GitHub Automation via Rube MCP

Automate GitHub repository management, issue tracking, pull request workflows, branch operations, and CI/CD through Composio's GitHub toolkit.

Prerequisites

Rube MCP must be connected (RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS available)

Active GitHub connection via

RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS

with toolkit

github

Always call

RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS

first to get current tool schemas

Setup

Get Rube MCP

Add

https://rube.app/mcp

as an MCP server in your client configuration. No API keys needed — just add the endpoint and it works.

Verify Rube MCP is available by confirming

RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS

responds

Call

RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS

with toolkit

github

If connection is not ACTIVE, follow the returned auth link to complete GitHub OAuth

Confirm connection status shows ACTIVE before running any workflows

Core Workflows

1. Create and Manage Issues

When to use

User wants to create, list, or manage GitHub issues

Tool sequence

:

GITHUB_LIST_REPOSITORIES_FOR_THE_AUTHENTICATED_USER

- Find target repo if unknown [Prerequisite]

GITHUB_LIST_REPOSITORY_ISSUES

- List existing issues (includes PRs) [Required]

GITHUB_CREATE_AN_ISSUE

- Create a new issue [Required]

GITHUB_CREATE_AN_ISSUE_COMMENT

- Add comments to an issue [Optional]

GITHUB_SEARCH_ISSUES_AND_PULL_REQUESTS

- Search across repos by keyword [Optional]

Key parameters

:

owner

Repository owner (username or org), case-insensitive

repo

Repository name without .git extension

title

Issue title (required for creation)

body

Issue description (supports Markdown)

labels

Array of label names

assignees

Array of GitHub usernames

state

'open', 'closed', or 'all' for filtering

Pitfalls

:

GITHUB_LIST_REPOSITORY_ISSUES

returns both issues AND pull requests; check

pull_request

field to distinguish

Only users with push access can set assignees, labels, and milestones; they are silently dropped otherwise

Pagination:

per_page

max 100; iterate pages until empty

2. Manage Pull Requests

When to use

User wants to create, review, or merge pull requests

Tool sequence

:

GITHUB_FIND_PULL_REQUESTS

- Search and filter PRs [Required]

GITHUB_GET_A_PULL_REQUEST

- Get detailed PR info including mergeable status [Required]

GITHUB_LIST_PULL_REQUESTS_FILES

- Review changed files [Optional]

GITHUB_CREATE_A_PULL_REQUEST

- Create a new PR [Required]

GITHUB_CREATE_AN_ISSUE_COMMENT

- Post review comments [Optional]

GITHUB_LIST_CHECK_RUNS_FOR_A_REF

- Verify CI status before merge [Optional]

GITHUB_MERGE_A_PULL_REQUEST

- Merge after explicit user approval [Required]

Key parameters

:

head

Source branch with changes (must exist; for cross-repo: 'username:branch')

base

Target branch to merge into (e.g., 'main')

title

PR title (required unless

issue

number provided)

merge_method

'merge', 'squash', or 'rebase'

state

'open', 'closed', or 'all'

Pitfalls

:

GITHUB_CREATE_A_PULL_REQUEST

fails with 422 if base/head are invalid, identical, or already merged

GITHUB_MERGE_A_PULL_REQUEST

can be rejected if PR is draft, closed, or branch protection applies

Always verify mergeable status with

GITHUB_GET_A_PULL_REQUEST

immediately before merging

Require explicit user confirmation before calling MERGE

3. Manage Repositories and Branches

When to use

User wants to create repos, manage branches, or update repo settings

Tool sequence

:

GITHUB_LIST_REPOSITORIES_FOR_THE_AUTHENTICATED_USER

- List user's repos [Required]

GITHUB_GET_A_REPOSITORY

- Get detailed repo info [Optional]

GITHUB_CREATE_A_REPOSITORY_FOR_THE_AUTHENTICATED_USER

- Create personal repo [Required]

