---

name: github-repo-triage description: Use when you need to analyze a GitHub repository or produce reliable download links by combining gh (metadata/releases/download), gitingest (codebase digest), and copilot-cli (targeted Q&A and best-practice guidance).

GitHub Repo Triage (gh + gitingest + Copilot)

Purpose

One workflow to: (1) identify the exact repo, (2) get the correct download link (release asset/zip/source), and (3) analyze the codebase with the right tool for the question.

Tool boundaries (when to use what)

• gh (GitHub CLI): repo metadata, default branch, README, issues/PRs, releases, and downloading release assets/source.
• gitingest: produce an LLM-friendly digest of the repo (tree + key files) for codebase understanding.
• copilot-cli: precise, narrow questions (e.g., "Windows download best practice") after you have the relevant context.

JSON-first workflow (PowerShell)

Prefer JSON output from gh and parse it (avoid brittle text scraping).

Example: compute a default-branch source zip download URL:

Copy$r = 'owner/repo'
$info = gh repo view $r --json url,defaultBranchRef | ConvertFrom-Json
$zip = $info.url + '/archive/refs/heads/' + $info.defaultBranchRef.name + '.zip'
$zip

Example: list release asset download URLs:

Copy$r = 'owner/repo'
$rel = gh release view -R $r --json tagName,assets | ConvertFrom-Json
$rel.assets | Select-Object name,url,size

Tip: keep pipes JSON-safe (use ConvertFrom-Json rather than regex).

Fast workflow

1. Resolve the repo

• If you have URL or owner/repo, confirm:
  • gh repo view owner/repo --web (or omit --web to print info)

1. Get download links (preferred order)

• Release assets (best for end-users):
  • gh release view -R owner/repo --json tagName,assets
  • gh release download -R owner/repo --pattern "*.exe"
• Source zip/tar (best for code):
  • gh repo view -R owner/repo --json url,defaultBranchRef
  • Source downloads live under /archive/refs/heads/<branch>.zip and /archive/refs/tags/<tag>.zip
• Clone (best for development):
  • gh repo clone owner/repo

1. Analyze code

• Quick structural understanding:
  • gitingest E:\path\to\repo
  • or gitingest https://github.com/owner/repo
• Reduce scope on huge repos:
  • gitingest https://github.com/owner/repo -i "src/**" -e "node_modules/**"

1. Ask precise questions with Copilot

• Use one-shot prompts for deterministic Q&A:
  • npx @github/copilot -p "Explain the Windows download approach used in this repo" --add-dir .
• Keep permissions minimal; add tools only when needed.

Guardrails

• Private repos: authenticate gh and prefer env vars (no tokens in docs).
• Prefer gitingest before deep analysis; then use Copilot for pinpoint questions.

Optional: deep changes via WSL Codex CLI

Use this when you want Codex to run in Ubuntu-22.04 (Linux tooling, pinned node/codex) while still working from Windows.

• If you installed wsl-codex-cli, run its scripts/wsl-codex.ps1 from your skills root (path varies by tool).
• Common location (Windows): %USERPROFILE%\.codex\skills\wsl-codex-cli\scripts\wsl-codex.ps1

Example (multi-line prompt via stdin):

Copy$prompt = @'
Analyze this repo and suggest the safest Windows download approach (release assets vs source).
'@
$prompt | & "$env:USERPROFILE\.codex\skills\wsl-codex-cli\scripts\wsl-codex.ps1"

Guardrail: if you need the repo contents inside WSL, prefer cloning inside WSL or passing a small digest (e.g., from gitingest) instead of mounting huge trees.

Related skills

• copilot-cli
• wsl-codex-cli
• gitingest