github-ops

GitHub Operations

Deliver the requested GitHub state, not a successful-looking command. A 200, 201, 202, or 204 response is evidence that GitHub accepted a request; it is not proof that every requested field changed, an invitation was accepted, an asynchronous job finished, or the user's business outcome was achieved.

Route by operation

Read only the reference required for the task:

Task	Reference
Create, review, merge, close, compare, or converge PRs; clear approved PR body revisions; retire remote PR branches	references/pr_operations.md
Create, edit, search, transfer, close, or bulk-manage issues	references/issue_operations.md
Inspect, clone, create, edit, rename, archive, transfer, change visibility, or delete repositories	references/repository_operations.md
Copy repositories accessible to another account while keeping the usual account active; configure private copies and upstream sync	references/multi_account_repository_sync.md
Inspect or change collaborators, teams, base permissions, member privileges, or organization 2FA	references/organization_access_and_settings.md
Protect a default branch while letting collaborators contribute through PRs; inventory protection gaps across an account, roll a baseline out to many repositories, and verify enforcement with a real push	references/branch_protection.md
Trigger, inspect, rerun, cancel, or purge Actions; manage secrets or variables	references/workflow_operations.md
Reduce CI email overload, exhausted Actions allowance, unrelated checks or repeated runs; decide what a template or product actually needs	references/ci-demand-and-notifications.md before changing runners or notifications
Build and publish a Docker/OCI image to GitHub Container Registry (GHCR)	references/ghcr_publishing.md
Use raw REST/GraphQL endpoints, pagination, rate limits, webhooks, or Enterprise hosts	references/api_reference.md
Build scripts, retries, bulk operations, or machine-readable output	references/best_practices.md

For local Git recovery, dirty worktrees, bundles, or lost commits, use git-safety-net. This skill owns GitHub-hosted state. For repository copies, also handle per-remote authentication and sync setup.

Universal operating contract

1. Classify the request before touching GitHub

• Answer, inspect, diagnose, or review: read-only. Do not create a PR, issue, comment, invitation, workflow run, or setting change.
• Create, change, merge, close, grant, revoke, publish, or delete: the named state change is authorized. Keep the target and blast radius inside that request.
• Destructive, public, credential-related, production-triggering, or externally communicative: require the exact target, consequence, and recovery path. If the user did not provide a material choice such as repository owner, visibility, or message content, stop before the write.

Do not turn a read-only investigation into a mutation because the fix looks obvious. Do not send a comment, review, issue, or invitation whose recipient or content was not authorized in the current task.

For an authorized contributor, assess repository access against their ongoing contribution role, not just today's read or sync command. Repository Write access and permission to update the default branch are separate decisions. Follow the user's chosen contribution scope; use branch protection and PR review to control integration rather than silently reducing a contributor to Read. A diagnosis alone still does not authorize a grant.

2. Bind identity, host, and target

Before the first write, verify the active account and resolve a fully qualified target:

gh auth status --hostname HOST
gh api --hostname HOST user --jq '.login'
gh repo view HOST/OWNER/REPO \
  --json nameWithOwner,visibility,isPrivate,viewerPermission,url

For github.com, OWNER/REPO is sufficient. Never use gh auth status --show-token for routine diagnosis, and never print, paste, or log a token.

Before the first push to a remote in the current session, read its live visibility:

gh repo view OWNER/REPO \
  --json nameWithOwner,visibility,isPrivate,stargazerCount,forkCount,url

Bind identity to the interface that will perform the write. CLI identity does not establish a connector, browser, REST client, or Git SSH identity. Resolve the expected actor from the user's authorized task; neither the repository owner nor an available credential selects that actor automatically. For connectors, use a read-only current-user operation from that same connector and confirm its actor. If that interface cannot expose the actor, use the already verified CLI channel for the authorized write; do not make a test comment to discover its identity.

For authorized gh API/hosted-state writes, use the bundled checked invocation. Resolve <github-ops-dir> to the directory containing this SKILL.md; run the helper by that path from the task's working directory. Its executable argument and rejection contract is checked_gh.py.

uv run python <github-ops-dir>/scripts/checked_gh.py --expected-login <EXPECTED_LOGIN> --host HOST
uv run python <github-ops-dir>/scripts/checked_gh.py --expected-login <EXPECTED_LOGIN> --host HOST -- pr edit <NUMBER> -R OWNER/REPO --title '<AUTHORIZED_TITLE>'

The first command is read-only. The second resolves the current credential, checks GET /user, and pins that same credential for one command. A mismatch or unknown actor exits before execution. It guards only gh, not connector calls, browser actions or Git pushes. Authentication/configuration commands are rejected; task authorization, exact targets and independent readback remain required. Supply -R OWNER/REPO for repository-scoped commands, or an explicit repository operand for gh repo. The wrapper qualifies that target with the checked host, removes inherited GH_REPO and alternate token variables from the child, and rejects conflicting host operands. Omit the command for an identity-only read. Organization secret/variable operations instead use their explicit --org scope; personal Codespaces secrets use --user. Body/title/field values remain unchanged even when they resemble flags or URLs. Public API absolute URLs use api.github.com; relative API endpoints remain supported. Switching account, credential, host or interface invalidates earlier identity evidence. Recheck before the next write; do not reuse a prior session's pass.

Reference examples show native gh operation syntax. Execute hosted-state mutations by passing those arguments after the helper's --, with an explicit repository or account scope; bare gh remains suitable for readback and separately authorized authentication/configuration. When a builtin's operand shape is rejected, use its supported explicit REST/GraphQL equivalent through the same helper; do not bypass the actor check. A failed or timed-out invocation does not prove the mutation was absent: read the exact target before retrying.

