mcpbeat Sign in

Invoking Github Skill for Claude

Enables GitHub repository operations (read/write/commit/PR) for Claude.ai chat environments. Use when users request GitHub commits, repository updates, DEVLOG persistence, or cross-session state management via GitHub branches. Not needed in Claude Code (has native git access).

15k tokens
context cost
the whole folder, loaded on every use
7
files
ships runnable scripts
0
copies elsewhere
how many repositories repackaged it
137
stars on the repo
on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository
npx skills add https://github.com/oaustegard/claude-skills --skill invoking-github

The instruction itself

26 sections, as written by the author

Invoking GitHub

Programmatically interact with GitHub repositories from Claude.ai chat: read files, commit changes, create PRs, and persist state across sessions.

When to Use This Skill

Primary use cases:

  • Commit code/documentation from Claude.ai chat (mobile/web)
  • Auto-persist DEVLOG.md for iterating skill
  • Manage state across sessions via GitHub branches
  • Read and update repository files programmatically
  • Create pull requests from chat interface

Trigger patterns:

  • "Commit this to the repository"
  • "Update the README on GitHub"
  • "Save this to a feature branch"
  • "Create a PR with these changes"
  • "Persist DEVLOG to GitHub"
  • "Read the config file from my repo"

Not needed for:

  • Claude Code environments (use native git commands)
  • Read-only repository access (use GitHub UI or API directly)

Quick Start

Prerequisites

Create a GitHub Personal Access Token and add to Project Knowledge:

  • Go to https://github.com/settings/tokens
  • Create new token (classic or fine-grained)
  • Required scopes: repo (or public_repo for public repos only)
  • In Claude.ai, add to Project Knowledge:
  • Title: GITHUB_API_KEY
  • Content: Your token (e.g., ghp_abc123...)

Single File Commit

from invoking_github import commit_file

result = commit_file(
    repo="username/repo-name",
    path="README.md",
    content="# Updated README\n\nNew content here...",
    branch="main",
    message="Update README with new instructions"
)

print(f"Committed: {result['commit_sha']}")

Read File

from invoking_github import read_file

content = read_file(
    repo="username/repo-name",
    path="config.json",
    branch="main"
)

print(content)

Batch Commit (Multiple Files)

from invoking_github import commit_files

files = [
    {"path": "src/main.py", "content": "# Python code..."},
    {"path": "README.md", "content": "# Updated docs..."},
    {"path": "tests/test.py", "content": "# Tests..."}
]

result = commit_files(
    repo="username/repo-name",
    files=files,
    branch="feature-branch",
    message="Add new feature implementation",
    create_branch_from="main"  # Create branch if it doesn't exist
)

print(f"Committed {len(files)} files: {result['commit_sha']}")

Create Pull Request

from invoking_github import create_pull_request

pr = create_pull_request(
    repo="username/repo-name",
    head="feature-branch",
    base="main",
    title="Add new feature",
    body="## Changes\n- Implemented feature X\n- Updated docs\n- Added tests"
)

print(f"PR created: {pr['html_url']}")

Core Functions

read_file()

Read a file from repository:

read_file(
    repo: str,           # "owner/name"
    path: str,           # "path/to/file.py"
    branch: str = "main" # Branch name
) -> str

Returns: File content as string

Raises: GitHubAPIError if file not found or access denied

commit_file()

Commit a single file (create or update):

commit_file(
    repo: str,                      # "owner/name"
    path: str,                      # "path/to/file.py"
    content: str,                   # New file content
    branch: str,                    # Target branch
    message: str,                   # Commit message
    create_branch_from: str = None  # Create branch from this if doesn't exist
) -> dict

Returns: Dict with commit_sha, branch, file_path

Raises: GitHubAPIError on conflicts or auth failures

commit_files()

Commit multiple files in a single commit:

commit_files(
    repo: str,                      # "owner/name"
    files: list[dict],              # [{"path": "...", "content": "..."}]
    branch: str,                    # Target branch
    message: str,                   # Commit message
    create_branch_from: str = None  # Create branch from this if doesn't exist
) -> dict

