GitHub Content Fetcher via uithub

When to use this skill

Activate this skill whenever:

• A user pastes a GitHub URL (github.com/owner/repo)
• A user mentions wanting to see code from a GitHub repository
• A user asks to analyze issues or pull requests from GitHub
• A user needs context from a specific repository

Prerequisites

The uithub CLI must be installed. Check with:

which uithub || command -v uithub

If not installed, guide the user to install it:

npm install -g /path/to/uithub-cli

How to fetch repository contents

Basic repository fetch

When a user pastes a GitHub URL like https://github.com/owner/repo:

uithub owner/repo

This returns the full repository structure with file contents.

Filtering by file extensions

For specific file types (TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, etc.):

uithub owner/repo?ext=ts,js,py

Limiting response size

To avoid overwhelming context with large repositories:

uithub owner/repo?maxTokens=50000

Fetching specific issues or PRs

For GitHub issues:

uithub owner/repo/issues/123

For pull requests:

uithub owner/repo/pull/456

Searching within repository

To find specific code patterns:

uithub owner/repo?search=functionName

For case-sensitive regex search:

uithub owner/repo?search=pattern&searchRegularExp=true&searchMatchCase=true

Directory filtering

Include specific directories:

uithub owner/repo?dir=src,lib

Exclude directories:

uithub owner/repo?exclude-dir=tests,node_modules

Response formats

Get JSON output:

uithub owner/repo?accept=application/json

Get YAML:

uithub owner/repo?accept=text/yaml

Get HTML:

uithub owner/repo?accept=text/html

Authentication flow

On first use, uithub will:

1. Open a browser for GitHub OAuth authentication
2. Store the access token locally in ~/.uithub/token.json
3. Automatically use the token for subsequent requests

The token expires after a set period and will automatically re-authenticate when needed.

To manually logout:

uithub logout

Common usage patterns

Pattern 1: User shares GitHub URL for analysis

User says: "Can you look at https://github.com/facebook/react?"

Steps:

1. Extract owner/repo from URL: facebook/react
2. Assess repository size - React is large, so limit tokens
3. Fetch with constraints:

   uithub facebook/react?ext=js,ts&maxTokens=30000&dir=packages/react/src
   

Pattern 2: User wants to understand a specific issue

User says: "What's happening in https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/12345?"

Steps:

1. Parse issue URL
2. Fetch issue content:

   uithub nodejs/node/issues/12345
   

Pattern 3: User needs code examples

User says: "Show me how authentication works in that Express.js repo"

Steps:

1. Search for authentication-related code:

   uithub expressjs/express?search=auth&ext=js&dir=lib
   

Pattern 4: Large repository with specific focus

User says: "I need to see the TypeScript types from https://github.com/microsoft/TypeScript"

Steps:

1. Filter for TypeScript definition files only:

   uithub microsoft/TypeScript?ext=d.ts&maxTokens=40000
   

Query parameters reference

Parameter	Purpose	Example
ext	Include file extensions	ext=ts,js,md
exclude-ext	Exclude file extensions	exclude-ext=test.ts
dir	Include directories	dir=src,lib
exclude-dir	Exclude directories	exclude-dir=node_modules,dist
maxFileSize	Max file size in bytes	maxFileSize=100000
maxTokens	Max LLM tokens	maxTokens=50000
accept	Response format	accept=application/json
include	Glob patterns to include	include=**/*.ts,src/**
exclude	Glob patterns to exclude	exclude=**/*.test.ts
search	Search file contents	search=functionName
searchMatchCase	Case-sensitive search	searchMatchCase=true
searchRegularExp	Use regex	searchRegularExp=true
omitFiles	Omit file contents	omitFiles=true
omitTree	Omit directory tree	omitTree=true
lines	Show line numbers	lines=false to disable
disableGenignore	Disable .genignore	disableGenignore=true

Error handling

Token expired or invalid

If you see a 401 error, the CLI will automatically re-authenticate. Let the user know: "The GitHub authentication token has expired. Please authorize in the browser that just opened."

Repository too large

If the response is truncated or times out:

1. Use maxTokens to limit size
2. Focus on specific directories with dir
3. Filter by file extensions with ext

Rate limiting

If rate limited, inform the user and wait before retrying.

Best practices

1. Always assess repository size first: Large repos need filtering
2. Use directory filtering: Focus on relevant code paths (src, lib, etc.)
3. Limit file types: Don't fetch images, build artifacts, or test files unless needed
4. Set reasonable token limits: Start with 30,000-50,000 tokens for safety
5. Check authentication status: If the user hasn't authenticated yet, explain the OAuth flow
6. Parse URLs carefully: Extract owner/repo/resource from various GitHub URL formats

Examples

See EXAMPLES.md for detailed usage scenarios.