github-workflow-automation

🔧 GitHub Workflow Automation

> Patterns for automating GitHub workflows with AI assistance, inspired by [Gemini CLI](https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli) and modern DevOps practices.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

---

1. Automated PR Review

1.1 PR Review Action

# .github/workflows/ai-review.yml
name: AI Code Review

on:
  pull_request:
    types: [opened, synchronize]

jobs:
  review:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: read
      pull-requests: write

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - name: Get changed files
        id: changed
        run: |
          files=$(git diff --name-only origin/${{ github.base_ref }}...HEAD)
          echo "files<<EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
          echo "$files" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
          echo "EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

      - name: Get diff
        id: diff
        run: |
          diff=$(git diff origin/${{ github.base_ref }}...HEAD)
          echo "diff<<EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
          echo "$diff" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
          echo "EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

      - name: AI Review
        uses: actions/github-script@v7
        with:
          script: |
            const { Anthropic } = require('@anthropic-ai/sdk');
            const client = new Anthropic({ apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY });

            const response = await client.messages.create({
              model: "claude-3-sonnet-20240229",
              max_tokens: 4096,
              messages: [{
                role: "user",
                content: `Review this PR diff and provide feedback:
                
                Changed files: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.files }}
                
                Diff:
                ${{ steps.diff.outputs.diff }}
                
                Provide:
                1. Summary of changes
                2. Potential issues or bugs
                3. Suggestions for improvement
                4. Security concerns if any
                
                Format as GitHub markdown.`
              }]
            });

            await github.rest.pulls.createReview({
              owner: context.repo.owner,
              repo: context.repo.repo,
              pull_number: context.issue.number,
              body: response.content[0].text,
              event: 'COMMENT'
            });
        env:
          ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

1.2 Review Comment Patterns

# AI Review Structure

## 📋 Summary

Brief description of what this PR does.

## ✅ What looks good

- Well-structured code
- Good test coverage
- Clear naming conventions

## ⚠️ Potential Issues

1. **Line 42**: Possible null pointer exception
   ```javascript
   // Current
   user.profile.name;
   // Suggested
   user?.profile?.name ?? "Unknown";
   ```

```javascript

// Add try-catch or .catch()

```

💡 Suggestions

🔒 Security Notes

### 1.3 Focused Reviews

Review only specific file types

run: |

files=$(git diff --name-only origin/${{ github.base_ref }}...HEAD | \

grep -E '\.(ts|tsx|js|jsx|py|go)$' || true)

echo "code_files=$files" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

Review with context

run: |

# Include relevant context files

context=""

for file in ${{ steps.changed.outputs.files }}; do

if [[ -f "$file" ]]; then

context+="=== $file ===\n$(cat $file)\n\n"

fi

done

# Send to AI with full file context

---

## 2. Issue Triage Automation

### 2.1 Auto-label Issues

.github/workflows/issue-triage.yml

name: Issue Triage

on:

issues:

types: [opened]

jobs:

triage:

runs-on: ubuntu-latest

permissions:

issues: write

steps:

uses: actions/github-script@v7

with:

script: |

const issue = context.payload.issue;

// Call AI to analyze

const analysis = await analyzeIssue(issue.title, issue.body);

// Apply labels

const labels = [];

if (analysis.type === 'bug') {

labels.push('bug');

if (analysis.severity === 'high') labels.push('priority: high');

} else if (analysis.type === 'feature') {

labels.push('enhancement');

} else if (analysis.type === 'question') {

labels.push('question');

}

if (analysis.area) {

labels.push(area: ${analysis.area});

}

await github.rest.issues.addLabels({

owner: context.repo.owner,

repo: context.repo.repo,

issue_number: issue.number,

labels: labels

});

// Add initial response

if (analysis.type === 'bug' && !analysis.hasReproSteps) {

await github.rest.issues.createComment({

owner: context.repo.owner,

repo: context.repo.repo,

issue_number: issue.number,

body: `Thanks for reporting this issue!

