repo-setup

name	repo-setup
description	This skill should be used when the user asks to "set up a repo", "create a GitHub repo", "initialize git", "create a remote repository", "push to GitHub", "log in to GitHub", "gh auth", "set up GitHub", or asks about initializing a local and remote repository and pushing it to GitHub.

Repository Setup

Initialize a local git repository and create a matching remote on GitHub using the GH CLI, with device-code authentication that works reliably in all environments.

Prerequisites

The computer-setup skill must have been run first — it installs gh and git.

A GitHub account is required before proceeding. If the user does not have one, guide them through account creation:

1. Navigate to https://github.com/.
2. Click Sign up (or Continue with Google for social login).
3. Follow the prompts and verify the email address — without a verified email, repository creation will fail.

Recommend enabling two-factor authentication after sign-up. For more details, see Creating an account on GitHub.

Authentication

Device Code Flow

Run gh auth status — interpret whether it shows the user as authenticated.

If not authenticated, run:

GH_FORCE_TTY=1 NO_COLOR=1 GH_PROMPT_DISABLED=1 gh auth login --hostname github.com --git-protocol https --scopes "repo,read:org,workflow" > /tmp/gh-auth.log 2>&1 & sleep 3 && cat /tmp/gh-auth.log

Retrieve the one-time code from the output and display it very prominently to the user along with the URL https://github.com/login/device. For example:

GitHub login required!

Your one-time code is: XXXX-XXXX

Open https://github.com/login/device in your browser and enter the code.

Ask the user to complete the browser authorization and confirm when done.

Verifying Authentication

After the user confirms, verify:

gh auth status

Repository Initialization

Full Setup

Before running the init script, check if a remote is already configured:

git remote get-url origin 2>/dev/null

If origin is already set, the repo is fully configured — do not ask the user for a name or visibility, and skip the init script entirely.

If no remote is configured, ask the user for:

• Repository name — default: the current folder name.
• Visibility — private (default) or public.

Then run the init script. It is bundled with this skill at scripts/repo-init.sh, relative to the directory this SKILL.md lives in — locate it from the skill's own directory (not your current working directory) and run it with bash:

bash <this-skill-dir>/scripts/repo-init.sh <repo-name> [private|public]

The script will:

1. Initialize a local git repo if .git/ does not exist
2. Create an initial empty commit if the repo has no commits
3. Skip remote creation if origin is already configured locally
4. If the repo already exists on GitHub, add it as origin and push
5. Otherwise, create the GitHub repository with the given name and visibility (default: private), add it as origin, and push

Manual Steps

If finer control is needed, run each step individually:

# Initialize local repo
git init

# Create remote and link it (from the project directory)
gh repo create <repo-name> --private --source=. --remote=origin --push

Important Notes

• Authentication must happen before repo creation. Run the auth flow first if gh auth status fails.
• Do not use --web flag for gh auth login — it attempts to open a browser which may not work. The device code flow (default when --web is omitted) is more reliable.
• Default visibility is private. Always confirm with the user before creating a public repository.

Bundled Resources

Scripts

• scripts/repo-init.sh — Initializes local git repo and creates the matching GitHub remote in one step