Agent skill
github-operations
GitHub CLI operations for issues, PRs, milestones, and Projects v2. Covers gh commands, REST API patterns, and automation scripts. Use when managing GitHub issues, PRs, milestones, or Projects with gh.
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/yonatangross/orchestkit/tree/main/plugins/ork/skills/github-operations
Metadata
Additional technical details for this skill
- category
- workflow-automation
SKILL.md
GitHub Operations
Comprehensive GitHub CLI (gh) operations for project management, from basic issue creation to advanced Projects v2 integration and milestone tracking via REST API.
Overview
- Creating and managing GitHub issues and PRs
- Working with GitHub Projects v2 custom fields
- Managing milestones (sprints, releases) via REST API
- Automating bulk operations with
gh - Running GraphQL queries for complex operations
CRITICAL: Task Management is MANDATORY (CC 2.1.16)
BEFORE doing ANYTHING else, create tasks to track progress:
# 1. Create main task IMMEDIATELY
TaskCreate(
subject="GitHub Operations: {target}",
description="Managing GitHub issues, PRs, milestones, or Projects",
activeForm="Managing GitHub resources"
)
# 2. Create subtasks matching the operation scope
TaskCreate(subject="Issue management", activeForm="Creating/updating issues")
TaskCreate(subject="PR management", activeForm="Managing pull requests")
TaskCreate(subject="Milestone tracking", activeForm="Updating milestones")
# 3. Set dependencies if operations are sequential
TaskUpdate(taskId="3", addBlockedBy=["2"])
TaskUpdate(taskId="4", addBlockedBy=["3"])
# 4. Before starting each task, verify it's unblocked
task = TaskGet(taskId="2") # Verify blockedBy is empty
# 5. Update status as you progress
TaskUpdate(taskId="2", status="in_progress") # When starting
TaskUpdate(taskId="2", status="completed") # When done
Quick Reference
Issue Operations
# Create issue with labels and milestone
gh issue create --title "Bug: API returns 500" --body "..." --label "bug" --milestone "Sprint 5"
# List and filter issues
gh issue list --state open --label "backend" --assignee @me
# Edit issue metadata
gh issue edit 123 --add-label "high" --milestone "v2.0"
PR Operations
# Create PR with reviewers
gh pr create --title "feat: Add search" --body "..." --base dev --reviewer @teammate
# Watch CI status and auto-merge
gh pr checks 456 --watch
gh pr merge 456 --auto --squash --delete-branch
# Resume a session linked to a PR (CC 2.1.27)
claude --from-pr 456 # Resume session with PR context (diff, comments, review status)
claude --from-pr https://github.com/org/repo/pull/456
Tip (CC 2.1.27): Sessions created via
gh pr createare automatically linked to the PR. Use--from-prto resume with full PR context.
Milestone Operations (REST API)
Footgun:
gh issue edit --milestonetakes a NAME (string), not a number. The REST API uses a NUMBER (integer). Never pass a number to--milestone. LoadRead("${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/cli-vs-api-identifiers.md").
# List milestones with progress
gh api repos/:owner/:repo/milestones --jq '.[] | "\(.title): \(.closed_issues)/\(.open_issues + .closed_issues)"'
# Create milestone with due date
gh api -X POST repos/:owner/:repo/milestones \
-f title="Sprint 8" -f due_on="2026-02-15T00:00:00Z"
# Close milestone (API uses number, not name)
MILESTONE_NUM=$(gh api repos/:owner/:repo/milestones --jq '.[] | select(.title=="Sprint 8") | .number')
gh api -X PATCH repos/:owner/:repo/milestones/$MILESTONE_NUM -f state=closed
# Assign issues to milestone (CLI uses name, not number)
gh issue edit 123 124 125 --milestone "Sprint 8"
Projects v2 Operations
# Add issue to project
gh project item-add 1 --owner @me --url https://github.com/org/repo/issues/123
# Set custom field (requires GraphQL)
gh api graphql -f query='mutation {...}' -f projectId="..." -f itemId="..."
