Github Agent Skill

Emulated GitHub REST API for local development and testing. Use when the user needs to interact with GitHub API endpoints locally, test GitHub integrations, emulate repos/issues/PRs, set up GitHub OAuth flows, configure GitHub Apps, test webhooks, or work with actions/checks without hitting the real GitHub API. Triggers include "GitHub API", "emulate GitHub", "mock GitHub", "test GitHub OAuth", "GitHub App JWT", "local GitHub", or any task requiring a local GitHub API.

4k tokens

context cost

the whole folder, loaded on every use

files

instructions only

copies elsewhere

how many repositories repackaged it

1539

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/vercel-labs/emulate --skill github

What it tells the agent to use

found in the instruction text

Bash runs shell commands — read the instruction before connecting

The instruction itself

33 sections, as written by the author

GitHub API Emulator

Fully stateful GitHub REST API emulation. Creates, updates, and deletes persist in memory and affect related entities.

Start

# GitHub only
npx emulate --service github

# Default port
# http://localhost:4001

Or programmatically:

import { createEmulator } from 'emulate'

const github = await createEmulator({ service: 'github', port: 4001 })
// github.url === 'http://localhost:4001'

Auth

Pass tokens as Authorization: Bearer <token> or Authorization: token <token>.

curl http://localhost:4001/user \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer test_token_admin"

Public repo endpoints work without auth. Private repos and write operations require a valid token. When no token is provided, requests fall back to the first seeded user.

GitHub App JWT

Configure apps in the seed config with a private key. Sign a JWT with { iss: "<app_id>" } using RS256. The emulator verifies the signature and resolves the app.

github:
  apps:
    - app_id: 12345
      slug: my-github-app
      name: My GitHub App
      private_key: |
        -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
        ...
        -----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
      permissions:
        contents: read
        issues: write
      events: [push, pull_request]
      webhook_url: http://localhost:8080/github/webhook
      webhook_secret: my-webhook-secret
      description: My CI/CD bot
      installations:
        - installation_id: 100
          account: my-org
          repository_selection: all
          permissions:
            contents: read
          events: [push]
          repositories: [my-org/org-repo]

Pointing Your App at the Emulator

Environment Variable

GITHUB_EMULATOR_URL=http://localhost:4001

Octokit

import { Octokit } from '@octokit/rest'

const octokit = new Octokit({
  baseUrl: process.env.GITHUB_EMULATOR_URL ?? 'https://api.github.com',
  auth: 'test_token_admin',
})

OAuth URL Mapping

| Real GitHub URL | Emulator URL |

|-----------------|-------------|

| https://github.com/login/oauth/authorize | $GITHUB_EMULATOR_URL/login/oauth/authorize |

| https://github.com/login/oauth/access_token | $GITHUB_EMULATOR_URL/login/oauth/access_token |

| https://api.github.com/user | $GITHUB_EMULATOR_URL/user |

Auth.js / NextAuth.js

import GitHub from '@auth/core/providers/github'

GitHub({
  clientId: process.env.GITHUB_CLIENT_ID,
  clientSecret: process.env.GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET,
  authorization: {
    url: `${process.env.GITHUB_EMULATOR_URL}/login/oauth/authorize`,
  },
  token: {
    url: `${process.env.GITHUB_EMULATOR_URL}/login/oauth/access_token`,
  },
  userinfo: {
    url: `${process.env.GITHUB_EMULATOR_URL}/user`,
  },
})

Seed Config

tokens:
  test_token_admin:
    login: admin
    scopes: [repo, user, admin:org, admin:repo_hook]

github:
  users:
    - login: octocat
      name: The Octocat
      email: [email protected]
      bio: I am the Octocat
      company: GitHub
      location: San Francisco
      blog: https://github.blog
      twitter_username: github
      site_admin: false
  orgs:
    - login: my-org
      name: My Organization
      description: A test organization
      email: [email protected]
  repos:
    - owner: octocat
      name: hello-world
      description: My first repository
      language: JavaScript
      topics: [hello, world]
      default_branch: main
      private: false
    - owner: my-org
      name: org-repo
      description: An organization repository
      language: TypeScript
  oauth_apps:
    - client_id: Iv1.abc123
      client_secret: secret_abc123
      name: My Web App
      redirect_uris:
        - http://localhost:3000/api/auth/callback/github

Repos are auto-initialized with a commit, branch, and README unless auto_init: false is set.

