Agent skill

GitHub

GitHub CLI operations via gh for issues, PRs, Actions, releases, and REST/GraphQL API with --json/--jq parsing.

Install GitHub

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill github -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Mathews-Tom/armory github --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/github .claude/skills/github && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "github" agent skill from https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/github into .claude/skills/github/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "github", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/github

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill github -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Mathews-Tom/armory github --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/github .agents/skills/github && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "github" agent skill from https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/github into .agents/skills/github/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "github", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill github -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Mathews-Tom/armory github --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/github .cursor/skills/github && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "github" agent skill from https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/github into .cursor/skills/github/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "github", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git --path skills/github

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill github -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Mathews-Tom/armory github --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/github .gemini/skills/github && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "github" agent skill from https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/github into .gemini/skills/github/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "github", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Mathews-Tom/armory github

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill github -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/github .github/skills/github && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "github" agent skill from https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/github into .github/skills/github/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "github", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill github -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Mathews-Tom/armory github --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/github .opencode/skills/github && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "github" agent skill from https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/github into .opencode/skills/github/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "github", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: github
GitHub stars: 327
Token cost: ~1.9k tokens
SKILL.md length: 654 words
Files: 13 (incl. references)
Skills in repo: 80
Repo updated: Oct 6, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

GitHub CLI operations via gh for issues, PRs, Actions, releases, and REST/GraphQL API with --json/--jq parsing.

Works in 4 steps: Identify user intent from the routing… → Load the matching references/.md for… → Execute the gh command with --repo… → …
: create an issue
SKILL.md covers Prerequisites and Auth, Reference Routing, Workflow Pattern and Error Handling, plus 2 more sections
Calls gh, brew and apt

What it does

GitHub is an agent skill from Mathews-Tom/armory. GitHub CLI operations via gh for issues, PRs, Actions, releases, and REST/GraphQL API with --json/--jq parsing. Triggers on: "create an issue", "submit a PR", "check CI status", "why did CI fail", "merge a PR", or pasted GitHub URLs.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.9k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 14 other files, including reference files (for example `evals/cases.yaml`, `references/api.md` and `references/automation-workflows.md`).

It sits in Backend & APIs, covering GraphQL. It works with GitHub and GraphQL. The repository describes itself as: Curated, production-grade skills for AI coding agents. Battle-tested workflows for developers who use AI seriously. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

: create an issue
Check CI status
Why did CI fail
Pasted GitHub URLs

Example prompts

“create an issue”
“submit a PR”
“check CI status”
“/github”

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

Identify user intent from the routing table above.
Load the matching references/.md for command syntax and examples.
Execute the gh command with --repo owner/repo and --json/--jq as needed.
On error, consult the Error Handling table below.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 4594fb7. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
- gh
- brew
- apt
- winget
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use gh, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

GitHub loads about 1.9k tokens when it runs, and up to ~7.9k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 62 tokens; SKILL.md has 654 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~62
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~1.9k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them: ~7.9k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check: notes

The automated check noted patterns worth knowing about, such as sudo or a known installer.

NoteRuns commands with sudoSKILL.md:24

| Debian/Ubuntu | `sudo apt install gh`       |

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from Mathews-Tom/armory at commit 4594fb7, republished under its MIT licence (© Mathews-Tom). 654 words, ~1,905 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/github/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 12 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.

name: github
description: GitHub CLI operations via `gh` for issues, PRs, Actions, releases, and REST/GraphQL API with `--json`/`--jq` parsing. Triggers on: "create an issue", "submit a PR", "check CI status", "why did CI fail", "merge a PR", or pasted GitHub URLs.
metadata.version: 1.1.1
metadata.category: review
metadata.tags: github, cli, issues, pull-requests
metadata.difficulty: intermediate

GitHub

All GitHub operations use the gh CLI. Prefer --json with --jq for structured, parseable output. Use --repo owner/repo when not inside a git repository with a configured remote. Use --web to open any resource in the browser.

Prerequisites and Auth

Installation

Platform	Command
macOS	`brew install gh`
Debian/Ubuntu	`sudo apt install gh`
Windows	`winget install GitHub.cli`

Authentication

bash

gh auth login           # interactive OAuth login
gh auth status          # check current auth and active account

Required OAuth Scopes

Scope	Grants Access To
`repo`	Private repos, issues, PRs, commits, status
`read:org`	Org membership, team listing
`workflow`	Trigger and manage GitHub Actions workflows
`gist`	Create and manage gists
`delete_repo`	Delete repositories (not granted by default)
`admin:org`	Manage org settings, teams, members
`project`	Read/write access to ProjectV2 boards

Add missing scopes without re-authenticating from scratch:

bash

gh auth refresh --scopes repo,read:org,workflow

Reference Routing

User intent	Load
Create/list/view/edit/close issues, add comments	`references/issues.md`
Create/list/view/review/merge/edit/close pull requests	`references/pull-requests.md`
List runs, view logs, trigger/rerun/watch workflows, artifacts	`references/ci-actions.md`
Create/fork/clone/view/edit/archive/delete repositories	`references/repos.md`
Create/list/view/edit/upload/delete releases	`references/releases.md`
Search repos, issues, PRs, code, commits	`references/search.md`
Raw REST/GraphQL via `gh api`, pagination, rate limit	`references/api.md`
GraphQL cost model, bulk queries, mutations, rate limits	`references/graphql-queries.md`
Multi-step workflow recipes (PR lifecycle, CI triage, releases)	`references/automation-workflows.md`
Create/list/view/edit/delete gists	`references/gists.md`
List orgs, teams, members	`references/orgs.md`

Workflow Pattern

Identify user intent from the routing table above.
Load the matching references/<file>.md for command syntax and examples.
Execute the gh command with --repo owner/repo and --json/--jq as needed.
On error, consult the Error Handling table below.

