Authoring GitHub Workflows
Authors and reviews GitHub Actions YAML so it can't ship a broken workflow.
Test report
- Verdict
- Works with setup
- Score
- Tested
- Jul 12, 2026
- Environment
- Claude Code 2.x (agent harness)
- Upstream re-checked
- Aug 10, 2026 · 8f094c7
Tested full install (verbatim git clone + cp, no rescue), trigger separation against the frontmatter's explicit USE FOR / DO NOT USE FOR / SCOPE clauses, and an A/B output task: author a pull_request workflow whose run-name and env value both embed a literal '#' — the exact YAML-comment-truncation trap this Microsoft-authored skill targets. Both the skill and base arms produced syntactically-valid workflows that correctly double-quoted the two '#'-bearing scalars, so the skill gave no material correctness edge here (the base arm avoided the trap unaided); the skill output only added a production-style conditional guard the spec didn't require. Docs are accurate and non-overclaiming, but one in-body link is broken — it points to `.github/agents/agentic-workflows.agent.md` while the actual file is `agentic-workflows.md` — and the actionlint download step pins a SHA-256 only for the linux_amd64 asset (no macOS/arm64).
Scored on four weighted criteria — install, triggering, output vs. baseline, docs. How scoring works
- Installs cleanly 4/5
- Triggers reliably 5/5
- Output vs. baseline 5/10
- Docs & honesty 4/5
What Authoring GitHub Workflows does
Author and review GitHub Actions workflow YAML safely so syntactically-valid YAML can't ship a workflow that GitHub Actions refuses to run. USE FOR: editing, adding, or reviewing any file under .github/workflows/, writing run-name/name/if/env/run values that contain ${{ }} expressions, diagnosing a run that fails with 'This run likely failed because of a workflow file issue' and no jobs…
How to install Authoring GitHub Workflows
git clone https://github.com/dotnet/skills
cd skills
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -r .agents/skills/authoring-github-workflows ~/.claude/skills/authoring-github-workflows
Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/
(per-project). Restart Claude Code after installing.
Commands — how to trigger Authoring GitHub Workflows
-
/authoring-github-workflowsAuthors and reviews GitHub Actions YAML so it can't ship a broken workflow.
It also activates on plain-language prompts like these:
-
Write a GitHub Actions workflow for running tests -
Fix why this workflow file won't start any jobs -
Review this workflow YAML for quoting issues
Frequently asked questions
- Is the Authoring GitHub Workflows skill free?
- Yes. The skill itself is free from dotnet/skills. SkillProof publishes the install command and an independent test verdict at no cost.
- Does Authoring GitHub Workflows work with Claude Code?
- We tested it with Claude Code 2.x (agent harness) on Jul 12, 2026. Verdict: Works with setup. Tested full install (verbatim git clone + cp, no rescue), trigger separation against the frontmatter's explicit USE FOR / DO NOT USE FOR / SCOPE clauses, and an A/B output task: author a pull_request workflow whose run-name and env value both embed a literal '#' — the exact YAML-comment-truncation trap this Microsoft-authored skill targets. Both the skill and base arms produced syntactically-valid workflows that correctly double-quoted the two '#'-bearing scalars, so the skill gave no material correctness edge here (the base arm avoided the trap unaided); the skill output only added a production-style conditional guard the spec didn't require. Docs are accurate and non-overclaiming, but one in-body link is broken — it points to `.github/agents/agentic-workflows.agent.md` while the actual file is `agentic-workflows.md` — and the actionlint download step pins a SHA-256 only for the linux_amd64 asset (no macOS/arm64).
- What is the Authoring GitHub Workflows SkillProof Score?
- 7.2/10 — installs cleanly 4/5, triggers reliably 5/5, output vs. baseline 5/10, docs & honesty 4/5.
- How do I install Authoring GitHub Workflows?
- Copy the install command from this page, run it in your terminal, and restart Claude Code. Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/ inside a project.
- Can I use Authoring GitHub Workflows with Cursor, Copilot, Gemini CLI, Codex or other AI tools?
- The SKILL.md format is native to Claude (Claude Code, Desktop, claude.ai). The instructions inside adapt to other assistants: Cursor rules, GitHub Copilot instructions, Windsurf rules, Custom GPTs, AGENTS.md for OpenAI Codex, and GEMINI.md for Google Gemini CLI — our conversion guides cover each, and the free converter on the tools page does the wrapping for you.