GitHub for AI Agents: Repos, PRs & Actions

Connect agents to GitHub via OAuth or a GitHub App. The gateway injects tokens into API calls and git-over-HTTPS, with per-action allow/ask/block controls.

Overview

OneCLI connects AI agents to GitHub so they can read and write code, open pull requests, manage issues, and trigger workflows. The gateway injects GitHub credentials into API requests automatically.

OneCLI supports two ways to connect GitHub:

Method	Access scope	Best for
OAuth	All repos the user can access	Personal use, quick setup
GitHub App	Only selected repos	Teams, organizations

Quick example

An agent calling the GitHub API through the gateway, with no token management needed:

# List your repositories
curl -s "https://api.github.com/user/repos?per_page=5&sort=updated" | jq '.[].full_name'

# Create an issue
curl -s -X POST "https://api.github.com/repos/myorg/myrepo/issues" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title": "Bug: login page timeout", "body": "The login page times out after 30s on slow connections."}'

# Open a pull request
curl -s -X POST "https://api.github.com/repos/myorg/myrepo/pulls" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title": "Fix login timeout", "head": "fix/login-timeout", "base": "main"}'

# Trigger a workflow
curl -s -X POST "https://api.github.com/repos/myorg/myrepo/actions/workflows/deploy.yml/dispatches" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"ref": "main"}'

The agent makes standard GitHub API calls. The gateway injects the right authentication header automatically: Bearer token for API calls, Basic auth for git-over-HTTPS.

OAuth

Connect your personal GitHub account. The agent gets access to all repositories you can see.

Setup

1. Go to Connections

   Open the OneCLI dashboard and navigate to Connections > GitHub.

2. Authorize

   Click Connect GitHub. You’ll be redirected to GitHub to authorize OneCLI. Review the permissions and click Authorize.

   

Permissions

The OAuth connection requests these scopes:

Scope	Name	Access
repo	Repositories	Read & write (code, issues, PRs)
user	Profile	Read (email, name, avatar)
gist	Gists	Read & write
notifications	Notifications	Read
project	Projects	Read & write
codespace	Codespaces	Read & write
workflow	Actions	Read & write (workflow files)

How it works

1. You authorize OneCLI via GitHub’s OAuth flow
2. OneCLI receives a long-lived access token and encrypts it
3. When an agent sends a request to api.github.com, the gateway injects the token as a Bearer header
4. For git operations over HTTPS (github.com), the gateway injects Basic auth credentials

Use cases

• Coding agents creating branches, committing code, and opening pull requests
• Agents reviewing PRs and leaving comments
• Triggering GitHub Actions workflows from an agent
• Reading repository contents during code generation

Limitations

• The token has access to all repositories you can see, not just selected ones
• No organizational visibility or approval flow
• Token is long-lived until you revoke the connection

GitHub App

For teams and organizations. A GitHub App gives you repo-level access control and organizational visibility. Org admins can see which repos are connected and approve or revoke access at any time.

Setup

1. Go to Connections

   Open the OneCLI dashboard and navigate to Connections > GitHub App.

2. Configure credentials (self-hosted only)

   If you’re using OneCLI Cloud, skip this step. Platform credentials are pre-configured.

   For self-hosted deployments, create a GitHub App and enter your App ID, App Slug, and Private Key.

3. Install the app

   Click Connect GitHub App. You’ll be redirected to GitHub where you can:

   1. Select the organization or personal account
   2. Choose All repositories or Only select repositories
   3. Review the permissions

   Click Install to complete the connection.

Permissions

The GitHub App requests only the permissions your agents need:

Permission	Access	Description
Contents	Read & write	Code, commits, and branches
Pull requests	Read & write	Create, review, and merge PRs
Issues	Read & write	Create and manage issues
Actions	Read & write	View runs and trigger workflows
Checks	Read & write	Read CI results, create check runs
Commit statuses	Read & write	Read and set status checks
Discussions	Read & write	Read and participate in discussions
Projects	Read & write	Manage project boards
Metadata	Read-only	Repository metadata (always granted)

How it works

1. You install the GitHub App on your organization or account and select which repositories it can access
2. OneCLI receives the app’s private key and installation ID
3. The gateway signs a short-lived JWT and exchanges it for an installation access token (1hr TTL)
4. The token is injected into API requests and automatically refreshed when it expires

Use cases

• Organizations giving agents access to specific repos without exposing the full account
• Teams where admins need visibility into which repos agents can access
• Production deployments where token rotation should be automatic
• Compliance environments where long-lived tokens are not acceptable

Managing access

After connecting, you can change which repositories the app can access:

1. Go to Connections > GitHub App in the OneCLI dashboard
2. Click Manage on the connection
3. You’ll be taken to GitHub’s installation settings where you can add or remove repositories

Comparison

	OAuth	GitHub App
Repo access	All repos the user can see	Only selected repos
Token lifetime	Long-lived	1 hour (auto-refreshed)
Org visibility	Not visible to admins	Visible to org admins
Org approval	Not required	Required
Setup	One-click OAuth	Install app + select repos
Best for	Personal, quick start	Teams, production

Per-action permissions

Once connected, the dashboard shows a permissions panel where you control what agents can do with GitHub. Each action has three modes: Allow (green), Ask (yellow, requires human approval), and Block (red, request is rejected).

Read-only actions:

Action	Description
List repositories	Browse repos the account can access
Read repository	Read code, commits, branches
List issues	View issues on a repo
List pull requests	View open/closed PRs

Write / delete actions:

Action	Description
Create issue	Open new issues
Create pull request	Open PRs against a repo
Create comment	Comment on issues and PRs
Delete / close	Close issues, delete branches

Use the Read-only preset to allow all read actions and block writes, or switch to Custom to configure each action individually.

Controlling access with rules

Both connection methods also work with OneCLI’s rules engine. You can create rules to:

• Block write operations to api.github.com for read-only agents
• Rate limit API calls to stay within GitHub’s rate limits
• Require manual approval for destructive operations (e.g., deleting branches)

Rules are evaluated before credential injection, so a blocked request never touches your GitHub token.