github

name	github
description	GitHub operations using the octokit NPM package. Use when creating issues, managing pull requests, reading repository files, searching code, or interacting with GitHub Actions workflows.

GitHub Reference (SDK)

# === GitHub Skill Environment Check ===
BLOCKED=""

# Package manager detection
if [ -f "yarn.lock" ]; then
  PKG_MGR="yarn"
  PKG_ADD="yarn add"
  PKG_GLOBAL="yarn global add"
elif [ -f "pnpm-lock.yaml" ]; then
  PKG_MGR="pnpm"
  PKG_ADD="pnpm add"
  PKG_GLOBAL="pnpm add -g"
else
  PKG_MGR="npm"
  PKG_ADD="npm install"
  PKG_GLOBAL="npm install -g"
fi

# 1. Token check (GITHUB_TOKEN only)
if [ -z "$GITHUB_TOKEN" ]; then
  BLOCKED="yes"
  echo "BLOCKED: GITHUB_TOKEN not set"
  echo ""
  echo "STOP. Do not attempt GitHub operations."
  echo "Ask user to set up their token:"
  echo "  export GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_..."
  echo ""
  echo "See advanced/token-setup.md for setup instructions."
else
  TOKEN_PREFIX=$(echo "$GITHUB_TOKEN" | cut -c1-4)
  echo "GITHUB_TOKEN set (${TOKEN_PREFIX}...)"
fi

# 2. Runtime check
if command -v tsx >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  TSX_VER=$(tsx --version 2>&1 | head -1)
  echo "tsx $TSX_VER"
else
  BLOCKED="yes"
  echo "BLOCKED: tsx not installed"
  echo "   Install with: $PKG_GLOBAL tsx"
fi

# 3. Package check
if [ -d "node_modules/octokit" ]; then
  VER=$(node -e "console.log(require('./node_modules/octokit/package.json').version)" 2>/dev/null || echo "?")
  echo "octokit@$VER"
else
  BLOCKED="yes"
  echo "BLOCKED: octokit not installed"
  echo "   Install with: $PKG_ADD octokit"
fi

# Final status
if [ -z "$BLOCKED" ]; then
  echo ""
  echo "Ready to execute GitHub operations."
fi

Quick Start {#setup}

Uses octokit with tsx. Every script starts with:

import { Octokit } from "octokit";
const octokit = new Octokit({ auth: process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN });

Run scripts using heredoc syntax:

tsx << 'EOF'
import { Octokit } from "octokit";
const octokit = new Octokit({ auth: process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN });

// Your code here with top-level await
const { data: user } = await octokit.rest.users.getAuthenticated();
console.log("Logged in as:", user.login);
EOF

Copy-Paste Examples {#examples}

These complete examples work immediately after environment check passes.

Create an Issue

tsx << 'EOF'
import { Octokit } from "octokit";
const octokit = new Octokit({ auth: process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN });

const { data: issue } = await octokit.rest.issues.create({
  owner: "OWNER",      // Replace with repo owner
  repo: "REPO",        // Replace with repo name
  title: "Issue title",
  body: "Issue description",
});
console.log("Created issue #" + issue.number + ":", issue.html_url);
EOF

Read a File

tsx << 'EOF'
import { Octokit } from "octokit";
const octokit = new Octokit({ auth: process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN });

const { data } = await octokit.rest.repos.getContent({
  owner: "OWNER", repo: "REPO", path: "README.md",
});
if ("content" in data) {
  // CRITICAL: File content is base64 encoded - always decode!
  const content = Buffer.from(data.content, "base64").toString("utf8");
  console.log(content);
}
EOF

List Branches

tsx << 'EOF'
import { Octokit } from "octokit";
const octokit = new Octokit({ auth: process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN });

const { data: branches } = await octokit.rest.repos.listBranches({
  owner: "OWNER", repo: "REPO",
});
for (const b of branches) console.log(b.name);
EOF

Search Issues

tsx << 'EOF'
import { Octokit } from "octokit";
const octokit = new Octokit({ auth: process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN });

// Query syntax: qualifiers separated by spaces are AND-ed together
const { data } = await octokit.rest.search.issuesAndPullRequests({
  q: "repo:OWNER/REPO is:issue state:open",
});
console.log("Found:", data.total_count);
for (const issue of data.items) console.log("#" + issue.number + ":", issue.title);
EOF

List Workflow Runs

tsx << 'EOF'
import { Octokit } from "octokit";
const octokit = new Octokit({ auth: process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN });

const { data } = await octokit.rest.actions.listWorkflowRunsForRepo({
  owner: "OWNER", repo: "REPO", per_page: 5,
});
console.log("Total runs:", data.total_count);
for (const run of data.workflow_runs) {
  console.log(run.name + ":", run.conclusion ?? run.status);
}
EOF

Need >30 results? Most endpoints return max 30 items per page. See Pagination for fetching all results.

Common Parameters

All API calls follow: octokit.rest.<category>.<method>({ owner, repo, ... })

Parameter	Description	Example
owner	Repository owner (user or org)	"octocat"
repo	Repository name	"Hello-World"
issue_number	Issue number (integer)	123
pull_number	PR number (integer)	45
path	File path in repo	"src/index.ts"
ref	Branch/tag/commit reference	"main" or "refs/heads/feature"

I Want To... {#router}

Issues

Task	Reference
Create an issue	sdk/issues.md#create
Get issue details	sdk/issues.md#get
Comment on an issue	sdk/issues.md#comments
Update/close an issue	sdk/issues.md#update
Add labels	sdk/issues.md#labels
List issues	sdk/issues.md#list

Pull Requests

Task	Reference
Create a PR	sdk/pull-requests.md#create
Get PR details	sdk/pull-requests.md#get
Get PR diff	sdk/pull-requests.md#diff
List changed files	sdk/pull-requests.md#files
Create a review	sdk/pull-requests.md#reviews
Merge a PR	sdk/pull-requests.md#merge
Update PR branch	sdk/pull-requests.md#update-branch

Files & Content

Task	Reference
Read a file	sdk/files.md#read
Create a file	sdk/files.md#create
Update a file	sdk/files.md#update
Delete a file	sdk/files.md#delete
List directory contents	sdk/files.md#list

Branches & Commits

Task	Reference
Create a branch	sdk/git.md#create-branch
List branches	sdk/git.md#list-branches
Get commit details	sdk/git.md#get-commit
List commits	sdk/git.md#list-commits

Search

Task	Reference
Search code	sdk/search.md#code
Search issues/PRs	sdk/search.md#issues
Search repositories	sdk/search.md#repos

Actions

Task	Reference
List workflow runs	sdk/actions.md#runs
Get run details	sdk/actions.md#get-run
Get job logs	sdk/actions.md#logs
Trigger a workflow	sdk/actions.md#trigger

Setup & Account

Task	Reference
Set up GITHUB_TOKEN	advanced/token-setup.md
Use GraphQL API	advanced/graphql.md
Diagnose issues	#troubleshooting
Common errors	#troubleshooting

When Do I Need Advanced Docs? {#when-advanced}

Use sdk/files.md when:

• Reading or writing file contents
• Listing directory contents
• Deleting files

Use sdk/git.md when:

• Creating or listing branches
• Getting commit history
• Working with refs/SHAs

Use sdk/search.md when:

• Finding code across repositories
• Searching for issues/PRs with complex filters
• Looking for repositories by topic/stars

Use advanced/graphql.md when:

• You need nested data in one request (e.g., issue + all comments + author details)
• REST would require multiple sequential calls for related data
• You need specific fields only (reduce bandwidth)
• Example: "Get PR with all review comments and their authors" -> GraphQL is better

REST vs GraphQL Decision:

Need simple CRUD on one resource? -> Use REST (this skill's main docs)
Need nested/related data efficiently? -> Use GraphQL (advanced/graphql.md)

Multi-Step Workflows {#workflows}

Creating a PR with Changes

This requires multiple steps in sequence:

1. Get main branch SHA -> sdk/git.md#get-ref
2. Create feature branch -> sdk/git.md#create-branch
3. Create/update files on branch -> sdk/files.md#create (pass branch param)
4. Create the PR -> sdk/pull-requests.md#create

Warning: getRef() uses heads/main but createRef() needs refs/heads/main. See sdk/git.md for details.