GITHUB_CREATE_AN_ORGANIZATION_REPOSITORY

- Create org repo [Alternative]

GITHUB_LIST_BRANCHES

- List branches [Required]

GITHUB_CREATE_A_REFERENCE

- Create new branch from SHA [Required]

GITHUB_UPDATE_A_REPOSITORY

- Update repo settings [Optional]

Key parameters

:

name

Repository name

private

Boolean for visibility

ref

Full reference path (e.g., 'refs/heads/new-branch')

sha

Commit SHA to point the new reference to

default_branch

Default branch name

Pitfalls

:

GITHUB_CREATE_A_REFERENCE

only creates NEW references; use

GITHUB_UPDATE_A_REFERENCE

for existing ones

ref

must start with 'refs/' and contain at least two slashes

GITHUB_LIST_BRANCHES

paginates via

page

/

per_page

; iterate until empty page

GITHUB_DELETE_A_REPOSITORY

is permanent and irreversible; requires admin privileges

4. Search Code and Commits

When to use

User wants to find code, files, or commits across repositories

Tool sequence

:

GITHUB_SEARCH_CODE

- Search file contents and paths [Required]

GITHUB_SEARCH_CODE_ALL_PAGES

- Multi-page code search [Alternative]

GITHUB_SEARCH_COMMITS_BY_AUTHOR

- Search commits by author/date/org [Required]

GITHUB_LIST_COMMITS

- List commits for a specific repo [Alternative]

GITHUB_GET_A_COMMIT

- Get detailed commit info [Optional]

GITHUB_GET_REPOSITORY_CONTENT

- Get file content [Optional]

Key parameters

:

q

Search query with qualifiers (

language:python

,

repo:owner/repo

,

extension:js

)

owner

/

repo

For repo-specific commit listing

author

Filter by commit author

since

/

until

ISO 8601 date range for commits

Pitfalls

:

Code search only indexes files under 384KB on default branch

Maximum 1000 results returned from code search

GITHUB_SEARCH_COMMITS_BY_AUTHOR

requires keywords in addition to qualifiers; qualifier-only queries are not allowed

GITHUB_LIST_COMMITS

returns 409 on empty repos

5. Manage CI/CD and Deployments

When to use

User wants to view workflows, check CI status, or manage deployments

Tool sequence

:

GITHUB_LIST_REPOSITORY_WORKFLOWS

- List GitHub Actions workflows [Required]

GITHUB_GET_A_WORKFLOW

- Get workflow details by ID or filename [Optional]

GITHUB_CREATE_A_WORKFLOW_DISPATCH_EVENT

- Manually trigger a workflow [Required]

GITHUB_LIST_CHECK_RUNS_FOR_A_REF

- Check CI status for a commit/branch [Required]

GITHUB_LIST_DEPLOYMENTS

- List deployments [Optional]

GITHUB_GET_A_DEPLOYMENT_STATUS

- Get deployment status [Optional]

Key parameters

:

workflow_id

Numeric ID or filename (e.g., 'ci.yml')

ref

Git reference (branch/tag) for workflow dispatch

inputs

JSON string of workflow inputs matching

on.workflow_dispatch.inputs

environment

Filter deployments by environment name

Pitfalls

:

GITHUB_CREATE_A_WORKFLOW_DISPATCH_EVENT

requires the workflow to have

workflow_dispatch

trigger configured

Full path

.github/workflows/main.yml

is auto-stripped to just

main.yml

Inputs max 10 key-value pairs; must match workflow's

on.workflow_dispatch.inputs

definitions

6. Manage Users and Permissions

When to use

User wants to check collaborators, permissions, or branch protection

Tool sequence

:

GITHUB_LIST_REPOSITORY_COLLABORATORS

- List repo collaborators [Required]

GITHUB_GET_REPOSITORY_PERMISSIONS_FOR_A_USER

- Check specific user's access [Optional]

GITHUB_GET_BRANCH_PROTECTION

- Inspect branch protection rules [Required]

