Watch Github Actions

DevOps & Security

watch-github-actions

Watch Github Actions is an Agent Skill for devops & security published in the NVIDIA/OpenShell repository on GitHub: a SKILL.md instruction file an AI agent can load to do this task.

Watch and monitor GitHub Actions workflow runs using the gh CLI. Use when the user wants to check workflow status, watch a running workflow, view CI/CD jobs, or monitor build progress. Trigger keywords - watch pipeline, pipeline status, CI status, check build, monitor CI, view pipeline, pipeline progress, workflow status, actions status.

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QUICK START

How to use this skill

Bring this guide into your coding agent with a prompt tailored to the tool you use.

Open your project in Codex.
Copy and paste the prompt below.
Review files and risks before approving any action.

Prompt to paste

Inspect the Agent Skill at https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell/blob/HEAD/.agents/skills/watch-github-actions/SKILL.md and all supporting files. Report provenance, permissions, scripts, dependencies, and security risks. Propose an exact installation into .agents/skills/watch-github-actions, but wait for my approval before writing files or running scripts.

Copying this prompt does not install or run the skill. Review third-party files before use.

Watch GitHub Actions

Monitor GitHub Actions workflow runs using the gh CLI.

Prerequisites

The gh CLI must be authenticated (gh auth status)
You must be in a git repository with a GitHub remote

Quick Status Check

List recent workflow runs for the current branch:

gh run list --branch "$(git branch --show-current)"

List all recent runs:

gh run list

Watch a Run in Real Time

Watch a workflow run until it completes:

gh run watch

Watch a specific run:

gh run watch <run-id>

This will continuously update the status until the run finishes (success, failure, or cancelled).

View Run Details

View a specific run with job details:

gh run view <run-id>

View with full log output:

gh run view <run-id> --log

View a failed job's log:

gh run view <run-id> --log-failed

Check Runs for a Specific Branch

Current branch:

gh run list --branch "$(git branch --show-current)"

Specific branch:

gh run list --branch main
gh run list --branch feature-branch

Check Runs for a PR

List workflow runs associated with a PR:

# Get the head branch of the PR, then list runs
BRANCH=$(gh pr view <pr-number> --json headRefName --jq '.headRefName')
gh run list --branch "$BRANCH"

Or view the checks directly on the PR:

gh pr checks <pr-number>

List Recent Runs

List runs for the current project:

gh run list

Filter by status:

gh run list --status failure
gh run list --status success
gh run list --status in_progress

Filter by workflow:

gh run list --workflow "CI"

JSON output for scripting:

gh run list --json databaseId,status,headBranch,url --jq '.[] | {id: .databaseId, status: .status, branch: .headBranch, url: .url}'

View Job Logs

View logs for a specific run:

gh run view <run-id> --log

View only failed job logs:

gh run view <run-id> --log-failed

Wait for Run Completion (Scripting)

Watch and wait for a run to complete:

RUN_ID=$(gh run list --branch "$(git branch --show-current)" --limit 1 --json databaseId --jq '.[0].databaseId')
gh run watch "$RUN_ID" --exit-status
echo "Run finished with exit code: $?"

Open Run in Browser

Open the latest run in your default browser:

gh run view --web

Open a specific run:

gh run view <run-id> --web

Rerun Failed Jobs

Rerun all failed jobs in a run:

gh run rerun <run-id> --failed

Rerun an entire run:

gh run rerun <run-id>

Useful Commands Reference

Command	Description
`gh run list`	List recent workflow runs
`gh run list --branch <branch>`	List runs for a specific branch
`gh run list --status failure`	List failed runs
`gh run watch`	Watch latest run until completion
`gh run watch <run-id>`	Watch a specific run until completion
`gh run view <run-id>`	View run details and job list
`gh run view <run-id> --log`	View full run logs
`gh run view <run-id> --log-failed`	View only failed job logs
`gh run view --web`	Open run in browser
`gh run rerun <run-id>`	Rerun a workflow run
`gh run rerun <run-id> --failed`	Rerun only failed jobs
`gh run cancel <run-id>`	Cancel a running workflow
`gh pr checks <pr-number>`	View PR check statuses

Common Flags

Flag	Description
`-b, --branch`	Specify branch (default: current branch)
`--status`	Filter by status (queued, in_progress, etc.)
`--workflow`	Filter by workflow name
`-L, --limit`	Maximum number of runs to list
`-w, --web`	Open in browser
`--json`	Output as JSON with specified fields
`--jq`	Filter JSON output with jq expression

Example Workflow

Push your changes and create/update a PR
Watch the workflow run:
```
gh run watch
```
If a job fails, view the failed logs:
```
gh run view <run-id> --log-failed
```
Rerun the failed jobs if needed:
```
gh run rerun <run-id> --failed
```