Skills

GitHub Actions Debugger

Analyzes GitHub Actions failures and finds their root causes.

Install

npx skills add ykdojo/claude-code-tips --skill gha -g -a claude-code -y
Category
DevOps
Updated
1mo ago
License
See repository
Context cost
Lightabout 612 tokens
Runs scripts
No, instructions only

What it does

Analyze GitHub Actions failures and identify root causes

Investigate this GitHub Actions URL: $ARGUMENTS

Use the gh CLI to analyze this workflow run. Your investigation should:

  1. Get basic info & identify actual failure:

    • What workflow/job failed, when, and on which commit?
    • CRITICAL: Read the full logs carefully to find what SPECIFICALLY caused the exit code 1
    • Distinguish between warnings/non-fatal errors vs actual failures
    • Look for patterns like "failing:", "fatal:", or script logic that determines when to exit 1
    • If you see both "non-fatal" and "fatal" errors, focus on what actually caused the failure
  2. Check flakiness: Check the past 10-20 runs of THE EXACT SAME failing job:

    • IMPORTANT: If a workflow has multiple jobs, you must check history for the SPECIFIC JOB that failed, not just the workflow
    • Use gh run list --workflow=<workflow-name> to get run IDs, then gh run view <run-id> --json jobs to check the specific job's status
    • Is this a one-time failure or recurring pattern for THIS SPECIFIC JOB?
    • What's the success rate for THIS JOB recently?
    • When did THIS JOB last pass?
  3. Identify breaking commit (if there's a pattern of failures for the specific job):

    • Find the first run where THIS SPECIFIC JOB failed and the last run where it passed
    • Identify the commit that introduced the failure
    • Verify by checking: does THIS JOB fail in ALL runs after that commit? Does it pass in ALL runs before?
    • If verified, report the breaking commit with high confidence
  4. Root cause: Based on logs, history, and any breaking commit, what's the likely cause?

    • Focus on what ACTUALLY caused the failure (not just any errors you see)
    • Verify your hypothesis against the logs and failure logic
Read the whole SKILL.md on GitHub

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