Agent skill

github-cli

Safety-first GitHub CLI skill wrapping `gh` (v2.86+). Use when performing GitHub operations — PRs, issues, releases, repos, Actions, API calls. Enforces risk classification with mandatory confirmation for destructive/forbidden operations.

View SKILL.md on GitHub Repository
Stars 163
Forks 31

Install this agent skill to your Project

npx add-skill https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry/tree/main/skills/other/other/github-cli-georgekhananaev-claude-skills-vault

SKILL.md

GitHub CLI

Safety-first wrapper for GitHub CLI (gh). Every command is classified by risk level before execution.

When to Use

  • User asks to create, list, merge, or close PRs
  • User asks to manage issues, releases, or repos
  • User asks to check CI/CD status or workflow runs
  • User asks to call the GitHub API via gh api
  • User asks to manage GitHub Actions secrets or variables

Prerequisites

  1. Install: brew install gh or see https://cli.github.com
  2. Auth: gh auth login
  3. Verify: gh --version (requires v2.86+)
  4. Scopes: gh auth status — confirm repo, read:org scopes minimum

Safety Model

Every gh command falls into one of four risk tiers:

Tier Action Required Examples
Safe Execute immediately gh pr list, gh issue view, gh repo view
Write Inform user, then execute gh pr create, gh issue create, gh release create
Destructive AskUserQuestion BEFORE executing gh pr merge, gh pr close, gh release delete
Forbidden Multi-step validation, NEVER auto-confirm gh repo delete, gh repo transfer, visibility changes

See references/safety-rules.md for the full classification and confirmation templates.

Decision Flow

Command received
  → Classify risk tier (see Quick Reference)
  → Safe?        Execute immediately
  → Write?       Inform user what will happen → execute
  → Destructive? AskUserQuestion with options → wait for answer → execute or cancel
  → Forbidden?   Warn → require typed confirmation → final confirm → execute or cancel

Quick Reference

Safe (read-only, execute immediately)

Command Description
gh pr list List pull requests
gh pr view View PR details
gh pr checks View CI status
gh pr diff View PR diff
gh issue list List issues
gh issue view View issue details
gh repo view View repo info
gh repo list List repos
gh repo clone Clone a repo
gh release list List releases
gh release view View release details
gh run list List workflow runs
gh run view View run details
gh run view --log View run logs
gh workflow list List workflows
gh workflow view View workflow details
gh run download Download workflow artifacts
gh api (GET) Read-only API calls
gh auth status Check auth
gh browse Open repo in browser
gh status Check your GitHub dashboard
gh gist list List your gists
gh gist view View gist details
gh label list List labels
gh search repos Search repos
gh search issues Search issues
gh search prs Search PRs
gh search code Search code

Write (inform, then execute)

Command Description
gh pr create Create PR
gh pr edit Edit PR metadata
gh pr comment Comment on PR
gh pr review Submit review
gh pr ready Mark PR as ready
gh pr checkout Check out a PR branch locally
gh issue create Create issue
gh issue edit Edit issue
gh issue comment Comment on issue
gh issue reopen Reopen a closed issue
gh issue pin Pin an issue
gh issue unpin Unpin an issue
gh label create Create label
gh label edit Edit label
gh release create Create release
gh repo create Create new repo
gh repo edit Edit repo settings (non-visibility)
gh repo fork Fork a repo
gh repo rename Rename a repository
gh gist create Create a new gist
gh gist edit Edit an existing gist
gh run rerun Re-run workflow
gh workflow enable Enable workflow
gh workflow disable Disable workflow
gh workflow run Manually trigger a workflow
gh secret set Set secret
gh variable set Set variable
gh api -X POST/PUT/PATCH Write API calls

Destructive (AskUserQuestion required)

Command Description
gh pr merge Merge PR (irreversible in most workflows)
gh pr close Close PR
gh issue close Close issue
gh issue delete Delete issue (permanent)
gh issue transfer Transfer issue to another repo
gh release delete Delete release
gh label delete Delete label
gh repo archive Archive repo
gh secret delete Delete secret
gh variable delete Delete variable
gh auth logout Log out of GitHub CLI
gh run cancel Cancel running workflow
gh api -X DELETE Delete API calls

Forbidden (multi-step validation)

Command Description
gh repo delete Delete repository (PERMANENT)
gh repo transfer Transfer repo ownership
gh repo edit --visibility Change repo visibility
Bulk destructive loops Any loop running delete/close/merge

