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SKILL.md
npx skills add microsoft/semantic-link-labs --skill github-repo-explore
Guide for searching and exploring external GitHub repositories using the gh CLI. Use this when you need reference implementations, patterns, or code examples from open-source projects to help complete your task.
npx skills add microsoft/semantic-link-labs --skill github-repo-explore
This skill enables agents to discover, clone, and explore external GitHub repositories when implementing features that may benefit from reference implementations in open-source projects.
Use this skill when you need to:
Do NOT use this skill when:
All external GitHub repositories MUST be stored in:
This is the centralized location for all cloned external repositories. Always check here first before searching GitHub.
Repositories are organized by {owner}/{repo} structure to prevent naming conflicts.
Before searching GitHub, always check if a relevant repository is already cloned locally.
If the repository exists locally, use standard file tools:
If you need to search or clone from GitHub, ensure authentication is set up.
This opens a browser for the user to authenticate with their GitHub account.
Use gh search commands to find relevant repositories or code.
When you find a useful repository, clone it to the cache directory.
Once cloned, use a combination of gh commands and file reading tools.
After identifying relevant files with grep/find, use the read_file tool to examine content:
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
gh repo view <owner/repo> | View repo README and details |
gh repo view <owner/repo> --json <fields> | Get repo metadata as JSON |
gh repo clone <owner/repo> <path> | Clone repo to specific path |
gh repo list <owner> | List repos owned by user/org |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
gh search repos <query> | Search for repositories |
gh search code <query> | Search within code |
gh search issues <query> | Search issues |
gh search prs <query> | Search pull requests |
| Filter | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
--language | --language python | Filter by programming language |
--owner | --owner microsoft | Filter by repository owner |
--stars | --stars ">1000" | Filter by star count |
--limit | --limit 20 | Limit number of results |
--sort | --sort stars | Sort results (stars, forks, updated) |
--json | --json fullName,description | Output as JSON |
Common fields for --json output:
fullName - owner/reponame - repo name onlydescription - repo descriptionstargazersCount - number of starslanguage - primary languageurl - GitHub URLdefaultBranchRef - main branch name-- --depth 1 to save disk space and time┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. Check Local Cache (.agent_cache/resources/) │
│ └─ If found → Use local repo for exploration │
└────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┘
│ Not found
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 2. Authenticate with GitHub (if needed) │
│ └─ gh auth login │
└────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 3. Search GitHub for Repositories │
│ └─ gh search repos <query> │
│ └─ gh search code <query> │
└────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┘
│ Found match
▼
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 4. Clone to Cache Directory │
│ └─ gh repo clone owner/repo .agent_cache/resources/owner/repo │
└────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 5. Explore Repository │
│ └─ Use gh commands and file reading tools │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘# List all cached repositories
ls -la .agent_cache/resources/
# List repos by owner
ls -la .agent_cache/resources/microsoft/
# Search for specific repo by name
find .agent_cache/resources -type d -name "*semantic*" 2>/dev/null# View repository structure
tree -L 2 .agent_cache/resources/microsoft/semantic-kernel/
# Search for patterns in local repo
grep -r "planning" .agent_cache/resources/microsoft/semantic-kernel/python/ --include="*.py" | head -20
# Find specific files
find .agent_cache/resources/microsoft/semantic-kernel -name "*.md" -path "*skills*"gh auth status# Interactive login - user will authenticate via browser
gh auth login# Verify authentication worked
gh auth status# Search repos by keywords
gh search repos "agent planning skills" --limit 10
# Search with language filter
gh search repos "agent planning" --language python --limit 10
