GitHub repositories
Connect your GitHub organization, bind repositories to a workspace, and let the agent work on a branch and open pull requests, without merging anything itself.
On this page6 sections
Connect GitHub#
If your organization signs in to GitHub at its own address ending in .ghe.com, follow GitHub Enterprise Cloud with data residency instead.
- Open Settings, then Storage.
- In the GitHub panel, click Connect GitHub, keep GitHub.com selected, and choose Continue to GitHub.
- On GitHub, choose the organization and the repositories Refactor may reach.
You choose on GitHub which repositories are reachable, and you can change that there at any time. If the connection is removed or suspended on GitHub, the panel says it is disconnected and how to reconnect.
Bind a repository to a workspace#
Once GitHub is connected, workspaces have a Repositories view.
- In the workspace, open Repositories in the left bar.
- Click Bind a repository and pick one.
The repository appears as a folder in the workspace's files, marked as a repository. To remove it, click Unbind next to its name.
Work with a repository#
Click the repository's folder to open its tab.
- Checkout shows the current branch, how far it is ahead of or behind GitHub, what has changed and the recent history. One button offers the next sensible step: commit, then push, or pull. People with view access see the state but no buttons.
- Issues lists the repository's issues. Search and filter by label and assignee, and open an issue to read it, with a link to it on GitHub.
What the agent can and cannot do#
The agent works on a bound repository the way a careful contributor would.
| The agent can | The agent cannot |
|---|---|
| Clone, create branches, commit and push | Push to, force-push or delete the default branch |
| Open and edit pull requests | Merge a pull request |
| Create and comment on issues, set labels and assignees | Approve a review |
| Request reviews and leave comments on a pull request | Push to a repository that is not bound to the workspace |
| Re-run checks and trigger workflows | Move or delete an existing tag |
Your own branch protection rules on GitHub apply on top of these.
The agent works on branches other than the default. When you do not name a branch, it suggests one that starts with refactor/. Its commits are authored as Refactor.
How access is handled#
No GitHub token is placed in the workspace. Each request the agent makes to GitHub is authorized by Refactor, limited to the repositories bound to that workspace, and its writes are recorded.
Limits#
- A single push over 4.5 MB fails. Split it into smaller pushes.