Updating a File

File updates require the current SHA:

1. Read current file -> sdk/files.md#read (get sha from response)
2. Update with new content -> sdk/files.md#update (pass sha)

Quick Operations {#quick}

Get Authenticated User {#user-info}

const { data: user } = await octokit.rest.users.getAuthenticated();
console.log("User:", user.login);
console.log("Name:", user.name ?? "(not set)");

Check Rate Limits {#rate-limits}

const { data } = await octokit.rest.rateLimit.get();
console.log("Remaining:", data.rate.remaining, "/", data.rate.limit);
console.log("Resets:", new Date(data.rate.reset * 1000).toISOString());

Pagination {#pagination}

Use paginate() to automatically fetch all pages:

const allIssues = await octokit.paginate(octokit.rest.issues.listForRepo, {
  owner: "owner",
  repo: "repo",
  state: "all",
  per_page: 100,
});
console.log("Total:", allIssues.length);

Critical Gotchas {#gotchas}

Issue	What Happens	Fix
File content is base64	Get garbled text	Buffer.from(data.content, 'base64').toString('utf8')
File updates need SHA	409 Conflict error	Get SHA from getContent(), pass to update
PR mergeable is null	Can't check if mergeable	Wait 2 seconds or poll until non-null
Missing resource	404 error thrown	Use try/catch, check error.status === 404
Rate limit exceeded	403 error	Check rateLimit.get(), wait for reset
Branch ref format	Wrong ref error	createRef() needs refs/heads/name, getRef() needs heads/name

Error Handling {#errors}

try {
  const { data } = await octokit.rest.issues.get({ owner, repo, issue_number: 999 });
} catch (error: any) {
  if (error.status === 404) {
    console.log("Issue not found");
  } else if (error.status === 403) {
    console.log("Rate limited or no permission");
  } else if (error.status === 401) {
    console.log("Bad credentials - check GITHUB_TOKEN");
  } else {
    throw error;
  }
}

Troubleshooting {#troubleshooting}

Quick Diagnostics

tsx << 'EOF'
import { Octokit } from "octokit";

// Check 1: Token exists
if (!process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN) {
  console.log("GITHUB_TOKEN not set");
  process.exit(1);
}
console.log("Token:", process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN.substring(0, 4) + "...");

// Check 2: Authentication works
const octokit = new Octokit({ auth: process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN });
try {
  const { data: user } = await octokit.rest.users.getAuthenticated();
  console.log("Authenticated as:", user.login);
} catch (e: any) {
  console.log("Auth failed:", e.status, e.message);
  process.exit(1);
}

// Check 3: Rate limits
const { data: rate } = await octokit.rest.rateLimit.get();
console.log("Rate limit:", rate.rate.remaining + "/" + rate.rate.limit);
EOF

Common Errors

Error	Likely Cause	Solution
401 Bad credentials	Token invalid or expired	Generate new token at github.com/settings/tokens
403 Resource not accessible	Token lacks required permissions	Add permissions or use fine-grained token with repo access
404 Not Found	Repo doesn't exist OR token can't access private repo	Verify repo name; ensure token has repo scope
409 Conflict (file update)	SHA mismatch - file changed	Re-read file to get current SHA, then update
422 Unprocessable	Invalid parameters or state	Check API docs for required fields
rate.remaining = 0	Hit 5000 req/hour limit	Wait until rate.reset time or reduce requests

Search Not Finding Results?

Search queries use AND logic between qualifiers:

• repo:owner/repo is:issue state:open = issues in repo AND open
• Add qualifiers one at a time to narrow down
• Check spelling of repo name and qualifiers

File Content Garbled?

Always decode base64:

// Wrong: console.log(data.content)
// Right:
const text = Buffer.from(data.content, "base64").toString("utf8");

Branch Operations Failing?

Check ref format - different methods need different formats:

• git.getRef() needs heads/main (no refs/ prefix)
• git.createRef() needs refs/heads/main (with prefix)