Agent skill

Building GitHub Index

by oaustegard in oaustegard/claude-skills

Generate progressive disclosure indexes for GitHub repositories to use as Claude project knowledge.

MITAuto-check passedKnowledge Management

Install Building GitHub Index

skills CLI

$ npx skills add oaustegard/claude-skills --skill building-github-index -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install oaustegard/claude-skills building-github-index --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/oaustegard/claude-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/building-github-index .claude/skills/building-github-index && 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 "building-github-index" agent skill from https://github.com/oaustegard/claude-skills/tree/main/building-github-index into .claude/skills/building-github-index/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "building-github-index", 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/oaustegard/claude-skills/tree/main/building-github-index

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 oaustegard/claude-skills --skill building-github-index -a codex

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install oaustegard/claude-skills building-github-index --agent codex

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

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/oaustegard/claude-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/building-github-index .agents/skills/building-github-index && 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 "building-github-index" agent skill from https://github.com/oaustegard/claude-skills/tree/main/building-github-index into .agents/skills/building-github-index/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "building-github-index", 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 oaustegard/claude-skills --skill building-github-index -a cursor

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install oaustegard/claude-skills building-github-index --agent cursor

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

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/oaustegard/claude-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/building-github-index .cursor/skills/building-github-index && 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 "building-github-index" agent skill from https://github.com/oaustegard/claude-skills/tree/main/building-github-index into .cursor/skills/building-github-index/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "building-github-index", 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/oaustegard/claude-skills.git --path building-github-index

--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 oaustegard/claude-skills --skill building-github-index -a gemini-cli

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install oaustegard/claude-skills building-github-index --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/oaustegard/claude-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/building-github-index .gemini/skills/building-github-index && 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 "building-github-index" agent skill from https://github.com/oaustegard/claude-skills/tree/main/building-github-index into .gemini/skills/building-github-index/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "building-github-index", 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 oaustegard/claude-skills building-github-index

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 oaustegard/claude-skills --skill building-github-index -a github-copilot

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

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/oaustegard/claude-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/building-github-index .github/skills/building-github-index && 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 "building-github-index" agent skill from https://github.com/oaustegard/claude-skills/tree/main/building-github-index into .github/skills/building-github-index/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "building-github-index", 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 oaustegard/claude-skills --skill building-github-index -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 oaustegard/claude-skills building-github-index --agent opencode

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

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/oaustegard/claude-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/building-github-index .opencode/skills/building-github-index && 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 "building-github-index" agent skill from https://github.com/oaustegard/claude-skills/tree/main/building-github-index into .opencode/skills/building-github-index/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "building-github-index", 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: building-github-index
GitHub stars: 150
Token cost: ~994 tokens
SKILL.md length: 281 words
Files: 5 (incl. scripts)
Skills in repo: 93
Repo updated: Oct 2, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

Generate progressive disclosure indexes for GitHub repositories to use as Claude project knowledge.

Works in 5 steps: YAML frontmatter - title: and… → Markdown headings - First h1/h2 as… → Notebook cells - First markdown cell… → …
Setting up projects referencing external documentation
SKILL.md covers Quick Start, Script Options, Description Extraction Priority and When Descriptions Fail, plus 5 more sections
Runs Python scripts from its folder; calls python, curl and python3; reaches api.github.com; needs GITHUB_TOKEN

What it does

Building GitHub Index is an agent skill from oaustegard/claude-skills. Generate progressive disclosure indexes for GitHub repositories to use as Claude project knowledge. Use when setting up projects referencing external documentation, creating searchable indexes of technical blogs or knowledge bases, combining multiple repos into one index, or when user mentions "index", "github repo", "project knowledge", or "documentation reference".

Its SKILL.md is about 990 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 5 other files, including scripts (for example `CHANGELOG.md`, `README.md` and `scripts/github_index.py`).

