/github-repo-management

name: github-repo-management
description: "Clone/create/fork repos; manage remotes, releases."
version: 1.1.0
author: Hermes Agent
license: MIT
platforms: [linux, macos, windows]
metadata:
  hermes:
    tags: [GitHub, Repositories, Git, Releases, Secrets, Configuration]
    related_skills: [github-auth, github-pr-workflow, github-issues]

GitHub Repository Management

Create, clone, fork, configure, and manage GitHub repositories. Each section shows `gh` first, then the `git` + `curl` fallback.

Prerequisites

• Authenticated with GitHub (see `github-auth` skill)

Setup

if command -v gh &>/dev/null && gh auth status &>/dev/null; then
  AUTH="gh"
else
  AUTH="git"
  if [ -z "$GITHUB_TOKEN" ]; then
    if _hermes_env="${HERMES_HOME:-$HOME/.hermes}/.env"; [ -f "$_hermes_env" ] && grep -q "^GITHUB_TOKEN=" "$_hermes_env"; then
      GITHUB_TOKEN=$(grep "^GITHUB_TOKEN=" "$_hermes_env" | head -1 | cut -d= -f2 | tr -d '\n\r')
    elif grep -q "github.com" ~/.git-credentials 2>/dev/null; then
      GITHUB_TOKEN=$(grep "github.com" ~/.git-credentials 2>/dev/null | head -1 | sed 's|https://[^:]*:\([^@]*\)@.*|\1|')
    fi
  fi
fi

# Get your GitHub username (needed for several operations)
if [ "$AUTH" = "gh" ]; then
  GH_USER=$(gh api user --jq '.login')
else
  GH_USER=$(curl -s -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" https://api.github.com/user | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['login'])")
fi

If you're inside a repo already:

REMOTE_URL=$(git remote get-url origin)
OWNER_REPO=$(echo "$REMOTE_URL" | sed -E 's|.*github\.com[:/]||; s|\.git$||')
OWNER=$(echo "$OWNER_REPO" | cut -d/ -f1)
REPO=$(echo "$OWNER_REPO" | cut -d/ -f2)

---

1. Cloning Repositories

Cloning is pure `git` — works identically either way:

# Clone via HTTPS (works with credential helper or token-embedded URL)
git clone https://github.com/owner/repo-name.git

# Clone into a specific directory
git clone https://github.com/owner/repo-name.git ./my-local-dir

# Shallow clone (faster for large repos)
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/owner/repo-name.git

# Clone a specific branch
git clone --branch develop https://github.com/owner/repo-name.git

# Clone via SSH (if SSH is configured)
git clone git@github.com:owner/repo-name.git

**With gh (shorthand):**

gh repo clone owner/repo-name
gh repo clone owner/repo-name -- --depth 1

2. Creating Repositories

**With gh:**

# Create a public repo and clone it
gh repo create my-new-project --public --clone

# Private, with description and license
gh repo create my-new-project --private --description "A useful tool" --license MIT --clone

# Under an organization
gh repo create my-org/my-new-project --public --clone

# From existing local directory
cd /path/to/existing/project
gh repo create my-project --source . --public --push

**With git + curl:**

# Create the remote repo via API
curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/user/repos \
  -d '{
    "name": "my-new-project",
    "description": "A useful tool",
    "private": false,
    "auto_init": true,
    "license_template": "mit"
  }'

# Clone it
git clone https://github.com/$GH_USER/my-new-project.git
cd my-new-project

# -- OR -- push an existing local directory to the new repo
cd /path/to/existing/project
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"
git remote add origin https://github.com/$GH_USER/my-new-project.git
git push -u origin main

To create under an organization:

curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/orgs/my-org/repos \
  -d '{"name": "my-new-project", "private": false}'

From a Template

**With gh:**

gh repo create my-new-app --template owner/template-repo --public --clone

**With curl:**

curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/owner/template-repo/generate \
  -d '{"owner": "'"$GH_USER"'", "name": "my-new-app", "private": false}'

3. Forking Repositories

**With gh:**

gh repo fork owner/repo-name --clone

**With git + curl:**

# Create the fork via API
curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/owner/repo-name/forks

# Wait a moment for GitHub to create it, then clone
sleep 3
git clone https://github.com/$GH_USER/repo-name.git
cd repo-name

# Add the original repo as "upstream" remote
git remote add upstream https://github.com/owner/repo-name.git

Keeping a Fork in Sync

# Pure git — works everywhere
git fetch upstream
git checkout main
git merge upstream/main
git push origin main

**With gh (shortcut):**

gh repo sync $GH_USER/repo-name

4. Repository Information

**With gh:**

gh repo view owner/repo-name
gh repo list --limit 20
gh search repos "machine learning" --language python --sort stars

**With curl:**

# View repo details
curl -s \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO \
  | python3 -c "
import sys, json
r = json.load(sys.stdin)
print(f\"Name: {r['full_name']}\")
print(f\"Description: {r['description']}\")
print(f\"Stars: {r['stargazers_count']}  Forks: {r['forks_count']}\")
print(f\"Default branch: {r['default_branch']}\")
print(f\"Language: {r['language']}\")"

# List your repos
curl -s \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.github.com/user/repos?per_page=20&sort=updated" \
  | python3 -c "
import sys, json
for r in json.load(sys.stdin):
    vis = 'private' if r['private'] else 'public'
    print(f\"  {r['full_name']:40}  {vis:8}  {r.get('language', ''):10}  ★{r['stargazers_count']}\")"

# Search repos
curl -s \
  "https://api.github.com/search/repositories?q=machine+learning+language:python&sort=stars&per_page=10" \
  | python3 -c "
import sys, json
for r in json.load(sys.stdin)['items']:
    print(f\"