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Resolution
HTTP 401 Unauthorized	Token expired or revoked	Run `gh auth login` to re-authenticate
HTTP 403 Forbidden	Insufficient permissions or rate limited	Check `gh auth status` for scopes; check `gh api rate_limit`
HTTP 404 Not Found	Repo does not exist, is private without `repo` scope, or resource deleted	Verify repo name; run `gh auth refresh --scopes repo`
HTTP 422 Unprocessable Entity	Invalid payload — missing required field, validation error	Check request body fields match API schema
HTTP 429 Too Many Requests	REST rate limit exceeded (5000 req/hr authenticated)	Wait for `X-RateLimit-Reset` timestamp; reduce request frequency
GraphQL rate limit exceeded	Used more than 5000 points/hr	Reduce query complexity or wait; see `references/graphql-queries.md`
"no git remotes found"	Running `gh` outside a git repo without `--repo`	Add `--repo owner/repo` to the command
Insufficient OAuth scopes	Token lacks required scope for the operation	Run `gh auth refresh --scopes scope1,scope2`
Duplicate issue/PR title	Not a real error — GitHub allows duplicates, but check before creating	Search with `gh issue list` or `gh pr list` first
Archived repo blocks writes	Repo is archived; all write operations fail	Unarchive with `gh repo edit owner/repo --archived=false` or use a different repo

Enable debug logging to see raw HTTP requests and responses:

bash

GH_DEBUG=api gh pr list --repo owner/repo

Show full SKILL.md (222 more words)Show less

Calibration Rules

Prefer --json over parsing text output. Text output formats are unstable across gh versions. Always use --json field1,field2 to get machine-readable output.
Use --jq to minimize output before processing. Filter at the source rather than piping large JSON blobs to external tools. --jq runs server-side and reduces data transferred.
Prefer higher-level commands over raw API. Use gh issue create instead of gh api repos/.../issues -X POST. High-level commands handle auth, pagination, and error formatting automatically.
Use --repo consistently when outside a git directory. Never rely on implicit repo detection in scripts or CI environments. Always pass --repo owner/repo explicitly.
Use GraphQL only for nested or bulk data. For single-resource fetches and mutations with simple payloads, REST is faster to write, easier to debug, and predictable under rate limits.

Limitations

Network required — all gh commands require internet access; no offline mode.
GraphQL point budget — 5000 points/hr for authenticated users. Complex queries with high first/last values consume points faster. See references/graphql-queries.md.
Secrets are write-only — gh secret set works, but there is no gh secret get. Secret values cannot be retrieved after creation.
Org admin operations — managing org settings, teams, and SAML requires the admin:org scope, which is not granted by default.
Artifact retention — workflow artifacts are retained for 90 days by default. Expired artifacts cannot be downloaded.

Files

SKILL.md and 12 other files (references) in skills/github of Mathews-Tom/armory.

SKILL.md
evals/cases.yaml
references/api.md
references/automation-workflows.md
references/ci-actions.md
references/gists.md
references/graphql-queries.md
references/issues.md
references/orgs.md
references/pull-requests.md
references/releases.md
references/repos.md
references/search.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 4594fb7

Compare with similar skills

GitHub next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

GitHub compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
GitHub this skillMathews-Tom/armory	327	—	~1.9k	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	yesterday
Cuga GitHub Issuescuga-project/cuga-agent	893	—	~1.2k	Automated safety check: Pass	Custom licence	yesterday
Linearkaranhudia/borg-ui	1.7k	—	~1.7k	Automated safety check: Pass	AGPL-3.0	today
Distilled SDKalchemy-run/distilled	431	—	~6k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	today
Review PR Commentslatitude-dev/latitude-llm	4.7k	—	~2.6k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	yesterday
Merge Queuefullsend-ai/fullsend	147	—	~712	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	today

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Linear
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Questions about GitHub

What does GitHub do?

GitHub CLI operations via gh for issues, PRs, Actions, releases, and REST/GraphQL API with --json/--jq parsing. GitHub is an agent skill from Mathews-Tom/armory. GitHub CLI operations via gh for issues, PRs, Actions, releases, and REST/GraphQL API with --json/--jq parsing.

When should I use GitHub?

GitHub fits situations like: : create an issue; check CI status; why did CI fail; pasted GitHub URLs.

How do I install GitHub in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill github -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/github in Mathews-Tom/armory) into .claude/skills/github in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install GitHub in Codex?

Run `npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill github -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/github in Mathews-Tom/armory) into .agents/skills/github in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use GitHub in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill github -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/github, .gemini/skills/github, .github/skills/github and .opencode/skills/github in your project.

What does GitHub need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, GitHub needs the command-line tools its instructions call (gh, brew, apt and winget).

Does GitHub access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Its commands use gh, which can reach the network depending on how they are called. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is GitHub safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found notes only (runs commands with sudo), nothing it rates as a warning. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does GitHub use?

GitHub is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does GitHub use?

About 1.9k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 7.6k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 6k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to GitHub?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with GitHub: Cuga GitHub Issues (cuga-project/cuga-agent, 893 stars), Linear (karanhudia/borg-ui, 1.7k stars), Distilled SDK (alchemy-run/distilled, 431 stars) and Review PR Comments (latitude-dev/latitude-llm, 4.7k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains GitHub?

Mathews-Tom (a GitHub user) maintains it in Mathews-Tom/armory, which has 327 GitHub stars. The repository holds 80 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.

Source: Mathews-Tom/armory on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install GitHub

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

GitHub

Prerequisites and Auth

Installation

Authentication

Required OAuth Scopes

Reference Routing

Workflow Pattern

Error Handling

Calibration Rules

Limitations

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from Mathews-Tom/armory

Related

Questions about GitHub