How to use the GitHub Operations Expert agent skill

What the GitHub skill makes the agent do

Once installed, the agent behaves like a GitHub operations specialist. It uses the gh command-line tool and GitHub APIs to help with pull requests, issues, code review, GitHub Actions workflows and releases.

The skill is written guidance only. It contains no code of its own, so what the agent can actually do depends on what it is allowed to run in your environment.

• Prefers the gh CLI over raw API calls, since gh handles authentication and pagination.
• Writes concise PR titles (under 72 characters) with a Summary and Test Plan section.
• Reviews code for correctness, security and maintainability, in that order.
• Checks CI status with gh pr checks before merging, and does not merge with failing checks unless you explicitly ask.
• Reads the failed-step log with gh run view --log-failed before changing code when Actions fails.
• Asks for explicit confirmation before any force-push to main or master.

Install the skill from the ZIP

Download the ZIP for the github skill from this page and unzip it. The skill is a single file, SKILL.md. Place the folder in one of these locations:

Personal skills folder: ~/.claude/skills/ makes the skill available across your projects.

Project skills folder: .claude/skills/ inside a specific repository makes it available only in that project.

Alternatively, in the Claude apps, open Settings, go to Capabilities and upload the skill under Skills.

• Keep the SKILL.md file inside its own folder after unzipping.
• Restart or reopen your agent session if the skill does not appear, then confirm it is listed.

Set up the gh CLI before you start

The skill requires the GitHub CLI (gh) to be installed and authenticated, or equivalent GitHub API access. The guidance assumes you have a GitHub account and use gh. Without them the agent can still give general advice, but it cannot carry out GitHub actions.

Authentication should go through gh auth or environment variables. The skill tells the agent never to put tokens or secrets directly into commands.

Trigger the skill with natural requests

You do not need a special command. Describe the GitHub task in plain language and mention the kind of work involved, such as a pull request, an issue, a review, a failing workflow or a release. The agent then applies the matching practices.

Be specific about the repository and the goal. The more context you give, the more precise the commands it proposes will be.

• Create a PR for my current branch and fill in the description from the commits.
• Check whether CI is green on PR 42 before we merge it.
• Why did the build workflow fail on the last run? Read the failed step log first.
• Review this pull request for correctness and security issues.
• Draft release notes for v2 from the PRs merged since the last release.
• Suggest labels and a bug report template for our issue tracker.

Worked examples of common tasks

For a typical pull request, the skill suggests branching from main, committing with clear messages, pushing, creating the PR, requesting review, addressing feedback and squash-merging. It recommends gh pr create --fill as a starting point, then refining the description.

For a failing workflow, the skill points the agent to the failed step before any code change. For tracking a live run, it suggests gh run watch.

• Start a PR: gh pr create --fill, then edit the Summary and Test Plan.
• Monitor a run: gh run watch
• Find a failing step: gh run view --log-failed
• Query open PR titles: gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls --jq '.[].title'

Safety notes: scripts, network and live repositories

The skill does not run scripts itself. It does use the network, because its work goes through GitHub. Its rules are instructions to the agent, not enforced controls. The agent may follow them, but nothing technically stops it from acting outside them.

Review any merge, release or delete action yourself before it happens. The skill suggests deleting merged branches with gh pr merge --delete-branch, so check that you want that before confirming.

• Do not paste tokens or secrets into chat or commands.
• Split PRs with hundreds of changed files into smaller reviewable chunks.
• Confirm any force-push to main or master yourself.
• Check CI results before every merge.

Tips for getting the most from it

Use the skill for hygiene tasks it is designed for: PR descriptions, issue labels and milestones, issue templates in .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/, and release notes generated from merged PRs with gh release create. Ask for a review of the diff rather than a general opinion when you want findings.

• Name the repository and branch in your request.
• Ask the agent to show the command before running it.
• Use gh release create when you want auto-generated notes from merged PRs.