JSON Output Patterns
# Get issue numbers matching criteria
gh issue list --json number,labels --jq '[.[] | select(.labels[].name == "bug")] | .[].number'
# PR summary with author
gh pr list --json number,title,author --jq '.[] | "\(.number): \(.title) by \(.author.login)"'
# Find ready-to-merge PRs
gh pr list --json number,reviewDecision,statusCheckRollupState \
--jq '[.[] | select(.reviewDecision == "APPROVED" and .statusCheckRollupState == "SUCCESS")]'
Key Concepts
Milestone vs Epic
| Milestones | Epics |
|---|---|
| Time-based (sprints, releases) | Topic-based (features) |
| Has due date | No due date |
| Progress bar | Task list checkbox |
| Native REST API | Needs workarounds |
Rule: Use milestones for "when", use parent issues for "what".
Projects v2 Custom Fields
Projects v2 uses GraphQL for setting custom fields (Status, Priority, Domain). Basic gh project commands work for listing and adding items, but field updates require GraphQL mutations.
Rules Quick Reference
| Rule | Impact | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
issue-tracking-automation (load ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/rules/issue-tracking-automation.md) |
HIGH | Auto-progress from commits, sub-task completion, session summaries |
issue-branch-linking (load ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/rules/issue-branch-linking.md) |
MEDIUM | Branch naming, commit references, PR linking patterns |
Batch Issue Creation
When creating multiple issues at once (e.g., seeding a sprint), use an array-driven loop:
# Define issues as an array of "title|labels|milestone" entries
SPRINT="Sprint 9"
ISSUES=(
"feat: Add user auth|enhancement,backend|$SPRINT"
"fix: Login redirect loop|bug,high|$SPRINT"
"chore: Update dependencies|maintenance|$SPRINT"
)
for entry in "${ISSUES[@]}"; do
IFS='|' read -r title labels milestone <<< "$entry"
NUM=$(gh issue create \
--title "$title" \
--label "$labels" \
--milestone "$milestone" \
--body "" \
--json number --jq '.number')
echo "Created #$NUM: $title"
done
Tip: Capture the created issue number with
--json number --jq '.number'so you can reference it immediately (e.g., add to Projects v2, link in PRs).
Best Practices
- Always use
--jsonfor scripting - Parse with--jqfor reliability - Non-interactive mode for automation - Use
--title,--bodyflags - Check rate limits before bulk operations -
gh api rate_limit - Use heredocs for multi-line content -
--body "$(cat <<'EOF'...EOF)" - Link issues in PRs -
Closes #123,Fixes #456— GitHub auto-closes on merge - Use ISO 8601 dates -
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZfor milestone due_on - Close milestones, don't delete - Preserve history
--milestonetakes NAME, not number - LoadRead("${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/cli-vs-api-identifiers.md")- Never
gh issue closedirectly - Comment progress withgh issue comment; issues close only when their linked PR merges to the default branch
Related Skills
ork:create-pr- Create pull requests with proper formatting and review assignmentsork:review-pr- Comprehensive PR review with specialized agentsork:release-management- GitHub release workflow with semantic versioning and changelogsstacked-prs- Manage dependent PRs with rebase coordinationork:issue-progress-tracking- Automatic issue progress updates from commits
Key Decisions
| Decision | Choice | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| CLI vs API | gh CLI preferred | Simpler auth, better UX, handles pagination automatically |
| Output format | --json with --jq | Reliable parsing for automation, no regex parsing needed |
| Milestones vs Epics | Milestones for time | Milestones have due dates and progress bars, epics for topic grouping |
| Projects v2 fields | GraphQL mutations | gh project commands limited, GraphQL required for custom fields |
| Milestone lifecycle | Close, don't delete | Preserves history and progress tracking |
References
Load on demand with Read("${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/<file>"):
| File | Content |
|---|---|
issue-management.md |
Bulk operations, templates, sub-issues |
pr-workflows.md |
Reviews, merge strategies, auto-merge |
milestone-api.md |
REST API patterns for milestone CRUD |
projects-v2.md |
Custom fields, GraphQL mutations |
graphql-api.md |
Complex queries, pagination, bulk operations |
cli-vs-api-identifiers.md |
NAME vs NUMBER footguns, milestone/project ID mapping |
Examples
Load: Read("${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/examples/automation-scripts.md") - Ready-to-use scripts for bulk operations, PR automation, milestone management
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