup script:

bash
uv run .claude/skills/gh/scripts/setup_gh.py

The script:

  1. Checks if gh is already installed via shutil.which
  2. Detects platform (Linux, macOS, Windows) and architecture
  3. Fetches the latest release from https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/latest
  4. Downloads the correct archive with SHA256 verification from checksums file
  5. Extracts and installs the binary to a writable PATH directory
  6. Uses GITHUB_TOKEN for authenticated requests; falls back to anonymous if auth fails (401/403)

CLI options:

text
--force     Reinstall even if already at latest version
--dry-run   Show what would happen without installing
--bin-dir   Override install directory (default: auto-detect from PATH)

Authentication

GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable provides automatic authentication. No manual gh auth login needed.

bash
# Verify authentication
gh auth status

If GITHUB_TOKEN is set, gh authenticates automatically for all API calls.

Repository Detection

<repo_detection>

Git remote points to a local proxy (127.0.0.1), NOT github.com. Every gh command fails without explicit repo specification:

text
failed to determine base repo: none of the git remotes configured for this
repository point to a known GitHub host.

RULE: Pass -R (or --repo) on EVERY gh command:

bash
gh <command> -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills

This applies to ALL gh subcommands: pr, issue, run, api, release, project, etc.

</repo_detection>

Common Commands (v2.87.0)

<gh_commands>

Pull Requests

bash
# List open PRs
gh pr list -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills

# View PR details
gh pr view <number> -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills

# Check PR CI status
gh pr checks <number> -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills

# Create PR
gh pr create -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills --title "title" --body "body"

# View PR comments
gh api repos/Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills/pulls/<number>/comments

Issues

bash
# List issues
gh issue list -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills

# List by label
gh issue list -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills --label "priority:p1" --state open

# Create issue with labels and milestone
gh issue create -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills \
  --title "feat: add feature X" \
  --label "priority:p1" --label "type:feature" \
  --milestone "v1.0"

# View issue
gh issue view <number> -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills

# Close issue with comment
gh issue close <number> -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills --comment "Implemented in PR #N"

# Edit labels on issue
gh issue edit <number> -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills \
  --add-label "status:in-progress" \
  --remove-label "status:needs-grooming"

Labels

bash
# List all labels
gh label list -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills

# Create label
gh label create "priority:p1" --color "E99695" \
  --description "High priority" -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills

# Setup full label taxonomy (automation script)
uv run .claude/skills/gh/scripts/github_project_setup.py labels \
  --repo Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills

See labels.md for the full taxonomy and color codes.

Projects V2

bash
# List projects
gh project list --owner Jamie-BitFlight

# Create project
gh project create --owner Jamie-BitFlight --title "claude_skills Backlog"

# Add issue to project
gh project item-add 1 --owner Jamie-BitFlight \
  --url https://github.com/Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills/issues/42

# Full project setup (automation script)
uv run .claude/skills/gh/scripts/github_project_setup.py setup \
  --repo Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills

See projects-v2.md for field creation and item editing commands.

Milestones

gh has no native milestone subcommand — use gh api with the REST endpoint:

bash
# List milestones
gh api repos/Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills/milestones

# Create milestone
gh api repos/Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills/milestones \
  -X POST -f title="v1.0" -f due_on="2026-03-31T00:00:00Z"

# Assign milestone to issue
gh api repos/Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills/issues/42 \
  -X PATCH -F milestone=1

See milestones.md for full CRUD reference.

Workflow Runs

bash
# List recent runs
gh run list -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills --limit 5

# View specific run
gh run view <run-id> -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills

# View failed job logs
gh run view <run-id> -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills --log-failed

Releases

bash
# List releases
gh release list -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills

# View latest release
gh release view --repo <owner>/<repo>

API (Direct)

bash
# GET request
gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>

# POST with fields
gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/issues -f title="Bug" -f body="Details"

# GraphQL
gh api graphql -f query='{ viewer { login } }'

# Paginated results
gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/contributors --paginate

Repository

bash
# Clone
gh repo clone <owner>/<repo>

# View repo info
gh repo view -R <owner>/<repo>

</gh_commands>

Output Formatting

bash
# JSON output
gh pr list -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills --json number,title,state

# JQ filtering
gh pr list -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills --json number,title --jq '.[].title'

# Template formatting
gh pr list -R Jamie-BitFlight/claude_skills --json number,title \
  --template '{{range .}}#{{.number}} {{.title}}{{"\n"}}{{end}}'

Automation — Python Script

For multi-step operations (label setup, milestone creation, project init, issue import), use:

bash
# Full project setup
uv run .claude/skills/gh/scripts/github_project_setup.py setup

# Labels only
uv run .claude/skills/gh/scripts/github_project_setup.py labels

# Milestone management
uv run .claude/skills/gh/scripts/github_project_setup.py milestone list
uv run .claude/skills/gh/scripts/github_project_setup.py milestone create --title "v1.0" --due 2026-03-31

# Issue management
uv run .claude/skills/gh/scripts/github_project_setup.py issue list --priority p1
uv run .claude/skills/gh/scripts/github_project_setup.py issue create --title "feat: X" --priority-label priority:p1

The script delegates all GitHub operations to the authenticated gh CLI — no separate API tokens or Python HTTP clients needed.

Reference Files

  • labels.md — Label taxonomy (priority, type, status), color codes, bulk setup
  • milestones.md — Milestone CRUD via REST API, naming conventions
  • projects-v2.md — GitHub Projects V2 commands, custom fields, GraphQL queries
  • issue-stories.md — Issue as story format, body template, lifecycle, backlog item field mapping

Sources

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