GitHub About

Command

/github-about or github-about

Navigate

Git & Repository

Keywords

github about, repo description, github topics, live site url, homepage url, repo setup, github metadata, repo settings, github description, add topics, set homepage, repo about, github profile, project metadata

Description

Automatically update your GitHub repository’s About section — description, live site URL, and topics — by analyzing your codebase. No manual repo settings needed.

Execution

This skill runs using Claude Code with subscription plan. Do NOT use pay-as-you-go API keys. All AI operations should be executed through the Claude Code CLI environment with an active subscription.

Response

I’ll update your GitHub repo’s About section!

The workflow includes:

Instructions

When executing /github-about, follow this workflow:

Phase 1: Pre-flight

1.1 Verify GitHub CLI

gh --version

If not installed, inform the user:

ERROR: GitHub CLI (gh) not found.
Install: https://cli.github.com/

1.2 Auto-Authenticate

gh auth status

If not authenticated, automatically initiate browser-based login:

gh auth login --hostname github.com --git-protocol https --web

If authentication still fails after the browser flow:

ERROR: GitHub CLI authentication failed.
Please try again or run manually: gh auth login

1.3 Extract Owner/Repo

REMOTE_URL=$(git remote get-url origin)
OWNER=$(echo "$REMOTE_URL" | sed -E 's#.*(github\.com)[:/]([^/]+)/([^/.]+)(\.git)?$#\2#')
REPO=$(echo "$REMOTE_URL" | sed -E 's#.*(github\.com)[:/]([^/]+)/([^/.]+)(\.git)?$#\3#')

1.4 Get Current Repo Metadata

gh repo view --json description,homepageUrl,repositoryTopics

Store the current values so we know what needs updating.

Phase 2: Repository Description

2.1 Check Current Description

If the description is already set, skip unless user explicitly asks to update it.

2.2 Generate Description

Analyze the project to generate a short, compelling description (max 350 characters):

Sources to analyze (in priority order):

1. README.md — project title, first paragraph, features
2. package.json → description field
3. pyproject.toml → [project] description
4. Cargo.toml → description
5. setup.py or setup.cfg → description
6. Main source files — understand what the project does

Description guidelines:

• Start with a verb or noun (e.g., “A fast…”, “Build…”, “CLI tool for…”)
• Be specific about what the project does
• Mention key technology if relevant
• Keep it under 350 characters
• No emojis in the description
• Don’t start with “This is…” or “A repo for…”

2.3 Set Description

gh repo edit --description "Your generated description"

Phase 3: Live Site URL

3.1 Check Current Homepage

If the homepage URL is already set, skip unless user explicitly asks to update it.

3.2 Detect Live Site URL

Search for deployment URLs in this priority order:

1. Vercel: Check for Vercel deployment

   # Check if Vercel project exists
   cat .vercel/project.json 2>/dev/null
   # Or check vercel.json for project name
   cat vercel.json 2>/dev/null
   

   URL pattern: https://<project-name>.vercel.app

2. GitHub Pages: Check if Pages is enabled

   gh api "/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/pages" 2>/dev/null
   

   URL pattern: https://<owner>.github.io/<repo>/

3. package.json: Check homepage field

   node -e "console.log(require('./package.json').homepage || '')" 2>/dev/null
   

4. README.md: Scan for deployment URLs

   • Look for URLs containing: .vercel.app, .netlify.app, .github.io, .herokuapp.com, .fly.dev, .railway.app

5. Custom domain: Check CNAME file (GitHub Pages custom domain)

   cat CNAME 2>/dev/null
   

3.3 Set Homepage URL

gh repo edit --homepage "https://detected-url.com"

Phase 4: Repository Topics

4.1 Check Current Topics

If topics are already set, add to them rather than replacing. Never remove existing topics.

4.2 Detect Topics from Codebase

Analyze the project to determine relevant topics:

Language detection:

Framework detection:

Platform detection:

Domain detection (analyze README and source):

• AI/ML projects → ai, machine-learning, llm
• CLI tools → cli, command-line
• APIs → api, rest-api, graphql
• Web apps → web-app, webapp
• Games → game, gamedev
• DevTools → developer-tools, devtools

Topic guidelines:

• All lowercase
• Use hyphens for multi-word topics (e.g., react-native)
• Add 3-10 relevant topics
• Don’t add generic topics like code or project
• Prefer specific topics over vague ones

4.3 Add Topics

gh repo edit --add-topic "topic1" --add-topic "topic2" --add-topic "topic3"

Important: Use --add-topic (not --topic) to preserve existing topics.

Phase 5: Report

Print a summary of all changes made:

=== GitHub About Updated ===

Repository: OWNER/REPO

Description: <the description that was set>
Homepage:    <the URL that was set>
Topics:      topic1, topic2, topic3, topic4

View: https://github.com/OWNER/REPO

If any step was skipped (already set), note it:

Description: Already set (skipped)
Homepage:    https://example.vercel.app (updated)
Topics:      react, nextjs, typescript (added 3 new)

Capabilities

• Auto-detect and set repository description from codebase analysis
• Detect live site URLs from Vercel, GitHub Pages, Netlify, and more
• Analyze tech stack to generate relevant repository topics
• Preserve existing topics when adding new ones
• Auto-authenticate GitHub CLI via browser if needed
• Works with any project type (Node.js, Python, Rust, Go, etc.)

Next Steps

After running /github-about:

1. Check your repo’s About section on GitHub
2. Verify the description accurately represents your project
3. Click the homepage URL to confirm it works
4. Review topics and add/remove any manually if needed