GitHub Actions

Run proto autonomously in CI — review pull requests, triage issues, analyze code, or respond to @proto comments in GitHub issues and PRs.

Quick start

1. Get an API key

Configure a model provider (see Guides → Configure Models & Auth) and obtain an API key.

2. Add it as a GitHub secret

Go to Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions → New repository secret:

• Name: OPENAI_API_KEY (or whichever env key your model uses)
• Value: your API key

3. Add a workflow

# .github/workflows/proto-review.yml
name: proto PR review
 
on:
  pull_request:
    types: [opened, synchronize]
 
jobs:
  review:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'
      - name: Install proto
        run: npm install -g proto
      - name: Run proto review
        env:
          OPENAI_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.OPENAI_API_KEY }}
          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
        run: |
          git diff origin/main...HEAD | proto -p "Review these changes for bugs, security issues, and code quality. Post your findings as a PR comment." --yolo

Common workflow patterns

Automatic PR review

Triggered on every PR open or push:

on:
  pull_request:
    types: [opened, synchronize]

On-demand via comment

Use repository_dispatch or issue_comment events to trigger when someone comments @proto /review:

on:
  issue_comment:
    types: [created]

Then filter in the job: if: contains(github.event.comment.body, '@proto').

Scheduled analysis

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 9 * * 1' # every Monday at 9am UTC

Issue triage

on:
  issues:
    types: [opened]

Configuration

Settings file

Pass a settings.json via environment or a file before running proto:

- name: Configure proto
  run: |
    mkdir -p .proto
    echo '{"model":{"name":"gpt-4o"}}' > .proto/settings.json

Update .gitignore

.proto/settings.json   # if it contains secrets

Best practices

• Never commit API keys — always use GitHub Secrets.
• Use --yolo in CI to auto-approve file edits (proto has no interactive terminal to confirm).
• Pin the proto version with npm install -g proto@<version> for reproducible CI.
• Monitor costs — set runConfig.max_turns limits or use a smaller model for routine CI tasks.
• Review action logs regularly and enable observability (see Contributing → Telemetry).

Customization

Create a PROTO.md (or AGENTS.md) file in your repo root to provide project-specific context — coding conventions, architectural patterns, review criteria — that proto uses in every CI run.