GitHub Project Skill
This skill provides a comprehensive CLI wrapper for the GitHub GraphQL API, enabling efficient management of GitHub Projects V2 and Issues directly from the terminal.
Usage
The main entry point is dist/cli.js (relative to the project root). You can verify it works with:
node dist/cli.js --help
Global Options:
-j, --json: Output results in JSON format. ALWAYS use this flag when parsing output programmatically.
Note: In --json mode, the CLI prints only JSON to stdout.
0. π Discovery
Goal: Explore owner resources and project structure.
List Projects
- Command:
node dist/cli.js project-list <owner> - Usage:
node dist/cli.js project-list "my-org" --json
List Repositories
- Command:
node dist/cli.js repo-list <owner> - Usage:
node dist/cli.js repo-list "my-org" --json
Get Project Board Details
- Command:
node dist/cli.js board <owner> <project> - Arguments:
<project>can be the Project Number or the Project Title (case-insensitive). - Options:
--status-field <name>(Default: "Status") - Usage:
Returns project ID, global node ID, and column definitions (including Option IDs needed for moving items).node dist/cli.js board "my-org" "My Project Name" --json
1. π Board Items
Goal: List all items (Issues/PRs/Drafts) on the board with their current status.
- Command:
node dist/cli.js items <owner> <project> - Usage:
Returns list of items with their Item IDs (for moving/archiving) and Content Node IDs.node dist/cli.js items "my-org" 1 --json
List Issues Linked to a Project (Project-Centric)
Goal: One consistent way for AI agents: start from Project, get issues + both IDs (Issue node ID and Project item ID).
- Command:
node dist/cli.js project-issues <owner> <project> - Options:
--status-field <name>(Default: "Status")--state <open|closed|all>(Default:open)--limit <n>(Default:50)--repo <owner/repo>(Optional: narrow search to a single repo)
- Usage:
Implementation note: uses GitHub GraphQLnode dist/cli.js project-issues "my-org" "Trionix Lab" --state open --limit 50 --json # optionally scope to one repo for speed/limits node dist/cli.js project-issues "my-org" 1 --repo "my-org/my-repo" --jsonsearch+Issue.projectItemsto avoid cases whereProjectV2.itemslisting is incomplete for some integrations.
Show Project Item by Item ID
Goal: Inspect a specific project item when listing is incomplete.
- Command:
node dist/cli.js item-show <itemId> - Options:
--status-field <name>(Default: "Status") - Usage:
Useful workaround ifnode dist/cli.js item-show "PVTI_..." --jsonitemsdoes not show Issues/PRs due to access restrictions.
2. π Issue & Draft Management
List Issues
Goal: List issues in a repository (with pagination).
- Command:
node dist/cli.js issue-list <owner/repo> - Options:
--state <open|closed|all>(Default:open),--limit <n>(Default:50) - Usage:
node dist/cli.js issue-list "my-org/my-repo" --state open --limit 50 --json
Create Issue
- Command:
node dist/cli.js issue-create <owner/repo> "<title>" - Options:
--body "<body>" - Usage:
node dist/cli.js issue-create "my-org/my-repo" "Fix bug" --body "Details" --json
Create Draft
- Command:
node dist/cli.js draft-create <owner> <project> "<title>" - Options:
--body "<body>" - Usage:
node dist/cli.js draft-create "my-org" "Product Roadmap" "Task title" --body "Details" --json
Show Issue
- Command:
node dist/cli.js issue-show <owner/repo> <issue_number> - Usage:
node dist/cli.js issue-show "my-org/my-repo" 123 --json
Get Issue by Node ID (Agent-Friendly)
Goal: Fetch issue content when you already have issue.id (node ID).