To help us investigate, could you please provide:

This will help us resolve your issue faster. 🙏`

});

}

### 2.2 Issue Analysis Prompt

const TRIAGE_PROMPT = `

Analyze this GitHub issue and classify it:

Title: {title}

Body: {body}

Return JSON with:

{

"type": "bug" | "feature" | "question" | "docs" | "other",

"severity": "low" | "medium" | "high" | "critical",

"area": "frontend" | "backend" | "api" | "docs" | "ci" | "other",

"summary": "one-line summary",

"hasReproSteps": boolean,

"isFirstContribution": boolean,

"suggestedLabels": ["label1", "label2"],

"suggestedAssignees": ["username"] // based on area expertise

}

`;

### 2.3 Stale Issue Management

.github/workflows/stale.yml

name: Manage Stale Issues

on:

schedule:

jobs:

stale:

runs-on: ubuntu-latest

steps:

with:

stale-issue-message: |

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had

recent activity. It will be closed in 14 days if no further activity occurs.

If this issue is still relevant:

Thank you for your contributions! 🙏

stale-pr-message: |

This PR has been automatically marked as stale. Please update it or it

will be closed in 14 days.

days-before-stale: 60

days-before-close: 14

stale-issue-label: "stale"

stale-pr-label: "stale"

exempt-issue-labels: "pinned,security,in-progress"

exempt-pr-labels: "pinned,security"

---

## 3. CI/CD Integration

### 3.1 Smart Test Selection

.github/workflows/smart-tests.yml

name: Smart Test Selection

on:

pull_request:

jobs:

analyze:

runs-on: ubuntu-latest

outputs:

test_suites: ${{ steps.analyze.outputs.suites }}

steps:

with:

fetch-depth: 0

id: analyze

run: |

# Get changed files

changed=$(git diff --name-only origin/${{ github.base_ref }}...HEAD)

# Determine which test suites to run

suites="[]"

if echo "$changed" | grep -q "^src/api/"; then

suites=$(echo $suites | jq '. + ["api"]')

fi

if echo "$changed" | grep -q "^src/frontend/"; then

suites=$(echo $suites | jq '. + ["frontend"]')

fi

if echo "$changed" | grep -q "^src/database/"; then

suites=$(echo $suites | jq '. + ["database", "api"]')

fi

# If nothing specific, run all

if [ "$suites" = "[]" ]; then

suites='["all"]'

fi

echo "suites=$suites" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

test:

needs: analyze

runs-on: ubuntu-latest

strategy:

matrix:

suite: ${{ fromJson(needs.analyze.outputs.test_suites) }}

steps:

run: |

if [ "${{ matrix.suite }}" = "all" ]; then

npm test

else

npm test -- --suite ${{ matrix.suite }}

fi

### 3.2 Deployment with AI Validation

.github/workflows/deploy.yml

name: Deploy with AI Validation

on:

push:

branches: [main]

jobs:

validate:

runs-on: ubuntu-latest

steps:

id: changes

run: |

# Get commits since last deployment

last_deploy=$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2>/dev/null || echo "")

if [ -n "$last_deploy" ]; then

changes=$(git log --oneline $last_deploy..HEAD)

else

changes=$(git log --oneline -10)

fi

echo "changes<> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

echo "$changes" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

echo "EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

id: assess

uses: actions/github-script@v7

with:

script: |

// Analyze changes for deployment risk

const prompt = `

Analyze these changes for deployment risk:

${process.env.CHANGES}

Return JSON:

{

"riskLevel": "low" | "medium" | "high",

"concerns": ["concern1", "concern2"],

"recommendations": ["rec1", "rec2"],

"requiresManualApproval": boolean

}

`;

// Call AI and parse response

const analysis = await callAI(prompt);

if (analysis.riskLevel === 'high') {

core.setFailed('High-risk deployment detected. Manual review required.');

}

return analysis;

env:

CHANGES: ${{ steps.changes.outputs.changes }}

deploy:

needs: validate

runs-on: ubuntu-latest

environment: production

steps:

run: |

echo "Deploying to production..."