Pagination

All list endpoints support page and per_page query params with Link headers:

curl "http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/issues?page=1&per_page=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

API Endpoints

Users

# Authenticated user
curl http://localhost:4001/user -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

# Update profile
curl -X PATCH http://localhost:4001/user \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"bio": "Hello!"}'

# Get user by username
curl http://localhost:4001/users/octocat

# List users
curl http://localhost:4001/users

# User repos / orgs / followers / following
curl http://localhost:4001/users/octocat/repos
curl http://localhost:4001/users/octocat/orgs
curl http://localhost:4001/users/octocat/followers
curl http://localhost:4001/users/octocat/following

# User hovercard
curl http://localhost:4001/users/octocat/hovercard

# User emails
curl http://localhost:4001/user/emails -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

Repositories

# Get repo
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world

# Create user repo
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/user/repos \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "new-repo", "private": false}'

# Create org repo
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/repos \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "org-project"}'

# Update repo
curl -X PATCH http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"description": "Updated description"}'

# Delete repo (cascades issues, PRs, etc.)
curl -X DELETE http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

# Topics, languages, contributors, forks, collaborators, tags, transfer

Issues

# List issues (filter by state, labels, assignee, milestone, creator, since)
curl "http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/issues?state=open&labels=bug"

# Create issue
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/issues \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title": "Bug report", "body": "Details here", "labels": ["bug"]}'

# Get / update / lock / unlock / timeline / events / assignees

Pull Requests

# List PRs
curl "http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/pulls?state=open"

# Create PR
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/pulls \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title": "Feature", "head": "feature-branch", "base": "main"}'

# Merge PR (enforces branch protection)
curl -X PUT http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/pulls/1/merge \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"merge_method": "squash"}'

# Commits, files, requested reviewers, update branch

Comments

# Issue comments: full CRUD
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/issues/1/comments
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/issues/1/comments \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"body": "Looks good!"}'

# Comment by ID (cross-resource)
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/issues/comments/1

# PR review comments
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/pulls/1/comments

# Commit comments
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/commits/abc123/comments

# Repo-wide comment listings
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/issues/comments
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/pulls/comments
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/comments

Reviews

# List / create / get / update / submit / dismiss reviews
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/pulls/1/reviews
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/pulls/1/reviews \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"event": "APPROVE", "body": "LGTM"}'

Labels & Milestones

Full CRUD for labels and milestones. Add/remove labels from issues, replace all labels. List labels for a milestone.

Branches & Git Data

# List branches
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches

# Branch protection CRUD (status checks, PR reviews, enforce admins)
curl -X PUT http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches/main/protection \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"required_status_checks": {"strict": true, "contexts": ["ci"]}}'

# Refs, commits, trees (recursive), blobs, tags, matching-refs

Organizations & Teams

# List all orgs / user's orgs / get org / update org
curl http://localhost:4001/organizations
curl http://localhost:4001/user/orgs -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"
curl http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org
curl -X PATCH http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"description": "Updated org"}'

# Org members: list, get, remove
curl http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/members
curl http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/members/octocat
curl -X DELETE http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/members/octocat \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

# Org memberships: get, set (invite/update role)
curl http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/memberships/octocat -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"
curl -X PUT http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/memberships/octocat \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"role": "admin"}'

# Teams: CRUD
curl http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/teams
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/teams \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "engineering", "privacy": "closed"}'

# Team members and memberships
curl http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/teams/engineering/members
curl -X PUT http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/teams/engineering/memberships/octocat \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"role": "maintainer"}'

# Team repos: list, add, remove
curl http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/teams/engineering/repos
curl -X PUT http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/teams/engineering/repos/my-org/org-repo \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

# Legacy team endpoints by ID
curl http://localhost:4001/teams/1
curl http://localhost:4001/teams/1/members

GitHub Apps

# Get authenticated app (requires JWT auth)
curl http://localhost:4001/app \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <jwt>"

# List app installations
curl http://localhost:4001/app/installations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <jwt>"

# Get installation
curl http://localhost:4001/app/installations/100 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <jwt>"

# Create installation access token (mints ghs_... token)
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/app/installations/100/access_tokens \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <jwt>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"permissions": {"contents": "read"}}'

# Find installation for repo / org / user
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/my-org/org-repo/installation
curl http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/installation
curl http://localhost:4001/users/octocat/installation

App webhook delivery: when events occur, the emulator POSTs event_callback payloads to configured webhook_url with X-GitHub-Event and X-Hub-Signature-256 headers.