It sits in Knowledge Management, covering Knowledge bases. It works with GitHub. The repository describes itself as: My collection of Claude skills. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

Setting up projects referencing external documentation
Creating searchable indexes of technical blogs
Knowledge bases
Combining multiple repos into one index

Example prompts

“github repo”
“project knowledge”
“documentation reference”
“/building-github-index”

Requirements

Python 3
A credential in GITHUB_TOKEN

Workflow steps

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

YAML frontmatter - title: and description: fields
Markdown headings - First h1/h2 as title, subsequent as topics
Notebook cells - First markdown cell heading
Code symbols - Public function/class names (with --code-symbols)
Path-derived - Convert filename to words (fallback)

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 559a6cd. 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
Ships 2 files in scripts/ (Python), which the agent can run.
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
- python
- curl
- python3
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:
- api.github.com
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names these keys or tokens, usually read from environment variables:
- GITHUB_TOKEN
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Building GitHub Index loads about 994 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 98 tokens; SKILL.md has 281 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~98
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~994

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 passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

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); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from oaustegard/claude-skills at commit 559a6cd, republished under its MIT licence (© oaustegard). 281 words, ~994 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/building-github-index/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 4 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.

name: building-github-index
description: Generate progressive disclosure indexes for GitHub repositories to use as Claude project knowledge. Use when setting up projects referencing external documentation, creating searchable indexes of technical blogs or knowledge bases, combining multiple repos into one index, or when user mentions "index", "github repo", "project knowledge", or "documentation reference".
metadata.version: 2.0.1

Building GitHub Index

Create markdown indexes of GitHub repositories optimized for Claude project knowledge. Indexes enable retrieval via GitHub API with semantic descriptions for effective matching.

Quick Start

bash

# Documentation repos (markdown/notebooks)
python scripts/github_index.py owner/repo -o index.md

# Code repos (extract symbols via tree-sitter)
python scripts/github_index.py owner/repo --code-symbols -o index.md

# Multiple repos combined
python scripts/github_index.py owner/repo1 owner/repo2 -o combined.md

Script Options

Flag	Description
`-o, --output`	Output file (default: `github_index.md`)
`--token`	GitHub PAT; also reads `GITHUB_TOKEN` env
`--include-patterns`	Only index matching globs: `"docs/" "src/"`
`--exclude-patterns`	Skip matching globs: `"test/**"`
`--max-files`	Cap files per repo (default: 200)
`--skip-fetch`	Tree only, no content fetch (fast, filename-only descriptions)
`--code-symbols`	Include code files, extract function/class names via tree-sitter

Description Extraction Priority

YAML frontmatter - title: and description: fields
Markdown headings - First h1/h2 as title, subsequent as topics
Notebook cells - First markdown cell heading
Code symbols - Public function/class names (with --code-symbols)
Path-derived - Convert filename to words (fallback)

When Descriptions Fail

Some repos have stub files (links to external docs, empty readmes). In these cases:

Manual curation recommended. Use the tree output and domain knowledge:

bash

# Get tree structure only (fast)
python scripts/github_index.py owner/repo --skip-fetch -o skeleton.md
# Then manually enhance descriptions based on domain knowledge

For code-heavy repos with embedded apps:

Directory names encode purpose: acc_wav_gen → "ACC waveform generation"
Peripheral acronyms map to functions: AFEC=ADC, MCAN=CAN, TWIHS=I2C
Operation modes: blocking, interrupt, dma, polled

Output Format

markdown

# {Repo} - Content Index

**Repository:** {url}
**Branch:** `{branch}`

## Retrieval Method
{API curl commands}

---

## {Category}

| Description | Path |
|-------------|------|
| {What this covers} | `{path/file.md}` |

Description column leads (relevance matching), path follows (retrieval key).

API Access

Enumerate files:

bash

curl -sL "https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/git/trees/BRANCH?recursive=1"

Fetch content:

bash

curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/contents/PATH?ref=BRANCH" \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" | \
  python3 -c "import sys,json,base64; print(base64.b64decode(json.load(sys.stdin)['content']).decode())"

Network

Both scripts download a repo tarball (single HTTP request, no per-file rate limits) then process files locally. Allowlist: api.github.com (tarball redirects via this endpoint)

accessing-github-repos - Private repos, PAT setup, tarball download
tree-sitting - Detailed code structure (methods, imports, line numbers)

Condensed Format (pk_index.py)

For token-constrained project knowledge, use the condensed script:

bash

python scripts/pk_index.py owner/repo -o repo_pk.md

Produces ~80% smaller output:

Single line per file: path — description
Symbols only (no signatures)
15 files max per category
No retrieval instructions section

Ideal when adding multiple repo indexes to project knowledge.

Files

SKILL.md and 4 other files (scripts) in building-github-index of oaustegard/claude-skills.

SKILL.md
CHANGELOG.md
README.md
scripts/github_index.py
scripts/pk_index.py

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 559a6cd

Compare with similar skills

Building GitHub Index 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.

