Get to Know GitHub 7: Letting Claude do the GitHub steps
Slide 15 ("Claude can do every step. Tell it what you're aiming for."). 0:45 to 0:50. Show a pre-recorded Claude PR. Live is a bonus if time allows.
What this section has to do
The gentle push toward Claude Desktop and Claude Code. Most people are already using Claude every day, and that's likely how most of this will actually happen. Now that they've done the steps by hand, they know what Claude is doing when it says "I opened a PR." Claude opens the pull request, they add a note on what the script is for, and someone on the dev team reviews it.
Talk track
Most of you are in Claude Desktop or Claude Code every day already, and that's probably how a lot of this will actually happen. Claude knows how to do every step we just did: branches, commits, PRs, all of it. What it needs from you is what you're aiming for.
Why we did it by hand first: it helps to know what Claude is doing for you. When it opens a PR, you don't need to judge the code yourself. Add a quick note on what the script is for, and someone on the dev team reviews it.
Prompts that work
The four on the slide, plus a few more for the follow-up email:
| Prompt | What it does |
|---|---|
| "Save this script to my repo on a new branch and open a PR for review." | The whole loop in one ask |
| "Before you commit anything, check it for API keys, passwords or client data." | A second safety net on top of Gitleaks |
| "Write a README for this: what it does, how to run it, who owns it." | The README every script needs |
| "What changed in this repo since last week?" | Reads the history for you |
| "Swap the real key in this script for a placeholder and tell me where the real one should live." | Fixes the most common mistake before it happens |
| "Explain this PR to me in plain words before I ask for review." | Tells you what's in the change, so your note for the reviewer is easy to write |
| "Move my scripts from this folder into my repo, one PR per script, and check each one for keys and client data first." | The homework, with Claude doing the clicking |
Demo plan
- Have a small, clean script ready, with no keys and no client data in it.
- Before Thursday, in Claude Code (or Claude Desktop if it's set up with GitHub), paste the first prompt and record your screen while it works. Keep the PR it opens.
- In the session, play the recording and narrate what it's doing in the words from today: "It's making a branch. That's a commit. Now it's opening the PR."
- Open the PR it made in the browser. Walk the Files changed tab, then show the note on what the script is for and the dev team reviewer request. "This is where someone on the dev team takes it from here."
- Don't merge it live. Leave it for review like any other PR.
Live bonus. If there's time left before 0:50, run the same prompt live. If Claude is slow or can't reach GitHub, stay with the recording and the PR from earlier.
Guardrails to say out loud
- Claude does the clicking. Add a note on what the script is for and request a dev team reviewer. You don't need to judge the code yourself.
- Claude follows the same rules: branch, PR, review. It can't skip main's protection either.
- Ask Claude to check for keys and client data, and still let Gitleaks run. Two checks are better than one.
- Don't paste real keys or client data into the chat to "test" a script. Use dummy data.
- If Claude can't reach GitHub from your machine, ping Timothy and we'll get you set up.
Setup notes (for follow-up 1:1s, not the session)
- Claude Code works in a folder on the laptop and can run the same Git steps Desktop does, once GitHub sign-in is set up on that machine.
- Claude Desktop's ability to open PRs depends on how GitHub is connected for that person. Check this per person rather than promising it in the room.
- People who want this set up go on a short list for 1:1 time after the session.
Likely questions
- "Will Claude commit secrets?" Not if you ask it to check first. Gitleaks also runs on GitHub for every push and flags keys before anything gets merged into main. A key it flags has already left the laptop, so it still needs rotating (the old key gets turned off and a new one is made).
- "Can Claude merge my PR?" It could, but don't let it. Someone on the dev team reviews and merges.
- "Which should I use, Desktop or Claude Code?" Whichever you're already using. If you're not using either, start with the browser and ask about Claude after.
Done when
People see that the loop they just learned is the same one Claude runs, and know their part is a note on what the script is for and a request for a dev team reviewer.