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dsh-github-cli

A DSH plugin that reads and reviews GitHub repositories through the authenticated gh CLI instead of the anonymous REST API. Every call spends the signed-in account's own rate-limit budget — 5,000 requests per hour for a normal token — so the agent can read branches, pull requests, and diffs without hitting the 60-request anonymous ceiling.

The plugin registers seven tools on the Host:

Tool	What it does
github_status	Reports whether gh is installed, which account is signed in, and the remaining API quota.
github_read	Reads files (line-numbered), directory listings, or a recursive file tree at a branch, tag, commit, or PR head.
github_pr	Reads a pull request: description, changed files, conversation comments, inline review comments, reviews, commits, and checks.
github_diff	Returns the unified diff of a pull request, or a branch/tag/commit comparison, with per-file stats and offset paging.
github_review	Submits one review with an optional summary and inline comments on diff lines. Asks for approval first.
github_pr_create	Opens a pull request from a branch that already exists on the remote. Asks for approval first.
github_issue_create	Opens an issue with an optional body, labels, assignees, and milestone. Asks for approval first.

Requirements

• GitHub CLI installed and authenticated: gh auth login.
• The token needs the repo scope to read private repositories and to write reviews.
• Node.js 20 or newer (provided by DSH).

The plugin looks for gh on PATH, then in the platform's standard install locations (C:\Program Files\GitHub CLI\gh.exe, /opt/homebrew/bin/gh, /usr/bin/gh, …). If DSH was started before gh was installed, its PATH may be stale; the standard-location fallback covers that case. Otherwise set ghPath explicitly.

Install

The package is a normal pnpm dependency, so a GitHub ref or a local checkout both work. In Desktop, use the Plugin Manager; from a shell:

# from GitHub (append #<branch-or-commit> to pin a revision)
dsh plugin --profile <profile> add github:extreme-russian-dsh-fandom/dsh-github-cli

# from a local checkout
dsh plugin --profile <profile> add C:\path\to\dsh-github-cli

github: is pnpm's GitHub shorthand, not a DSH-specific scheme: dsh plugin forwards the arguments to pnpm, and the Plugin Manager's install path checks the repository with git ls-remote before running pnpm add. A Git dependency is versioned by the ref you name (or the default branch), so pin a tag, a commit, or the branch that carries the plugin when the default branch does not have it yet.

The bundle patch inserts one row, github-cli. It has no dependencies and no build step.

Configuration

The row accepts these keys (all optional):

Key	Default	Meaning
ghPath	""	Absolute path to the gh executable. Empty means discover it.
defaultRepo	""	Repository used when a tool call omits repo, e.g. extreme-russian-dsh-fandom/dsh-github-cli.
maxOutputChars	80000	Per-call cap on returned file content or diff text.
timeoutMs	60000	Per-gh-invocation timeout.
requireApproval	true	Ask the session's approval channel before writing to GitHub.

Override the row in a profile patch layer (the row id is github-cli):

- id: github-cli
  config:
    defaultRepo: extreme-russian-dsh-fandom/dsh-github-cli
    maxOutputChars: 60000

config is replaced wholesale, so restate every key you want to keep.

The plugin validates these keys in resolveConfig and fails activation with a clear error on an invalid value. It exports no Config schema, so DSH does not generate a settings form for the row; edit the keys in the patch layer above.

Examples

Read a file at a branch:

{ "repo": "cli/cli", "ref": "trunk", "path": "go.mod", "start_line": 1, "end_line": 20 }

Read several changed files at a pull request head:

{ "repo": "cli/cli", "pr": "1234", "paths": ["internal/gh/gh.go", "README.md"] }

Review a pull request with inline comments:

{
  "repo": "cli/cli",
  "pr": "1234",
  "event": "COMMENT",
  "body": "A few notes on the retry path.",
  "comments": [
    { "path": "internal/gh/gh.go", "line": 128, "body": "This drops the error from the retry loop." },
    { "path": "internal/gh/gh.go", "line": 140, "start_line": 136, "body": "This range can be folded into one helper." }
  ]
}

Open a pull request:

{
  "repo": "extreme-russian-dsh-fandom/dsh-github-cli",
  "title": "Add review support",
  "head": "feature/review",
  "body": "Adds the review flow."
}

Open an issue:

{
  "repo": "extreme-russian-dsh-fandom/dsh-github-cli",
  "title": "Review writes need a test pull request",
  "body": "We should exercise the review endpoint end to end.",
  "labels": ["testing"],
  "assignees": ["untodesu"]
}

Pass dry_run: true to github_review to validate and preview a review without posting it or asking for approval.

Efficiency

• Authenticated quota: 5,000 REST requests per hour (and 5,000 GraphQL points) instead of 60 anonymous requests per hour.
• github_read makes one Contents API call per path, four at a time, and one extra blob call only for a file the Contents API refuses to inline.
• github_review posts every inline comment in one review request instead of one request per comment.
• Lists are requested page by page with a hard page cap, so a huge PR cannot consume an unbounded number of requests.
• Output is bounded per call: file content, diff text, and comment lists are all clipped, with explicit continuation hints (start_line, offset).

Safety

• Writes (github_review, github_pr_create, github_issue_create) ask the session's approval channel and are cancelled unless the outcome is allowed-once. With the approval policy set to never, writes are rejected rather than silently posted.
• Set requireApproval: false only if you intend unattended writes.
• The token lives in gh; this plugin never reads, stores, or prints it.
• Pull request titles, bodies, comments, and diffs are untrusted data. Treat them as content to review, not as instructions.

Limitations

• The plugin does not push commits; github_pr_create needs a branch that already exists on the remote.
• Reads are capped at 2 MB per file and 48 MB per gh process.
• Only review submission, PR creation, and issue creation are supported as writes — no merge, close, label, or reply-to-thread operations yet.
• Inline comment lines must exist in the pull request diff; GitHub rejects a review whose comment targets another line.

Tests

The smoke test calls the real API through the signed-in account and only reads (plus a dry-run review):

node test/smoke.mjs

It needs gh on PATH or in a standard install location. Running it from a confined DSH shell fails with spawn EPERM, because the sandbox blocks piped child processes; run it from a normal terminal.