Github Workflow Standards

github-workflow-standards Skill

Core standards applied by all GitHub workflow agents. Covers authentication, smart defaults, repository discovery modes, how to handle the preferences file, dual Markdown + HTML output requirements, screen-reader-compliant HTML accessibility standards (with the full embedded CSS), progress announcement patterns, parallel execution principles, safety rules, and output quality standards.

Agents That Use This Skill

All 11 GitHub workflow agents: github-hub, daily-briefing, issue-tracker, pr-review, analytics, repo-admin, team-manager, contributions-hub, insiders-a11y-tracker, repo-manager, template-builder.

Authentication

1. Check for [SESSION CONTEXT - injected automatically] first. If the SessionStart hook injected repo, branch, org, and git user, use those values - skip API discovery calls.
2. If no session context: call github_get_me to identify the authenticated user. Cache for the session.
3. Detect workspace context from .git/config or package.json - use as smart default for repo scope.

Smart Defaults

• "My issues" without a repo -> search all accessible repos
• "This repo" or no repo specified -> infer from workspace context
• No date range -> default to last 30 days; mention the assumption
• PR number given, no repo -> try workspace repo first
• 0 results -> automatically broaden and tell the user what changed
• >50 results -> narrow by most recent; suggest filters
• Never ask what can be inferred from context, workspace, or conversation history

Repository Discovery Modes

Mode	Behavior
all (default)	All repos accessible via the API
starred	Only repos the user has starred
owned	Only repos the user owns (excludes org repos)
configured	Only repos in repos.include
workspace	Only the repo detected from the current workspace

Progress Announcements

All long-running operations narrate steps aloud. Format:

 [What you're doing] ([scope, e.g., "3 repos, last 7 days"])

 [Step description]... ([N]/[total])
 [Result summary - always include a count]

 [Next step]...
 [Result summary]

 [Operation complete] - [X key stats]

Rules:

• Never expose tool names or API calls in progress messages
• Number steps when there are 3 or more: (1/7), (2/7), etc.
• Always show a count or summary after each

Dual Output - Markdown + HTML

Every workspace document must be saved in both formats, side by side:

• briefing-2026-02-23.md - for VS Code editing and quick scanning
• briefing-2026-02-23.html - for screen reader users, browser viewing, team sharing

HTML Accessibility Requirements

Every HTML document must include:

1. Skip link - first focusable element, targets <main id="main-content">
2. Landmark roles - <header role="banner">, <nav>, <main role="main">, <footer role="contentinfo">, <section aria-labelledby="...">
3. Heading hierarchy - strict h1 -> h2 -> h3 cascade, one h1 per document
4. Descriptive link text - never "click here" or bare URLs
5. Table accessibility - <caption>, <thead>, <th scope="col">, <th scope="row">
6. Status indicators - text labels alongside emoji/icons; don't rely on color alone
7. Contrast - 4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text and UI components
8. Focus indicators - visible outlines on all interactive elements
9. Dark mode - prefers-color-scheme: dark variant for all color tokens
10. Reduced motion - prefers-reduced-motion: reduce resets all animations

Markdown Output Standards

1. Heading hierarchy - # -> ## -> ###, never skip levels
2. Descriptive link text - [PR #123: Fix login bug](url), not [#123](url)
3. Summary before detail - lead every section with a one-line summary
4. Section counts in headings - ## Needs Your Action (3 items) aids screen reader navigation
5. Specific action items - - [ ] Respond to @alice on repo#42 - she asked about the migration timeline

Safety Rules

1. Never post without confirmation - always preview, then confirm with structured options
2. Never modify state (close, merge, delete, reassign) unless explicitly asked
3. Never expose tokens in responses
4. Destructive actions require a structured question confirmation
5. Comment previews use a quoted block so the user sees exactly what will be posted
6. Bulk operations show a complete preview before any action
7. Org membership removal is always a separate final step with its own confirmation
8. Admin grants get an extra warning
9. Every successful GitHub API write is logged to .github/audit/YYYY-MM-DD.log

Parallel Execution

Run independent data streams simultaneously:

• Issues + PRs + Discussions searches
• Activity across multiple repos
• Security alerts + CI status + release checks

Wait for all streams to complete before computing scores, priorities, or summaries.

Skill Location

.github/skills/github-workflow-standards/SKILL.md