Returns: Dict with commit_sha, branch, files_committed

Raises: GitHubAPIError on failures

Note: Uses Git Trees API for efficiency - atomic commit of all files.

create_pull_request()

Create a pull request:

create_pull_request(
    repo: str,      # "owner/name"
    head: str,      # Source branch (your changes)
    base: str,      # Target branch (where to merge)
    title: str,     # PR title
    body: str = ""  # PR description (supports markdown)
) -> dict

Returns: Dict with number, html_url, state

Raises: GitHubAPIError if branches invalid or PR exists

Credential Configuration

This skill requires a GitHub Personal Access Token. Two configuration methods:

Best for Claude.ai chat users (mobile/web):

  • Create token at https://github.com/settings/tokens
  • In Claude.ai Project settings → Add to Project Knowledge
  • Create document titled GITHUB_API_KEY
  • Paste your token as content

Permissions required:

  • Classic token: repo scope
  • Fine-grained token: Repository permissions → Contents (read/write) and Pull requests (read/write)

Method 2: API Credentials Skill (Fallback)

Alternatively, use combined credentials file:

  • Create API_CREDENTIALS.json in project knowledge
  • Add: {"github_api_key": "ghp_your-token-here"}

Integration with Iterating Skill

Auto-persist DEVLOG.md to GitHub for cross-session continuity:

# In your DEVLOG update function
from invoking_github import commit_file
from pathlib import Path

def update_devlog_with_sync(data, repo="user/project", branch="devlog"):
    """Update DEVLOG.md locally and sync to GitHub"""

    # Update local DEVLOG
    update_devlog(data)  # Your existing function

    # Auto-sync to GitHub
    try:
        devlog_content = Path("DEVLOG.md").read_text()

        result = commit_file(
            repo=repo,
            path="DEVLOG.md",
            content=devlog_content,
            branch=branch,
            message=f"DEVLOG: {data['title']}",
            create_branch_from="main"
        )

        print(f"✓ DEVLOG synced to GitHub ({repo}:{branch})")
        return result

    except Exception as e:
        print(f"⚠ DEVLOG sync failed: {e}")
        # Continue anyway - local DEVLOG.md still updated
        return None

Benefits:

  • Automatic backup of session progress
  • Cross-device access to development logs
  • Git history of decisions and progress
  • No manual copy/paste to Project Knowledge

See references/iterating-integration.md for complete patterns.

Error Handling

All functions raise GitHubAPIError with descriptive messages:

from invoking_github import commit_file, GitHubAPIError

try:
    result = commit_file(
        repo="user/repo",
        path="file.py",
        content="...",
        branch="main",
        message="Update"
    )
except GitHubAPIError as e:
    if e.status_code == 404:
        print("Repository or branch not found")
    elif e.status_code == 401:
        print("Authentication failed - check your token")
    elif e.status_code == 403:
        print("Access denied - check token permissions")
    elif e.status_code == 409:
        print("Conflict - file was modified since last read")
    else:
        print(f"GitHub API error: {e}")

Common errors:

  • 404: Repository, branch, or file not found
  • 401/403: Invalid token or insufficient permissions
  • 409: Merge conflict (file changed concurrently)
  • 422: Validation error (invalid branch name, etc.)
  • Rate limit: Too many requests (wait before retrying)

Best Practices

  • Use descriptive commit messages
  • Bad: "Update files"
  • Good: "Add authentication middleware and update user routes"
  • Batch commits when possible
  • Use commit_files() for related changes
  • Single atomic commit = cleaner git history
  • Create feature branches
  • Don't commit directly to main
  • Use create_branch_from="main" parameter
  • Create PR for review
  • Handle errors gracefully
  • Always wrap in try-except
  • Provide fallback behavior
  • Don't fail silently
  • Secure token management
  • Use fine-grained tokens with minimal scopes
  • Set expiration dates
  • Rotate regularly
  • Never commit tokens to repositories