GITHUB_UPDATE_BRANCH_PROTECTION

- Update protection settings [Optional]

GITHUB_ADD_A_REPOSITORY_COLLABORATOR

- Add/update collaborator [Optional]

Key parameters

:

affiliation

'outside', 'direct', or 'all' for collaborator filtering

permission

Filter by 'pull', 'triage', 'push', 'maintain', 'admin'

branch

Branch name for protection rules

enforce_admins

Whether protection applies to admins

Pitfalls

:

GITHUB_GET_BRANCH_PROTECTION

returns 404 for unprotected branches; treat as no protection rules

Determine push ability from

permissions.push

or

role_name

, not display labels

GITHUB_LIST_REPOSITORY_COLLABORATORS

paginates; iterate all pages

GITHUB_GET_REPOSITORY_PERMISSIONS_FOR_A_USER

may be inconclusive for non-collaborators

Common Patterns

ID Resolution

Repo name -> owner/repo

:

GITHUB_LIST_REPOSITORIES_FOR_THE_AUTHENTICATED_USER

PR number -> PR details

:

GITHUB_FIND_PULL_REQUESTS

then

GITHUB_GET_A_PULL_REQUEST

Branch name -> SHA

:

GITHUB_GET_A_BRANCH

Workflow name -> ID

:

GITHUB_LIST_REPOSITORY_WORKFLOWS

Pagination

All list endpoints use page-based pagination:

page

Page number (starts at 1)

per_page

Results per page (max 100)

Iterate until response returns fewer results than

per_page

Safety

Always verify PR mergeable status before merge

Require explicit user confirmation for destructive operations (merge, delete)

Check CI status with

GITHUB_LIST_CHECK_RUNS_FOR_A_REF

before merging

Known Pitfalls

Issues vs PRs

:

GITHUB_LIST_REPOSITORY_ISSUES

returns both; check

pull_request

field

Pagination limits

:

per_page

max 100; always iterate pages until empty

Branch creation

:

GITHUB_CREATE_A_REFERENCE

fails with 422 if reference already exists

Merge guards

Merge can fail due to branch protection, failing checks, or draft status

Code search limits

Only files <384KB on default branch; max 1000 results

Commit search

Requires search text keywords alongside qualifiers

Destructive actions

Repo deletion is irreversible; merge cannot be undone

Silent permission drops

Labels, assignees, milestones silently dropped without push access Quick Reference Task Tool Slug Key Params List repos GITHUB_LIST_REPOSITORIES_FOR_THE_AUTHENTICATED_USER type , sort , per_page Get repo GITHUB_GET_A_REPOSITORY owner , repo Create issue GITHUB_CREATE_AN_ISSUE owner , repo , title , body List issues GITHUB_LIST_REPOSITORY_ISSUES owner , repo , state Find PRs GITHUB_FIND_PULL_REQUESTS repo , state , author Create PR GITHUB_CREATE_A_PULL_REQUEST owner , repo , head , base , title Merge PR GITHUB_MERGE_A_PULL_REQUEST owner , repo , pull_number , merge_method List branches GITHUB_LIST_BRANCHES owner , repo Create branch GITHUB_CREATE_A_REFERENCE owner , repo , ref , sha Search code GITHUB_SEARCH_CODE q List commits GITHUB_LIST_COMMITS owner , repo , author , since Search commits GITHUB_SEARCH_COMMITS_BY_AUTHOR q List workflows GITHUB_LIST_REPOSITORY_WORKFLOWS owner , repo Trigger workflow GITHUB_CREATE_A_WORKFLOW_DISPATCH_EVENT owner , repo , workflow_id , ref Check CI GITHUB_LIST_CHECK_RUNS_FOR_A_REF owner , repo , ref List collaborators GITHUB_LIST_REPOSITORY_COLLABORATORS owner , repo Branch protection GITHUB_GET_BRANCH_PROTECTION owner , repo , branch When to Use This skill is applicable to execute the workflow or actions described in the overview.