Workflow Patterns

Pull Requests

bash
# List open PRs
gh pr list

# Create PR (Write — inform user first)
gh pr create --title "feat: add auth" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Summary
- Add JWT authentication middleware

## Test plan
- [ ] Unit tests pass
- [ ] Manual login flow verified
EOF
)"

# View PR with checks
gh pr view 42
gh pr checks 42

# Merge PR (Destructive — AskUserQuestion first)
gh pr merge 42 --squash --delete-branch

Issues

bash
# List issues with filters
gh issue list --label bug --assignee @me
gh issue list --state closed --limit 10

# Create issue (Write)
gh issue create --title "Bug: login fails" --body "Steps to reproduce..." --label bug

# View issue
gh issue view 123

# Close issue (Destructive — confirm first)
gh issue close 123 --reason completed

Releases

bash
# List releases
gh release list

# Create release (Write — inform user)
gh release create v1.2.0 --generate-notes --title "v1.2.0"

# Create release with assets
gh release create v1.2.0 ./dist/*.tar.gz --title "v1.2.0" --notes "Release notes here"

# Delete release (Destructive — confirm first)
gh release delete v1.2.0

CI/CD & Actions

bash
# List recent runs
gh run list --limit 10

# View specific run
gh run view 12345

# View logs for failed run
gh run view 12345 --log-failed

# Re-run failed jobs (Write)
gh run rerun 12345 --failed

# Cancel running workflow (Destructive — confirm)
gh run cancel 12345

# Manage secrets (Write for set, Destructive for delete)
gh secret set API_KEY --body "sk-..."
gh secret list

Repository

bash
# View repo info
gh repo view

# Create repo (Write)
gh repo create my-app --public --clone

# Clone
gh repo clone owner/repo

# Fork (Write)
gh repo fork owner/repo --clone

# Archive (Destructive — confirm first)
gh repo archive owner/repo

API

bash
# GET (Safe)
gh api repos/owner/repo/pulls
gh api repos/owner/repo/issues/123/comments

# POST (Write)
gh api repos/owner/repo/issues -f title="Bug" -f body="Description"

# DELETE (Destructive — confirm first)
gh api repos/owner/repo/issues/123/labels/bug -X DELETE

AskUserQuestion Integration

For Destructive operations, use AskUserQuestion with tailored options:

PR Merge Example

Question: "How should PR #42 'feat: add auth' be merged?"
Options:
  - "Squash and merge" — Combine all commits into one
  - "Create merge commit" — Preserve commit history
  - "Rebase and merge" — Rebase onto base branch
  - "Cancel" — Do not merge

PR/Issue Close Example

Question: "Close PR #42 'feat: add auth'?"
Options:
  - "Close only" — Close without deleting branch
  - "Close and delete branch" — Close PR and remove source branch
  - "Cancel" — Keep open

Delete Example

Question: "Delete release v1.2.0?"
Options:
  - "Delete release only" — Keep the git tag
  - "Delete release and tag" — Remove both release and git tag
  - "Cancel" — Keep release

For Forbidden operations, follow the triple-confirmation protocol in references/safety-rules.md.

Error Handling

Error Cause Fix
gh: command not found Not installed brew install gh
authentication required Not logged in gh auth login
HTTP 403 Insufficient scopes gh auth refresh -s scope
HTTP 404 Repo not found or no access Check repo name and permissions
HTTP 422 Validation failed Check required fields, branch exists
HTTP 409 Merge conflict Resolve conflicts first
HTTP 429 Rate limited Wait, or use --limit to reduce calls
GraphQL: ... API query error Check field names and types

CLI Flags Reference

Flag Description
--json fields Output specific JSON fields
--jq expr Filter JSON with jq expressions
--template tmpl Format output with Go templates
-R owner/repo Target a different repo
--limit N Limit results
--state open|closed|all Filter by state
--label name Filter by label
--assignee user Filter by assignee
--author user Filter by author
--web Open in browser

Shell Safety

  • No interactive mode: Never use -i or --interactive flags
  • No pagers: Always pipe to cat if output may trigger a pager: gh pr list | cat
  • Timeouts: Set reasonable timeouts for commands that could hang
  • Quote arguments: Always quote multi-word arguments and heredoc bodies
  • Never pass --yes to forbidden operations — always require explicit confirmation

Integration

Pairs with:

  • code-quality — Review code before PR creation
  • brainstorm — Design features before opening issues
  • codex-cli — Second-opinion audit before merging PRs
  • gemini-cli — Alternative AI review for PR changes

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