GitHub Actions Integration

Run Claude Code directly in your GitHub CI/CD pipeline. Trigger it with @claude mentions, on pull request events, on schedules, or any GitHub event.

What It Does

Claude Code GitHub Actions lets Claude:

Respond to @claude mentions in PR and issue comments
Create pull requests from issue descriptions
Review code and leave inline comments
Fix bugs, implement features, run tests
Follow your CLAUDE.md coding standards

All while running on GitHub’s own runners — your code doesn’t leave GitHub’s infrastructure.

Quick Setup

Run this in your terminal:

/install-github-app

This installs the Claude GitHub App on your repo and walks you through adding workflow files and the API key secret. You must be a repository admin to run this.

Manual Setup

If /install-github-app fails:

Install the Claude GitHub App: https://github.com/apps/claude
- Permissions needed: Contents (read/write), Issues (read/write), Pull requests (read/write)
Add your API key as a secret:
- Go to repo Settings → Secrets → Actions
- Add ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
Copy the workflow file to .github/workflows/claude.yml

Basic Workflow

name: Claude Code
on:
  issue_comment:
    types: [created]
  pull_request_review_comment:
    types: [created]

jobs:
  claude:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: anthropics/claude-code-action@v1
        with:
          anthropic_api_key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
          # Automatically responds to @claude mentions in comments

After setup, tag @claude in any PR or issue comment to trigger it.

Common Use Cases

In PR or issue comments:

@claude implement this feature based on the issue description
@claude fix the TypeError in the user dashboard component
@claude how should I implement user authentication for this endpoint?
@claude review this PR for security issues

Using Skills in Actions

The prompt input accepts a skill invocation:

- uses: anthropics/claude-code-action@v1
  with:
    anthropic_api_key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
    plugin_marketplaces: "https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code.git"
    plugins: "code-review@claude-code-plugins"
    prompt: "/code-review:code-review ${{ github.repository }}/pull/${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}"

For skills in your own repo, run actions/checkout first and pass /skill-name.

Scheduled Automation

name: Daily Report
on:
  schedule:
    - cron: "0 9 * * *"

jobs:
  report:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: anthropics/claude-code-action@v1
        with:
          anthropic_api_key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
          prompt: "Generate a summary of yesterday's commits and open issues"
          claude_args: "--model claude-opus-4-8"

Action Parameters (v1)

Parameter	Description	Required
`prompt`	Instructions for Claude (text or skill name)	No*
`claude_args`	CLI arguments passed to Claude Code	No
`plugin_marketplaces`	Newline-separated plugin marketplace Git URLs	No
`plugins`	Newline-separated plugin names to install	No
`anthropic_api_key`	Claude API key	Yes**
`github_token`	GitHub token for API access	No
`trigger_phrase`	Custom trigger phrase (default: `@claude`)	No
`use_bedrock`	Use Amazon Bedrock instead of Claude API	No
`use_vertex`	Use Google Vertex AI instead of Claude API	No

* When omitted for issue/PR comments, Claude responds to trigger phrase automatically. ** Required for direct Claude API; not for Bedrock/Vertex.

Common claude_args options:

claude_args: "--max-turns 5 --model claude-sonnet-4-6 --allowedTools Bash,Edit,Read"

Enterprise: Amazon Bedrock

name: Claude PR Action
permissions:
  contents: write
  pull-requests: write
  issues: write
  id-token: write

on:
  issue_comment:
    types: [created]

jobs:
  claude-pr:
    if: contains(github.event.comment.body, '@claude')
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    env:
      AWS_REGION: us-west-2
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Generate GitHub App token
        id: app-token
        uses: actions/create-github-app-token@v2
        with:
          app-id: ${{ secrets.APP_ID }}
          private-key: ${{ secrets.APP_PRIVATE_KEY }}

      - name: Configure AWS Credentials (OIDC)
        uses: aws-actions/configure-aws-credentials@v4
        with:
          role-to-assume: ${{ secrets.AWS_ROLE_TO_ASSUME }}
          aws-region: us-west-2

      - uses: anthropics/claude-code-action@v1
        with:
          github_token: ${{ steps.app-token.outputs.token }}
          use_bedrock: "true"
          claude_args: '--model us.anthropic.claude-sonnet-4-6 --max-turns 10'

Bedrock model IDs use a region prefix: us.anthropic.claude-sonnet-4-6

Enterprise: Google Vertex AI

      - name: Authenticate to Google Cloud
        id: auth
        uses: google-github-actions/auth@v2
        with:
          workload_identity_provider: ${{ secrets.GCP_WORKLOAD_IDENTITY_PROVIDER }}
          service_account: ${{ secrets.GCP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT }}

      - uses: anthropics/claude-code-action@v1
        with:
          github_token: ${{ steps.app-token.outputs.token }}
          use_vertex: "true"
          claude_args: '--model claude-sonnet-4-5@20250929 --max-turns 10'
        env:
          ANTHROPIC_VERTEX_PROJECT_ID: ${{ steps.auth.outputs.project_id }}
          CLOUD_ML_REGION: us-east5

Upgrading from Beta to v1

Old Beta Input	New v1.0 Input
`mode`	(removed — auto-detected)
`direct_prompt`	`prompt`
`override_prompt`	`prompt` with GitHub variables
`custom_instructions`	`claude_args: --append-system-prompt`
`max_turns`	`claude_args: --max-turns`
`model`	`claude_args: --model`
`allowed_tools`	`claude_args: --allowedTools`

Cost Considerations

GitHub Actions minutes: Claude runs on GitHub-hosted runners, consuming your Actions minutes
API tokens: each interaction consumes tokens based on prompt + response length
Optimization tips:
- Use specific @claude commands to reduce unnecessary calls
- Set --max-turns in claude_args to limit iterations
- Set workflow-level timeouts
- Use GitHub’s concurrency controls to limit parallel runs

Customizing Behavior

CLAUDE.md (project-level): define coding standards, review criteria, preferred patterns. Claude reads this on every run.

prompt parameter (workflow-level): provide workflow-specific instructions.

Troubleshooting

Claude not responding: Check that the GitHub App is installed, workflows are enabled, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is set, and comments contain @claude (not /claude).

CI not running on Claude’s commits: Ensure you’re using the GitHub App (not the Actions user). Verify workflow triggers include the necessary events.

Authentication errors: Check that API key is valid and secrets are named correctly.

Routines — cloud-based scheduled automation
GitLab CI/CD — same concept for GitLab
Agent SDK — build custom agents beyond GitHub Actions

🧠 Quick Recall

Trick: “@claude in a comment = an engineer inside your CI.”

👨‍🏫 Teach It

Show: sandbox repo: issue comment → branch → PR, end to end.
They’ll trip on: missing workflow permissions (contents + pull-requests: write).

Learning path: ⬅ 34-routines-scheduling.md · Index · ➡ 36-code-review.md

Written by Fenil Patel