# Deployment commands here

### 3.3 Rollback Automation

.github/workflows/rollback.yml

name: Automated Rollback

on:

workflow_dispatch:

inputs:

reason:

description: "Reason for rollback"

required: true

jobs:

rollback:

runs-on: ubuntu-latest

steps:

with:

fetch-depth: 0

id: stable

run: |

# Find last successful deployment

stable=$(git tag -l 'v*' --sort=-version:refname | head -1)

echo "version=$stable" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

run: |

git checkout ${{ steps.stable.outputs.version }}

# Deploy stable version

npm run deploy

uses: slackapi/slack-github-action@v1

with:

payload: |

{

"text": "🔄 Production rolled back to ${{ steps.stable.outputs.version }}",

"blocks": [

{

"type": "section",

"text": {

"type": "mrkdwn",

"text": "Rollback executed\n• Version: ${{ steps.stable.outputs.version }}\n• Reason: ${{ inputs.reason }}\n• Triggered by: ${{ github.actor }}"

}

}

]

}

---

## 4. Git Operations

### 4.1 Automated Rebasing

.github/workflows/auto-rebase.yml

name: Auto Rebase

on:

issue_comment:

types: [created]

jobs:

rebase:

if: github.event.issue.pull_request && contains(github.event.comment.body, '/rebase')

runs-on: ubuntu-latest

steps:

with:

fetch-depth: 0

token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

run: |

git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"

git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"

run: |

# Fetch PR branch

gh pr checkout ${{ github.event.issue.number }}

# Rebase onto main

git fetch origin main

git rebase origin/main

# Force push

git push --force-with-lease

env:

GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

uses: actions/github-script@v7

with:

script: |

github.rest.issues.createComment({

owner: context.repo.owner,

repo: context.repo.repo,

issue_number: context.issue.number,

body: '✅ Successfully rebased onto main!'

})

### 4.2 Smart Cherry-Pick

// AI-assisted cherry-pick that handles conflicts

async function smartCherryPick(commitHash: string, targetBranch: string) {

// Get commit info

const commitInfo = await exec(git show ${commitHash} --stat);

// Check for potential conflicts

const targetDiff = await exec(

git diff ${targetBranch}...HEAD -- ${affectedFiles}

);

// AI analysis

const analysis = await ai.analyze(`

I need to cherry-pick this commit to ${targetBranch}:

${commitInfo}

Current state of affected files on ${targetBranch}:

${targetDiff}

Will there be conflicts? If so, suggest resolution strategy.

`);

if (analysis.willConflict) {

// Create branch for manual resolution

await exec(

git checkout -b cherry-pick-${commitHash.slice(0, 7)} ${targetBranch}

);

const result = await exec(git cherry-pick ${commitHash}, {

allowFail: true,

});

if (result.failed) {

// AI-assisted conflict resolution

const conflicts = await getConflicts();

for (const conflict of conflicts) {

const resolution = await ai.resolveConflict(conflict);

await applyResolution(conflict.file, resolution);

}

}

} else {

await exec(git checkout ${targetBranch});

await exec(git cherry-pick ${commitHash});

}

}

### 4.3 Branch Cleanup

.github/workflows/branch-cleanup.yml

name: Branch Cleanup

on:

schedule:

workflow_dispatch:

jobs:

cleanup:

runs-on: ubuntu-latest

steps:

with:

fetch-depth: 0

id: stale

run: |

# Branches not updated in 30 days

stale=$(git for-each-ref --sort=-committerdate refs/remotes/origin \

--format='%(refname:short) %(committerdate:relative)' | \

grep -E '[3-9][0-9]+ days|[0-9]+ months|[0-9]+ years' | \

grep -v 'origin/main\|origin/develop' | \

cut -d' ' -f1 | sed 's|origin/||')

echo "branches<> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

echo "$stale" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

echo "EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

if: steps.stale.outputs.branches != ''

uses: actions/github-script@v7

with:

script: |

const branches = ${{ steps.stale.outputs.branches }}.split('\n').filter(Boolean);

const body = `## 🧹 Stale Branch Cleanup

The following branches haven't been updated in over 30 days:

