GitHub presence

Use this skill when

• The user wants to improve a GitHub profile, organization profile page, or repository presentation.
• The task mentions profile README content, pinned repositories, profile metadata, repo README quality, community health files, issue templates, PR templates, or repository metadata.
• The goal is to make a GitHub surface feel more polished, credible, welcoming, or conversion-oriented.
• The work spans both a profile surface and repository surfaces and needs one audit that coordinates them.

Do not use this skill when

• The task is only about polishing prose or short strings with no broader GitHub-surface audit — use writing-and-editing.
• The main task is diagnosing a failing GitHub Actions run rather than improving GitHub presentation or health files — use github-actions-failure-triage.
• The task is about permissions, billing, or other account administration outside the profile or repository presentation surfaces.
• The task is generic open-source strategy with no concrete profile or repository surface to improve.

Inputs to gather

Required before editing

• Whether the target is a personal profile, organization profile, single repository, or org-wide .github repository.
• The target audience and what the surface should optimize for.
• The current README, metadata, pinned-repo, template, and community-file state.
• The strongest projects, proof points, or public signals worth surfacing.

Helpful if present

• gh CLI access or a local checkout.
• Existing CI, release, or publishing setup that should be reflected in the public-facing repo contract.
• Whether the user wants review-only output or actual file generation.

Only investigate if encountered

• Whether org defaults live in a separate .github repo.
• Whether weak pinned repositories need their own deeper cleanup after the profile work is done.

First move

1. Classify the target as profile, repository, or org-defaults.
2. Audit the current public surface before generating files.
3. Prioritize the highest-impact missing pieces: README clarity, metadata quality, pinned repos, and health or template files.

Workflow

1. Profile mode.

   • Distinguish personal profile surfaces from organization profile surfaces.
   • Audit README presence, bio and links, pinned repositories, and any profile widgets.
   • Generate or improve the profile README and recommend precise metadata and pinning changes.

2. Repository mode.

   • Audit README quality, repository metadata, community health files, issue and PR templates, release signals, and .github automation surfaces that affect public trust.
   • Improve only the missing or weak surfaces that matter most for the repo's audience and maturity.

3. Org-defaults mode.

   • Decide whether the task belongs in an organization-wide .github repository.
   • Generate or refine shared health files, templates, and the org profile surface without confusing them with one repo's local files.

4. Writing follow-through.

   • Use writing-and-editing when generated bios, descriptions, README prose, or taglines need a dedicated writing-quality pass.
   • Keep the broader GitHub-surface audit here; do not outsource the main routing decision.

Guardrails

• Must distinguish profile surfaces from repository surfaces before generating files.
• Must not generate a generic open-source or profile bundle without checking the target's actual audience, stack, and maturity.
• Must not confuse organization-wide .github defaults with a single repository's local files.
• Must not treat GitHub Actions failure triage as the same task as GitHub-surface improvement.
• Should keep recommendations concrete: exact bio text, which repos to pin, which health files to add, and where they belong.
• Should prioritize the most visible and trust-building surfaces first.

Validation

• Confirm files are generated in the correct profile, repo, or org-defaults location.
• Check README links, badge URLs, widget URLs, usernames, and template paths.
• Make manual metadata changes explicit when they cannot be expressed through files alone.

Reference files

• Read references/profile-surface.md when the task is about a personal or organization GitHub profile.
• Read references/repository-surface.md when the task is about repo README, metadata, community files, or templates.
• Read references/generation-recipes.md when you need concrete file-generation recipes for profile or repository surfaces.