Building GitHub Index compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Building GitHub Index this skilloaustegard/claude-skills	150	—	~994	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	5 days ago
Enterprise SearchZhixiangLuo/10xProductivity	478	—	~535	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	2 mo ago
Add New Entry From Temp Mdkimtth/azure-openai-llm-notes	410	—	~490	Automated safety check: Pass	None	5 days ago
Vaultscott-fryxell/brayness	124	—	~1.3k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	9 days ago
Wiki Research Looprohitg00/pro-workflow	2.9k	—	~1.5k	Automated safety check: Pass	None	8 days ago
Knowledge Opsaffaan-m/ECC	274k	2 repos	~1.7k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	2 days ago

Similar skills

Enterprise Search
ZhixiangLuo/10xProductivity
Search your entire company's institutional knowledge in one query — Slack, Confluence, Jira, Linear, Notion, GitHub, plus any AI or multi-source search tool listed in verifiedconnections.md.
478 GitHub stars~535 tokensUpdated 2 mo ago
Knowledge ManagementAuto-check passed
Add New Entry From Temp Md
kimtth/azure-openai-llm-notes
Format new entries from temp.md into tempentries.md, ready to insert into the section files.
410 GitHub stars~490 tokensUpdated 5 days ago
Knowledge ManagementAuto-check passed
Vault
scott-fryxell/brayness
Read, search, and maintain the user's Obsidian vault at work/vault, a PARA-structured knowledge base of projects, interests, and reference material.
124 GitHub stars~1.3k tokensUpdated 9 days ago
Knowledge ManagementAuto-check passed
Wiki Research Loop
rohitg00/pro-workflow
Auto-grow a pro-workflow wiki by running a budget-capped BFS research loop over pluggable source fetchers (web, arXiv, GitHub).
2.9k GitHub stars~1.5k tokensUpdated 8 days ago
Knowledge ManagementAuto-check passed
Knowledge Ops
affaan-m/ECC
Knowledge base management, ingestion, sync, and retrieval across multiple storage layers (local files, MCP memory, vector stores, Git repos).
274k GitHub starsUsed in 2 repos~1.7k tokens
Knowledge ManagementAuto-check passed
Copilot Spaces
github/awesome-copilot
Official
Use Copilot Spaces to provide project-specific context to conversations.
40k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~2.2k tokens
Knowledge ManagementAuto-check passed

Questions about Building GitHub Index

What does Building GitHub Index do?

Generate progressive disclosure indexes for GitHub repositories to use as Claude project knowledge. Building GitHub Index is an agent skill from oaustegard/claude-skills. Generate progressive disclosure indexes for GitHub repositories to use as Claude project knowledge.

When should I use Building GitHub Index?

Building GitHub Index fits situations like: setting up projects referencing external documentation; creating searchable indexes of technical blogs; knowledge bases; combining multiple repos into one index.

How do I install Building GitHub Index in Claude Code?

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

How do I install Building GitHub Index in Codex?

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

Can I use Building GitHub Index 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 oaustegard/claude-skills --skill building-github-index -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/building-github-index, .gemini/skills/building-github-index, .github/skills/building-github-index and .opencode/skills/building-github-index in your project.

What does Building GitHub Index need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Building GitHub Index needs Python for the scripts in its folder, the command-line tools its instructions call (python, curl and python3) and credentials named GITHUB_TOKEN. Our summary lists: Python 3; A credential in GITHUB_TOKEN.

Does Building GitHub Index access the network?

SKILL.md names 1 domain. In commands or code: api.github.com; the agent is likely to contact it when it follows the instructions. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Building GitHub Index safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. The check reads SKILL.md only: the scripts in the folder are not scanned, so read them before running anything.

What licence does Building GitHub Index use?

Building GitHub Index 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 Building GitHub Index use?

About 994 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Building GitHub Index?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Building GitHub Index: Enterprise Search (ZhixiangLuo/10xProductivity, 478 stars), Add New Entry From Temp Md (kimtth/azure-openai-llm-notes, 410 stars), Vault (scott-fryxell/brayness, 124 stars) and Wiki Research Loop (rohitg00/pro-workflow, 2.9k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Building GitHub Index?

oaustegard (a GitHub user) maintains it in oaustegard/claude-skills, which has 150 GitHub stars. The repository holds 93 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 2, 2026.

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

Install Building GitHub Index

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Building GitHub Index

Quick Start

Script Options

Description Extraction Priority

When Descriptions Fail

Output Format

API Access

Network

Related Skills

Condensed Format (pk_index.py)

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from oaustegard/claude-skills

Related

Questions about Building GitHub Index