For incident attribution, preserve event ID/time, actor and interface separately from the ChatGPT execution account. A comment author's login and performed_via_github_app establish GitHub actor/application, not the ChatGPT email. A session's creator identity and today's auth file do not establish its historical execution account. Keep missing links unknown.

3. Read current authority and preview the delta

Use GitHub-hosted state, not a stale local ref or remembered setting. Capture only the fields required to prove the requested transition. Before a consequential write, make this plan explicit:

Target: fully qualified repository, organization, PR, issue, run, or account
Current: authoritative fields and immutable IDs/SHAs
Requested: exact field or state transition
Blast radius: people, repositories, forks, runs, or public surfaces affected
Recovery: exact inverse operation or explicit “not recoverable”
Readback: independent GET/CLI query and expected result

If the user already authorized this exact consequence, execute it. Do not add a ceremonial second confirmation. If target, scope, public exposure, deletion, recipient, or recovery remains ambiguous, pause before the write.

4. Choose an interface whose input contract actually supports the change

Prefer, in order:

1. a purpose-built gh subcommand;
2. a documented REST endpoint for one resource or authoritative readback;
3. GraphQL when the required mutation/query is GraphQL-only or combines related data;
4. the documented GitHub UI when the setting has no supported API input.

Response fields are not automatically writable fields. Before using PATCH, compare the desired key against the operation's current request body parameters, not the shape returned by GET. GitHub may ignore an unsupported key while still returning a successful response. Do not switch API families merely to make the command run.

Use explicit methods with gh api. Adding -f or -F changes the default method to POST; filtered GET requests must include -X GET.

5. Mutate once; do not retry ambiguity

• Pin repository, object number, branch, run ID, username, and expected SHA where the operation supports it.
• Do not blindly retry non-idempotent writes such as comments, invitations, workflow dispatches, releases, or PR/issue creation. After a timeout or 5xx, read back first to determine whether the first request landed.
• For bulk changes, freeze and display the finite target list, then process one target at a time with per-item results. Never pipe an unreviewed live query directly into a destructive xargs command.
• Do not bypass repository hooks, required checks, branch protections, signatures, or visibility-consequence acknowledgements.

6. Verify through an independent readback

Run a fresh read that does not trust the mutation response or a cached local ref:

Mutation	Required acceptance evidence
PR merge/close/edit	PR state plus accepted behavior on the fetched base when landing matters
Branch deletion	Hosted branch/ref is absent; local remote-tracking cleanup is a separate check
Issue/comment/review	Exact object exists once with the intended state/content
Repository create/edit/visibility	Fully qualified repository readback matches owner, visibility, and requested fields
Collaborator/team permission	Invitation state if pending, then effective permission; also identify remaining base/team grants when revoking
Organization setting	A fresh organization/settings read returns every requested field; UI-only settings require UI readback plus any available API signal
2FA requirement	Preflight affected accounts, UI confirmation, API readback, then membership/outside-collaborator audit
Workflow dispatch/rerun/cancel	The intended run ID reaches the expected state; command acceptance is not completion
Secret/variable change	Metadata and consumer behavior, never secret value disclosure

For asynchronous state, poll with a bounded deadline and report pending if the terminal state is not observed. If readback differs, report failed/no-op or partially applied, show the mismatched fields, and keep recovery available. Never say “done” from the write receipt alone.

7. Report the business outcome

End with one of four honest states:

• changed and verified — requested state is independently observed;
• already satisfied — no write was necessary;
• pending — accepted but not yet terminal, with the next authoritative check;
• failed/no-op or partial — requested and observed states differ, with recovery and unresolved risk.

8. Authenticate only for the named write

Authentication is scoped to the authorized operation; it is not a reason to reopen an already-authorized exact write. Before starting an interactive browser or device flow, state the GitHub application, active account, target host, and the exact permission delta. Continue the steps the browser can complete after that explanation. Hand control to the user only when their physical presence is required, such as MFA, a hardware key, or an account-selection decision. Never request broader scopes, a different account, or an unrelated approval merely because the normal flow is interactive.

Do not expose credential values in terminal output, URLs, arguments, committed files, or reports. A production host's pull-only registry credential is not authorization to publish. Reuse the current, already-authorized credential when it has been verified for the exact write; use a temporary local Docker configuration and remove that configuration after the operation. GHCR publication has its own preflight and digest readback; load references/ghcr_publishing.md before building or pushing an image.

High-impact boundaries

• Repository creation requires an explicit OWNER/REPO and visibility. Never default a generic example to --public; public exposure is a product decision.
• Repository visibility changes can expose code, Actions logs, artifacts, forks, and history. Use gh repo edit --visibility ... --accept-visibility-change-consequences only after the consequences and exact repository are authorized, then read back.
• Merges, branch deletions, repository creation/deletion/transfer/visibility changes, organization-wide permissions, 2FA enforcement, and secret rotation require their operation-specific reference.
• PR and issue title formats are repository policy. Inspect templates, contribution guidance, checks, or an accepted recent example; do not invent a universal JIRA prefix.
• Enterprise policy can override organization or repository controls. Preserve HOST explicitly and report when a lower layer cannot change the enforced state.

Safe read-only quick reference

gh pr list -R OWNER/REPO --state open --json number,title,state,url
gh pr view 123 -R OWNER/REPO --json number,title,state,headRefOid,baseRefOid,url
gh issue list -R OWNER/REPO --state open --json number,title,state,url
gh workflow list -R OWNER/REPO
gh run list -R OWNER/REPO --limit 20 \
  --json databaseId,status,conclusion,headSha,url
gh api -X GET 'repos/OWNER/REPO/branches?per_page=100' --paginate --jq '.[].name'

Use --json/--jq for decisions. Human-formatted output is for reading, not parsing.