What is the GitHub Source Fetcher skill?

It is a specialized Claude Code skill that allows the AI to pull clean, raw file content from GitHub URLs without the surrounding website UI.

Do I need the GitHub CLI installed?

Yes, this skill primarily uses the 'gh' command-line tool to authenticate and fetch file contents via the GitHub API.

Can this skill access private repositories?

Yes, as long as your local GitHub CLI is authenticated with a token that has permission to access those specific private repositories.

Does it support specific commits or branches?

Absolutely. It can parse URLs containing branch names, specific tags, or full commit SHAs to retrieve the exact version of the file you need.

Why use this instead of standard web fetching?

Standard web fetching tools often download the entire GitHub webpage (HTML/JS), whereas this skill retrieves only the raw code, reducing token usage and improving accuracy.

GitHub Source Fetcher

Name: GitHub Source Fetcher
Author: robbyt

byrobbyt

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Web Scraping & Data Collection

Extracts clean source code from GitHub file URLs using the GitHub CLI to bypass web scraping noise and HTML clutter.

About

GitHub Source Fetcher allows Claude to retrieve the raw contents of files directly from GitHub repositories by parsing standard URL patterns. Instead of relying on generic web fetching tools that often include unwanted HTML and JavaScript, this skill leverages the GitHub CLI or raw content endpoints to deliver pure, formatted source code. It supports specific branches, tags, and commit SHAs, making it an essential utility for developers who need to review, analyze, or debug remote codebases within their Claude Code environment.

Key Features

Retrieves raw source code without HTML, CSS, or JavaScript boilerplate
Supports specific versions via branch names, tags, or commit SHAs
31 GitHub stars
Integrates with authenticated GitHub CLI for secure API access
Includes fallback support via raw.githubusercontent.com
Parses GitHub URLs to identify owner, repository, branch, and file path

Use Cases

Inspecting documentation or configuration files from GitHub without cloning the repo
Comparing code implementations across different branches or tags
Analyzing specific source files from a remote repository during a development session

About

Key Features

Retrieves raw source code without HTML, CSS, or JavaScript boilerplate
Supports specific versions via branch names, tags, or commit SHAs
31 GitHub stars
Integrates with authenticated GitHub CLI for secure API access
Includes fallback support via raw.githubusercontent.com
Parses GitHub URLs to identify owner, repository, branch, and file path

Use Cases

Inspecting documentation or configuration files from GitHub without cloning the repo
Comparing code implementations across different branches or tags
Analyzing specific source files from a remote repository during a development session