Advanced Usage

Conditional Commits

Only commit if file content changed:

from invoking_github import read_file, commit_file, GitHubAPIError

try:
    current_content = read_file(repo, path, branch)
    if current_content != new_content:
        commit_file(repo, path, new_content, branch, "Update file")
    else:
        print("No changes detected, skipping commit")
except GitHubAPIError as e:
    if e.status_code == 404:
        # File doesn't exist, create it
        commit_file(repo, path, new_content, branch, "Create file")
    else:
        raise

Session-Specific Branches

Avoid conflicts with unique branch names:

import datetime

session_id = datetime.datetime.now().strftime("%Y%m%d-%H%M%S")
branch_name = f"devlog-{session_id}"

commit_file(
    repo="user/project",
    path="DEVLOG.md",
    content=devlog_content,
    branch=branch_name,
    message="Session progress",
    create_branch_from="main"
)

Multi-Repository Workflows

Work across multiple repos:

repos = ["user/frontend", "user/backend", "user/docs"]

for repo in repos:
    commit_file(
        repo=repo,
        path="VERSION",
        content="2.0.0\n",
        branch="release-2.0",
        message="Bump version to 2.0.0"
    )

Limitations

  • Target environment: Claude.ai chat only (not Claude Code)
  • No OAuth: Must use Personal Access Tokens manually
  • No git operations: Pure REST API (no clone, pull, rebase, etc.)
  • File size: GitHub API limits ~100MB per file
  • Rate limits: 5000 requests/hour for authenticated users
  • Network required: All operations require internet access

See Also

  • references/credential-setup.md - Step-by-step credential guide
  • references/iterating-integration.md - DEVLOG auto-sync patterns
  • references/troubleshooting.md - Common issues and solutions
  • GitHub REST API Docs - Official GitHub API reference

Token Efficiency

This skill uses ~800 tokens when loaded but provides essential GitHub operations for claude.ai chat environments where native git access isn't available. Enables persistent state management and cross-session workflows.

Other skills for the same job

different authors, same section of the catalogue
MCP Builder
by anthropics
vendor ×13

Guide for creating high-quality MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers that enable LLMs to interact with external services through well-designed tools. Use when building MCP servers to integrate external APIs or services, whether in Python (FastMCP) or Node/TypeScript (MCP SDK).

30k tokens scripts
Changelog Generator
by frostant
×9

Automatically creates user-facing changelogs from git commits by analyzing commit history, categorizing changes, and transforming technical commits into clear, customer-friendly release notes. Turns hours of manual changelog writing into minutes of automated generation.

774 tokens
Finishing A Development Branch
by ZhanlinCui
×7

Use when implementation is complete, all tests pass, and you need to decide how to integrate the work - guides completion of development work by presenting structured options for merge, PR, or cleanup

1k tokens
MCP Builder
by JayZeeDesign
×7

Guide for creating high-quality MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers that enable LLMs to interact with external services through well-designed tools. Use when building MCP servers to integrate external APIs or services, whether in Python (FastMCP) or Node/TypeScript (MCP SDK).

37k tokens scripts
Vercel React Native Skills
by vercel-labs
vendor ×6

React Native and Expo best practices for building performant mobile apps. Use when building React Native components, optimizing list performance, implementing animations, or working with native modules. Triggers on tasks involving React Native, Expo, mobile performance, or native platform APIs.

39k tokens
Vercel React Best Practices
by ratacat
×5

React and Next.js performance optimization guidelines from Vercel Engineering. This skill should be used when writing, reviewing, or refactoring React/Next.js code to ensure optimal performance patterns. Triggers on tasks involving React components, Next.js pages, data fetching, bundle optimization, or performance improvements.

34k tokens
Next Best Practices
by vercel-labs
vendor ×4

Next.js best practices - file conventions, RSC boundaries, data patterns, async APIs, metadata, error handling, route handlers, image/font optimization, bundling

20k tokens
Using Git Worktrees
by ZhanlinCui
×4

Use when starting feature work that needs isolation from current workspace or before executing implementation plans - creates isolated git worktrees with smart directory selection and safety verification

1k tokens

How to use it

Copy the folder

Take oaustegard/invoking-github from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.

Check the name does not clash

The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.