GitHub Integration

Connect a GitHub account to your KiloClaw agent so it can clone repositories, push commits, open pull requests, and leave code reviews — all autonomously.

{% callout type="warning" title="Security" %} Create a dedicated GitHub account for your bot rather than using your personal account. This limits the blast radius if credentials are compromised, provides clear audit trails of agent activity, and lets you scope permissions to only what the agent needs. {% /callout %}

Setup

Step 1: Prepare a GitHub account for your bot

If you don't already have a dedicated GitHub account for your bot, create one first:

1. Go to github.com/signup and create a new account using a bot specific email address
2. Verify the email address
3. Enable two factor authentication at github.com/settings/security (GitHub requires this for PAT creation)

Once you have a GitHub account ready, continue to Step 2.

Step 2: Generate a Personal Access Token

KiloClaw uses a fine grained Personal Access Token to authenticate as your bot. When creating the token, use these settings:

Setting	Recommended Value
Token name	kiloclaw-bot (or any descriptive name)
Expiration	90 days (set a reminder to rotate)
Repository access	All repositories, or select specific ones

Grant the following permissions:

Permission	Access Level	Purpose
Contents	Read & Write	Clone repos, push commits
Pull requests	Read & Write	Open and manage pull requests
Issues	Read & Write	Create and comment on issues
Metadata	Read only	List repositories and basic repo info
Workflows	Read & Write	Trigger and manage GitHub Actions workflows

Step 3: Enter credentials in KiloClaw

1. Go to the Settings tab on your KiloClaw dashboard
2. Scroll to the Tools section
3. Enter the Personal Access Token, Username, and Email for the bot account
4. Click Save
5. Redeploy your instance to apply the changes

Token Formats

KiloClaw accepts both GitHub token formats:

• Classic tokens — Start with ghp_ (e.g., ghp_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)
• Fine grained tokens — Start with github_pat_ (e.g., github_pat_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)

Fine grained tokens are recommended as they provide more granular permission control.

How It Works

When your instance starts, KiloClaw automatically:

1. Authenticates the GitHub CLI (gh) with your token
2. Configures git with the bot's username and email for commits
3. Makes both gh and git commands available to the agent

The agent can then use standard Git and GitHub CLI commands to interact with your repositories.

Security

• Tokens are encrypted at rest using KiloClaw's secret management system
• Credentials are only decrypted inside your running instance
• Use short lived tokens and rotate them periodically — 30 to 90 days is a good range
• Use fine grained personal access tokens so you can scope access to specific repositories and only the permissions the agent actually needs
• GitHub allows you to edit an existing token to add more permissions later, so you can start with the minimum permissions you need and expand as required

Related

• KiloClaw Overview
• Dashboard Reference
• Connecting Chat Platforms
• Pre-installed Software