- Command:
node dist/cli.js issue-get <issueNodeId> - Usage:
node dist/cli.js issue-get "I_kwDO..." --json
Update Issue
- Command:
node dist/cli.js issue-update <issueNodeId> - Options:
--title <text>,--body <text> - Usage:
node dist/cli.js issue-update "I_kwDO..." --title "New Title" --json
Close Issue
- Command:
node dist/cli.js issue-close <issueNodeId> - Usage:
node dist/cli.js issue-close "I_kwDO..." --json
Delete Issue (Behavior)
Note: GitHub APIs do not support hard-deleting Issues. This command closes the issue.
- Command:
node dist/cli.js issue-delete <issueNodeId> - Usage:
node dist/cli.js issue-delete "I_kwDO..." --json
3. π¬ Collaboration
Goal: Add comments to issues.
- Command:
node dist/cli.js issue-comment <issueNodeId> "Comment text" - Usage:
node dist/cli.js issue-comment "I_kwDO..." "Done" --json
List Comments
Goal: Get existing comments for an issue (for agents that need context).
- Command:
node dist/cli.js issue-comments <issueNodeId> - Options:
--limit <n>(Default:50) - Usage:
node dist/cli.js issue-comments "I_kwDO..." --limit 50 --json
4. π Kanban Operations
Add Issue to Project
- Command:
node dist/cli.js issue-add-to-project <owner> <project> <issueNodeId> - Usage:
node dist/cli.js issue-add-to-project "my-org" "Project Name" "I_kwDO..." --json
Move Item
- Command:
node dist/cli.js issue-move <itemId> <projectId> <statusFieldId> <optionId> - Usage:
# IDs are obtained from 'board' and 'items' commands node dist/cli.js issue-move "PVTI_..." "PVT_..." "PVTSSF_..." "f75ad846" --json
Move Item (Agent-Friendly)
Goal: Move an item without dealing with option IDs.
- Command:
node dist/cli.js item-move <owner> <project> <itemId> --status "<Status Name>" - Options:
--status-field <name>(Default: "Status") - Usage:
node dist/cli.js item-move "my-org" "Product Roadmap" "PVTI_..." --status "In progress" --json
Archive Item
- Command:
node dist/cli.js item-archive <owner> <project> <itemId> - Options:
--unarchive - Usage:
node dist/cli.js item-archive "my-org" 1 "PVTI_..." --json
Delete Item from Project
- Command:
node dist/cli.js item-delete <owner> <project> <itemId> - Usage:
node dist/cli.js item-delete "my-org" "Project Alpha" "PVTI_..." --json
Best Practices
- Use JSON: Always append
--jsonfor robust parsing. - Get IDs First: Most mutation commands require Node IDs (strings starting with like
PVT_,I_,PVTI_). Useproject-list,boardanditemscommands to retrieve these IDs. - Owner Logic: Owner can be either an Organization or a User. The tool automatically tries both.
Troubleshooting
- "Project not found": Check if
ownerandproject_numberare correct. - "Resource not accessible by integration": Check your
.envcredentials and GitHub App permissions.
Notes on Project Items Visibility
- A Project V2 may contain items that the current token cannot fully view. GitHub can return items as REDACTED when the integration lacks permissions to view the underlying Issue/PR.
- If
issue-add-to-projectsucceeds butitemsdoes not show the Issue/PR item, useitem-show <itemId>(theitemIdreturned byissue-add-to-project) to inspect it directly.
Recommended Single Workflow (for AI agents)
- List work from the Project (project-centric):
project-issues <owner> <project> --json. Note:<project>can be a name or a number. - Read issue content by node ID:
issue-get <issueNodeId> --json. - Update / comment:
issue-update <issueNodeId> --title ... --body ... --jsonissue-comments <issueNodeId> --json(get context)issue-comment <issueNodeId> "..." --json(add)
- βDeleteβ in practice:
- GitHub APIs do not support hard-deleting Issues.
- Use
issue-delete <issueNodeId>(closes the issue) and/oritem-delete <owner> <project> <projectItemId>(removes it from the Project).
- Move on the board using readable status:
item-move <owner> <project> <projectItemId> --status "To Do" --json
- Optional lifecycle:
item-archive <owner> <project> <projectItemId> --json