# Search by owner
gh search repos --owner microsoft "semantic kernel" --limit 10
# Search with JSON output for parsing
gh search repos "agent planning" --json fullName,description,stargazersCount --limit 5
# Sort by stars (most popular)
gh search repos "agent planning" --sort stars --limit 10
# Filter by number of stars
gh search repos "agent framework" --stars ">1000" --limit 10# Search code across GitHub
gh search code "TaskLedger" --limit 10
# Search code in specific language
gh search code "def plan" --language python --limit 10
# Search code in specific repo
gh search code "planning" --repo microsoft/semantic-kernel --limit 20
# Search code by filename
gh search code "skills" --filename "*.md" --limit 10
# Search with JSON output
gh search code "agent skills" --json path,repository --limit 10# View repo README and description
gh repo view microsoft/semantic-kernel
# View repo with specific fields as JSON
gh repo view microsoft/semantic-kernel --json name,description,stargazerCount,defaultBranchRef
# Open repo in browser
gh repo view microsoft/semantic-kernel --web# Create cache directory structure
mkdir -p .agent_cache/resources/{owner}
# Clone repository
gh repo clone microsoft/semantic-kernel .agent_cache/resources/microsoft/semantic-kernel
# Clone with shallow history (faster, uses less disk)
gh repo clone microsoft/semantic-kernel .agent_cache/resources/microsoft/semantic-kernel -- --depth 1
# Clone specific branch
gh repo clone microsoft/semantic-kernel .agent_cache/resources/microsoft/semantic-kernel -- --branch main --depth 1# Pull latest changes
cd .agent_cache/resources/microsoft/semantic-kernel && git pull && cd -# View directory structure
tree -L 3 .agent_cache/resources/microsoft/semantic-kernel/python/ | head -50
# Find README files
find .agent_cache/resources/microsoft/semantic-kernel -name "README.md" | head -10
# Find Python files related to agents
find .agent_cache/resources/microsoft/semantic-kernel -path "*agents*" -name "*.py" | head -20# Search for specific patterns
grep -r "class.*Agent" .agent_cache/resources/microsoft/semantic-kernel/python --include="*.py" | head -20
# Find function definitions
grep -rn "def plan" .agent_cache/resources/microsoft/semantic-kernel/python --include="*.py"
# Search for imports
grep -r "from.*import" .agent_cache/resources/microsoft/semantic-kernel/python --include="*.py" | grep planning# Example files to read
read_file .agent_cache/resources/microsoft/semantic-kernel/python/semantic_kernel/agents/orchestration/magentic.py# 1. Check local cache
ls .agent_cache/resources/ 2>/dev/null || echo "Cache empty"
# 2. Search GitHub for Fabric/Power BI SDK examples
gh search repos "fabric rest api python" --stars ">50" --limit 10
# 3. View promising repo
gh repo view microsoft/semantic-link-labs
# 4. Clone to cache
mkdir -p .agent_cache/resources/microsoft
gh repo clone microsoft/semantic-link-labs .agent_cache/resources/microsoft/semantic-link-labs -- --depth 1
# 5. Explore API patterns
grep -r "_base_api" .agent_cache/resources/microsoft/semantic-link-labs --include="*.py" | head -20# Search for specific pattern across GitHub
gh search code "FabricRestClient" --language python --limit 5
# Clone repo containing the pattern
gh repo clone owner/repo .agent_cache/resources/owner/repo -- --depth 1
# Find and read the file
grep -rn "FabricRestClient" .agent_cache/resources/owner/repo --include="*.py"# Search for agent frameworks
gh search repos "agent framework" --language python --stars ">2000" --json fullName,description,stargazersCount
# Clone top candidates
for repo in "langchain-ai/langchain" "Significant-Gravitas/AutoGPT"; do
owner=$(dirname $repo)
mkdir -p ".agent_cache/resources/$owner"
gh repo clone "$repo" ".agent_cache/resources/$repo" -- --depth 1
done
# Compare implementations
diff <(grep -r "def plan" .agent_cache/resources/langchain-ai/langchain --include="*.py" | head -5) \
<(grep -r "def plan" .agent_cache/resources/Significant-Gravitas/AutoGPT --include="*.py" | head -5)# Check current auth status
gh auth status
# Re-authenticate
gh auth login
# Use different auth method
gh auth login --with-token < token.txt# Check rate limit status
gh api rate_limit
# If rate limited, wait or use cached repos# If clone fails, try with HTTPS explicitly
git clone https://github.com/owner/repo.git .agent_cache/resources/owner/repo
# Or try shallow clone
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/owner/repo.git .agent_cache/resources/owner/repo