github

name	github
description	Complete guide to all GitHub tools — search, issues, pull requests, repositories, releases, collaborators, and security alerts.
version	1.0.0
license	MIT
metadata	{"category":"Development","difficulty":"beginner","apply-to":"github-search-code github-search-issues github-search-repositories github-search-users github-create-issue github-get-issue github-list-issues github-update-issue github-create-pull-request github-list-pull-requests github-merge-pull-request github-create-repository github-get-repository github-delete-repository github-list-repositories github-add-collaborator github-list-collaborators github-list-commits github-create-release github-list-releases github-list-code-alerts github-update-code-alert","author":"Matimo","tags":"github,git,issues,pull-requests,repositories,search"}

GitHub

Complete guide to using Matimo's GitHub tools for search, issues, PRs, repositories, releases, and security.

All Available Tools

Tool	Purpose	Category
github-search-code	Search code across repositories	Search
github-search-issues	Search issues and pull requests	Search
github-search-repositories	Find repositories	Search
github-search-users	Find users and organizations	Search
github-create-issue	Create a new issue	Issues
github-get-issue	Get issue details	Issues
github-list-issues	List issues for a repository	Issues
github-update-issue	Update an existing issue	Issues
github-create-pull-request	Create a pull request	Pull Requests
github-list-pull-requests	List PRs for a repository	Pull Requests
github-merge-pull-request	Merge a pull request	Pull Requests
github-create-repository	Create a new repository	Repos
github-get-repository	Get repository details	Repos
github-delete-repository	Delete a repository (destructive!)	Repos
github-list-repositories	List repos for a user/org	Repos
github-add-collaborator	Add a collaborator	Repos
github-list-collaborators	List current collaborators	Repos
github-list-commits	List recent commits	Repos
github-create-release	Create a tagged release	Releases
github-list-releases	List existing releases	Releases
github-list-code-alerts	View security/code scanning alerts	Security
github-update-code-alert	Dismiss or acknowledge alerts	Security

Authentication

Requires GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable with appropriate scopes (repo, read:org, read:user).

---

Search

Code Search

Use github-search-code with query qualifiers:

Qualifier	Example	Purpose
repo:owner/name	repo:acme/api	Specific repo
org:name	org:acme	Across an org
path:dir	path:src/utils	In directory
filename:name	filename:package.json	By filename
extension:ext	extension:ts	By extension
language:lang	language:typescript	By language

Use - prefix for negation: -path:test -path:node_modules.

Issue & PR Search

Use github-search-issues with qualifiers: is:issue/is:pr, state:open/state:closed, label:name, assignee:user, author:user.

Repository Search

Use github-search-repositories with: stars:>N, language:lang, topic:name, pushed:>date.

Search Tips

1. Start broad, then narrow with qualifiers
2. Use negation (-) to exclude noise
3. Quote "exact phrases" for multi-word searches
4. Rate limit: 30 requests/minute for authenticated users

---

Issues

Creating Issues

Use github-create-issue with owner, repo, title (required), and optional body, labels, assignees.

Best practices:

• Descriptive titles: "Login page returns 500 on invalid email" not "Bug"
• Add labels for categorization
• Reference related issues with #number
• Assign to the right person

Updating Issues

Use github-update-issue to change title, body, state (open/closed), labels, assignees, or milestone.

Listing Issues

Use github-list-issues with filters: state (open/closed/all), labels, assignee, sort (created/updated/comments), direction (asc/desc).

---

Pull Requests

Creating PRs

Use github-create-pull-request with owner, repo, title, head (source branch), base (target branch), and optional body, draft.

Best practices:

• Reference the issue: "Fixes #42"
• Use draft PRs for work-in-progress
• Keep PRs focused on a single change

Merging PRs

Use github-merge-pull-request with owner, repo, pull_number, and optional merge_method (merge/squash/rebase).

Pre-merge checklist: CI passing, reviews approved, no conflicts, branch up to date.

---

Repositories

Creating Repos

{
  "owner": "acme",
  "name": "new-service",
  "description": "Backend service for payment processing",
  "private": true,
  "auto_init": true
}

Always add a description. Start private, go public when ready. Use auto_init: true for README.

Collaborators

Use github-add-collaborator with owner, repo, username, and permission (pull/push/admin). Always use least-privilege.

Releases

Use github-create-release with owner, repo, tag_name, name, body, and optional draft/prerelease. Follow semantic versioning.

---

Security

Use github-list-code-alerts to review Dependabot and CodeQL findings. Use github-update-code-alert to dismiss with reason (false_positive, wont_fix, used_in_tests).

Triage workflow: List alerts → assess severity → dismiss false positives → create issues for real vulnerabilities.

---

Common Workflows

Bug Fix Flow

1. Search issues: github-search-issues for duplicates
2. Create issue: github-create-issue
3. Create PR: github-create-pull-request referencing the issue
4. Merge: github-merge-pull-request
5. Update issue: close with comment

Release Flow

1. List PRs merged since last release
2. Create release with changelog
3. List and triage any new security alerts

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Common Errors

Error	Cause	Fix
404 Not Found	Repo doesn't exist or no access	Check owner/repo and token scopes
422 Validation Failed	Missing required fields or bad syntax	Check parameters
403 Rate limit exceeded	Too many requests	Wait and retry; use conditional requests
409 Merge conflict	PR has conflicts	Resolve conflicts before merging