${branches.map(b => - \${b}\``).join('\n')}

Actions:

`;

await github.rest.issues.create({

owner: context.repo.owner,

repo: context.repo.repo,

title: 'Stale Branch Cleanup',

body: body,

labels: ['housekeeping']

});

---

## 5. On-Demand Assistance

### 5.1 @mention Bot

.github/workflows/mention-bot.yml

name: AI Mention Bot

on:

issue_comment:

types: [created]

pull_request_review_comment:

types: [created]

jobs:

respond:

if: contains(github.event.comment.body, '@ai-helper')

runs-on: ubuntu-latest

steps:

id: question

run: |

# Extract text after @ai-helper

question=$(echo "${{ github.event.comment.body }}" | sed 's/.*@ai-helper//')

echo "question=$question" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

id: context

run: |

if [ "${{ github.event.issue.pull_request }}" != "" ]; then

# It's a PR - get diff

gh pr diff ${{ github.event.issue.number }} > context.txt

else

# It's an issue - get description

gh issue view ${{ github.event.issue.number }} --json body -q .body > context.txt

fi

echo "context=$(cat context.txt)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

env:

GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

uses: actions/github-script@v7

with:

script: |

const response = await ai.chat(`

Context: ${process.env.CONTEXT}

Question: ${process.env.QUESTION}

Provide a helpful, specific answer. Include code examples if relevant.

`);

await github.rest.issues.createComment({

owner: context.repo.owner,

repo: context.repo.repo,

issue_number: context.issue.number,

body: response

});

env:

CONTEXT: ${{ steps.context.outputs.context }}

QUESTION: ${{ steps.question.outputs.question }}

### 5.2 Command Patterns

Available Commands

| Command | Description |

| :------------------- | :-------------------------- |

| @ai-helper explain | Explain the code in this PR |

| @ai-helper review | Request AI code review |

| @ai-helper fix | Suggest fixes for issues |

| @ai-helper test | Generate test cases |

| @ai-helper docs | Generate documentation |

| /rebase | Rebase PR onto main |

| /update | Update PR branch from main |

| /approve | Mark as approved by bot |

| /label bug | Add 'bug' label |

| /assign @user | Assign to user |

---

## 6. Repository Configuration

### 6.1 CODEOWNERS

.github/CODEOWNERS

Global owners

Frontend

/src/frontend/ @org/frontend-team

*.tsx @org/frontend-team

*.css @org/frontend-team

Backend

/src/api/ @org/backend-team

/src/database/ @org/backend-team

Infrastructure

/.github/ @org/devops-team

/terraform/ @org/devops-team

Dockerfile @org/devops-team

Docs

/docs/ @org/docs-team

*.md @org/docs-team

Security-sensitive

/src/auth/ @org/security-team

/src/crypto/ @org/security-team

### 6.2 Branch Protection

Set up via GitHub API

uses: actions/github-script@v7

with:

script: |

await github.rest.repos.updateBranchProtection({

owner: context.repo.owner,

repo: context.repo.repo,

branch: 'main',

required_status_checks: {

strict: true,

contexts: ['test', 'lint', 'ai-review']

},

enforce_admins: true,

required_pull_request_reviews: {

required_approving_review_count: 1,

require_code_owner_reviews: true,

dismiss_stale_reviews: true

},

restrictions: null,

required_linear_history: true,

allow_force_pushes: false,

allow_deletions: false

});