Github

GitHub Skill

Use this skill to call the GitHub scripts through run_skill_script.

Required Environment Variables

• GITHUB_TOKEN (required)

Invocation Contract

• Always call run_skill_script with:
• skill_name: github (lowercase, exactly as returned by list_skills)
• script_name: one of list_repos, get_repo, list_issues, list_prs, search_repos
• Pass positional parameters with args in exact order.
• Pass optional flags with kwargs using the documented keys below.
• Do not invent keys. Unknown keys are converted into unknown CLI flags and the script exits with code 2.
• For flag-only options, use args (for this skill all options expect values, so kwargs is fine).

Common Failure Modes

• Skill not found: GitHub: use lowercase github as listed by list_skills.
• Exit code 2: one or more kwargs keys do not exist in the script CLI, or a required positional arg is missing. Read the stderr output — it lists all valid parameters. Retry with only those.
• Error: GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable is required: the request context does not include GitHub identity/token.
• Error: Invalid or expired GITHUB_TOKEN: token exists but is invalid/expired.

Recovery from exit code 2

When a script exits with code 2, the error output includes a "Valid parameters" block listing every accepted flag with types and defaults. Use that list to build a corrected kwargs/args and retry. Common mistakes:

• Using per_page instead of limit.
• Passing org or user to list_repos (those belong to search_repos).
• Omitting the required positional query arg for search_repos (use args: [""]).

Scripts API

script_name: list_repos

• Purpose: list repositories for the authenticated user.
• Positional args: none.
• Supported kwargs:
• visibility: all | public | private
• sort: updated | created | pushed | full_name
• format: table | json
• limit: integer
• Not supported: per_page (this causes a CLI error).

script_name: get_repo

• Purpose: get details of one repository.
• Positional args:
• ["owner/repo"]
• Supported kwargs:
• format: table | json

script_name: list_issues

• Purpose: list issues for one repository.
• Positional args:
• ["owner/repo"]
• Supported kwargs:
• state: open | closed | all
• format: table | json
• limit: integer

script_name: list_prs

• Purpose: list pull requests for one repository.
• Positional args:
• ["owner/repo"]
• Supported kwargs:
• state: open | closed | all
• format: table | json
• limit: integer

script_name: search_repos

• Purpose: search repositories by query and optional qualifiers.
• Positional args:
• ["query text"]
• Supported kwargs:
• language: string
• user: string
• org: string
• sort: stars | forks | updated | best-match
• format: table | json
• limit: integer

run_skill_script Examples

• List repos (valid):

{
  "skill_name": "github",
  "script_name": "list_repos",
  "kwargs": {
    "sort": "updated",
    "limit": 3,
    "format": "json"
  }
}

• List private repos only:

{
  "skill_name": "github",
  "script_name": "list_repos",
  "kwargs": {
    "visibility": "private",
    "sort": "updated",
    "limit": 3
  }
}

• Search org repos (note: query is a positional arg via args, org is a kwarg):

{
  "skill_name": "github",
  "script_name": "search_repos",
  "args": ["*"],
  "kwargs": {
    "org": "datalayer",
    "sort": "updated",
    "limit": 3
  }
}

• Get one repo:

{
  "skill_name": "github",
  "script_name": "get_repo",
  "args": ["datalayer/agent-runtimes"],
  "kwargs": {"format": "json"}
}

Common mistakes (exit code 2)

// ❌ WRONG — per_page is not a valid kwarg, use limit
{"skill_name": "github", "script_name": "list_repos", "kwargs": {"per_page": 3}}

// ✅ CORRECT
{"skill_name": "github", "script_name": "list_repos", "kwargs": {"limit": 3}}

// ❌ WRONG — search_repos requires positional query in args
{"skill_name": "github", "script_name": "search_repos", "kwargs": {"org": "datalayer"}}

// ✅ CORRECT — pass query text via args
{"skill_name": "github", "script_name": "search_repos", "args": ["*"], "kwargs": {"org": "datalayer", "limit": 3}}

Direct CLI Examples

python agent_skills/skills/github/scripts/list_repos.py --visibility private --limit 30
python agent_skills/skills/github/scripts/get_repo.py datalayer/agent-runtimes --format json
python agent_skills/skills/github/scripts/list_issues.py datalayer/agent-runtimes --state open --limit 20
python agent_skills/skills/github/scripts/list_prs.py datalayer/agent-runtimes --state all --limit 20
python agent_skills/skills/github/scripts/search_repos.py "notebook collaboration" --language python --limit 10

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: datalayer
• Source: datalayer/agent-skills
• License: BSD-3-Clause
• Homepage: https://agent-skills.datalayer.tech

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.