Add Collaborator

add-collaborator

Add a collaborator to a GitHub repository with the appropriate permission level. The agent checks if they are already a collaborator and suggests the right role — with a confirmation step before any action.

When to Use It

• Inviting a new contributor to a repo
• Granting a contractor or external contributor access
• Upgrading a collaborator's permissions
• Checking who already has access before adding someone

How to Launch It

In GitHub Copilot Chat:

/add-collaborator owner/repo username role

Examples:

/add-collaborator owner/repo alice write
/add-collaborator owner/repo bob read
/add-collaborator owner/repo charlie admin

What to Expect

1. Parse request — Extracts repo, username, and requested role
2. Check existing access — Verifies if the user is already a collaborator
3. Role guidance — Confirms the role matches the intent with the role guide table
4. Preview — Shows what will be sent before acting
5. Send invitation — After confirmation, sends the GitHub collaboration invite

Role Guide

Role	What they can do
read	View and clone; comment on issues and PRs
triage	Read + label, assign, close issues/PRs
write	Triage + push to non-protected branches, manage releases
maintain	Write + manage repo settings (not destructive)
admin	Full access including destructive settings and collaborator management

Existing Collaborator Check

Agent: alice is already a collaborator with "triage" access.
  You are requesting to upgrade to "write".
  
  Change alice's role from triage → write? (yes/no)

Org Team Suggestion

If the repo belongs to an organization with teams configured, the agent may suggest:

Note: The "@myorg/contributors" team already has write access to this repo.
  Consider adding alice to that team instead of granting individual access.

Sample Flow

You: /add-collaborator owner/repo bob write

Agent: Checking bob's current access to owner/repo...
  bob is not a current collaborator.

  Role: write — push to non-protected branches, manage releases

  Send invitation to bob (write)? (yes/no)

You: yes

Agent: Invitation sent to bob. They will need to accept before access is granted.

Example Variations

/add-collaborator owner/repo alice read
/add-collaborator owner/repo alice write
/add-collaborator owner/repo alice admin
/add-collaborator owner/repo check alice    # Check current access only

Connected Agents

Agent	Role
repo-admin agent	Executes this prompt

Related Prompts

• onboard-repo — check repo health before adding contributors
• manage-branches — set branch protections after adding collaborators