github-cli_skill

Overview

This skill is a safety-first wrapper around the GitHub CLI (gh v2.86+). It classifies every GitHub command by risk level and enforces mandatory confirmations for destructive and forbidden operations. The goal is to let you automate routine GitHub tasks while preventing accidental data loss or dangerous repo changes.

How this skill works

Incoming commands are classified into Safe, Write, Destructive, or Forbidden tiers. Safe commands run immediately, Write commands prompt a brief informational notice, Destructive commands trigger an AskUserQuestion flow for explicit user choice, and Forbidden actions require multi-step typed confirmation and never auto-confirm. The skill also enforces CLI prerequisites and common shell safety patterns before executing gh commands.

When to use it

• Listing, viewing, or searching PRs, issues, releases, workflows, or repos
• Creating or editing PRs, issues, releases, or repo metadata (non-visibility)
• Merging, closing, deleting releases, secrets, or canceling runs (destructive actions)
• Performing repository transfers, repository deletions, or visibility changes (forbidden)
• Calling the GitHub API via gh api for GET/POST/DELETE with appropriate confirmation

Best practices

• Verify gh is installed and authenticated (gh --version, gh auth status) before running commands
• Respect the risk tier: present the user with clear consequences for Write and Destructive commands
• Avoid interactive flags and pagers; pipe to cat for large outputs
• Quote multi-word arguments and use timeouts for long-running operations
• Never auto-confirm Forbidden operations; require explicit typed confirmations

Example use cases

• List open PRs and view CI checks for a candidate branch (Safe)
• Create a release with generated notes after informing the user about assets (Write)
• Ask the user how to merge a PR (squash, merge commit, rebase) before executing (Destructive)
• Set or rotate repository secrets, with delete operations gated behind confirmation (Write/Destructive)
• Prevent accidental repo delete or visibility changes by requiring multi-step confirmation (Forbidden)