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GitHub API Access

github-api

Access GitHub API using gh CLI in sandboxed environment - install binary, authenticate with tokens, query repos, PRs, issues, workflow runs, and download artifacts

majiayu000/claude-skill-registry-data0installs22starsDevOps & CI/CD

SKILL.md

Full skill instructions

GitHub API Access

Access GitHub's API in sandboxed environment using GitHub CLI binary.

Core principle: Use existing gh if available (global or /​tmp), install only if needed.

Environment: Requires GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable.

When to Use

PR status/​reviews, workflow runs/​logs, issues, repository info, Actions data, artifacts, remote file contents.

Quick Setup

Check for gh and set alias:

if command -v gh &> /​dev/​null; then
  GH="gh"
elif [ -f "/​tmp/​gh-install/​gh_2.62.0_linux_amd64/​bin/​gh" ]; then
  GH="/​tmp/​gh-install/​gh_2.62.0_linux_amd64/​bin/​gh"
else
  echo "gh not found. See INSTALL.md for installation instructions"
  exit 1
fi
$GH --version
$GH auth status

If gh not found: See INSTALL.md for installation instructions.

Essential Commands

After setup, use $GH alias:

$GH pr list --repo OWNER/​REPO
$GH pr view <NUM> --repo OWNER/​REPO
$GH pr checks <NUM> --repo OWNER/​REPO
$GH issue list --repo OWNER/​REPO
$GH run list --repo OWNER/​REPO --status failure
$GH run view <RUN_ID> --repo OWNER/​REPO
$GH api repos/​OWNER/​REPO/​actions/​runs/<RUN_ID>/​jobs --jq '.jobs[] | select(.conclusion=="failure")'
$GH api repos/​OWNER/​REPO/​actions/​runs/<RUN_ID>/​logs --paginate > /​tmp/​logs.zip
$GH repo view OWNER/​REPO --json name,description,url
$GH api repos/​OWNER/​REPO/​contents/​path/​to/​file --jq -r '.content' | base64 -d
$GH api rate_limit

Critical Constraints

Works: Binary install to /​tmp, GITHUB_TOKEN auth, full path commands, file downloads, jq parsing, all REST endpoints

Doesn't work: gh without full path, export env vars, interactive commands, git credential helper

Rate limits: Authenticated 5000/​hr, unauthenticated 60/​hr

Token must pre-exist as GITHUB_TOKEN - cannot be set in session.

Reference Documentation

Detailed guides in skill directory:

Token Permissions

Read-only: Contents, Pull requests, Actions, Issues (Read) Write ops: Add Write permissions for respective resources

Troubleshooting

  • "command not found" → Use full path /​tmp/​gh-install/​gh_2.62.0_linux_amd64/​bin/​gh
  • "authentication failed" → printenv GITHUB_TOKEN | head -c 30
  • "rate limit exceeded" → $GH api rate_limit
  • "404 Not Found" → Verify OWNER/​REPO format
  • "Empty response" → Add --paginate

Best Practices

  1. Always check for existing gh before installing (system-wide, then /​tmp)
  2. Binary persists in /​tmp for entire session if installed there
  3. Use GH alias variable in scripts
  4. Parse with --json and --jq for programmatic access
  5. Download files to /​tmp to avoid permissions issues
  6. Test with small queries before bulk operations

Related Skills

starwards-ci-debugging, starwards-verification, starwards-workflow, using-superpowers

Docs: https://docs.github.com/en/rest | https://cli.github.com/manual/