Releases

# Create release
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/releases \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"tag_name": "v1.0.0", "name": "v1.0.0"}'

# List, get, latest, by tag, generate notes

# Release assets: list, upload
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/releases/1/assets
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/releases/1/assets \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
  -H "name: binary.zip" \
  --data-binary @binary.zip

Webhooks

# Create webhook (real HTTP delivery on state changes)
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/hooks \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"config": {"url": "http://localhost:8080/webhook"}, "events": ["push", "pull_request"]}'

# Full CRUD, ping, test, deliveries
# Org webhooks also supported

Search

# Search repositories
curl "http://localhost:4001/search/repositories?q=language:JavaScript+user:octocat"

# Search issues and PRs
curl "http://localhost:4001/search/issues?q=repo:octocat/hello-world+is:open"

# Search users, code, commits, topics, labels

Actions

# Workflows: list, get, enable/disable, dispatch
# Workflow runs: list, get, cancel, rerun, delete, logs
# Jobs: list, get, logs
# Artifacts: list, get, delete
# Secrets: repo + org CRUD

Checks

# Create check run
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/check-runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "CI", "head_sha": "abc123", "status": "completed", "conclusion": "success"}'

# Check suites: create, get, rerequest, preferences, list by ref
# Check runs: list for suite, annotations
# Automatic suite status rollup from check run results

OAuth

# Authorize (browser flow, shows user picker)
# GET /login/oauth/authorize?client_id=...&redirect_uri=...&scope=...&state=...

# Token exchange
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/login/oauth/access_token \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -d '{"client_id": "Iv1.abc123", "client_secret": "secret_abc123", "code": "<code>"}'

# User emails
curl http://localhost:4001/user/emails -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

# OAuth app management (settings)
curl http://localhost:4001/settings/applications -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"
curl http://localhost:4001/settings/connections/applications/Iv1.abc123 -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

# Revoke OAuth app
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/settings/connections/applications/Iv1.abc123/revoke \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

Misc

curl http://localhost:4001/rate_limit
curl http://localhost:4001/meta
curl http://localhost:4001/emojis
curl http://localhost:4001/versions
curl http://localhost:4001/octocat
curl http://localhost:4001/zen

Common Patterns

Create Repo, Issue, and PR

TOKEN="test_token_admin"
BASE="http://localhost:4001"

# Create repo
curl -X POST $BASE/user/repos \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "my-project"}'

# Create issue
curl -X POST $BASE/repos/admin/my-project/issues \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title": "First issue"}'

# Create PR
curl -X POST $BASE/repos/admin/my-project/pulls \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title": "First PR", "head": "feature", "base": "main"}'

GitHub App Installation Token Flow

# 1. Sign a JWT with { iss: "12345" } using the app's private key (RS256)
# 2. Create an installation access token
curl -X POST $BASE/app/installations/100/access_tokens \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <jwt>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"permissions": {"contents": "read", "issues": "write"}}'
# Returns { "token": "ghs_...", ... }

# 3. Use the installation token to call API endpoints
curl $BASE/repos/my-org/org-repo \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ghs_..."

OAuth Flow

Redirect user to $GITHUB_EMULATOR_URL/login/oauth/authorize?client_id=...&redirect_uri=...&scope=user+repo&state=...
User picks a seeded user on the emulator's UI
Emulator redirects back with ?code=...&state=...
Exchange code for token via POST /login/oauth/access_token
Use token to call API endpoints

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How to use it

Copy the folder

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

Check the name does not clash

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Install what it needs

The instructions reference npx. Without those the skill loads but fails at the first command.