claude-code-action/docs/custom-automations.md

Custom Automations

These examples show how to configure Claude to act automatically based on GitHub events. When you provide a prompt input, the action automatically runs in agent mode without requiring manual @mentions. Without a prompt, it runs in interactive mode, responding to @claude mentions.

Mode Detection & Tracking Comments

The action automatically detects which mode to use based on your configuration:

• Interactive Mode (no prompt input): Responds to @claude mentions, creates tracking comments with progress indicators
• Automation Mode (with prompt input): Executes immediately, does not create tracking comments

Note

: In v1, automation mode intentionally does not create tracking comments by default to reduce noise in automated workflows. If you need progress tracking, use the track_progress: true input parameter.

Supported GitHub Events

This action supports the following GitHub events (learn more GitHub event triggers):

• pull_request or pull_request_target - When PRs are opened or synchronized
• issue_comment - When comments are created on issues or PRs
• pull_request_comment - When comments are made on PR diffs
• issues - When issues are opened or assigned
• pull_request_review - When PR reviews are submitted
• pull_request_review_comment - When comments are made on PR reviews
• repository_dispatch - Custom events triggered via API
• workflow_dispatch - Manual workflow triggers (coming soon)

Automated Documentation Updates

Automatically update documentation when specific files change (see examples/claude-pr-path-specific.yml):

on:
  pull_request:
    paths:
      - "src/api/**/*.ts"

steps:
  - uses: anthropics/claude-code-action@v1
    with:
      prompt: |
        Update the API documentation in README.md to reflect
        the changes made to the API endpoints in this PR.
      anthropic_api_key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

When API files are modified, the action automatically detects that a prompt is provided and runs in agent mode. Claude updates your README with the latest endpoint documentation and pushes the changes back to the PR, keeping your docs in sync with your code.

Author-Specific Code Reviews

Automatically review PRs from specific authors or external contributors (see examples/claude-review-from-author.yml):

on:
  pull_request:
    types: [opened, synchronize]

# Prevent multiple reviews from running simultaneously on the same PR
concurrency:
  group: claude-review-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
  cancel-in-progress: true

jobs:
  review-by-author:
    if: |
      github.event.pull_request.user.login == 'developer1' ||
      github.event.pull_request.user.login == 'external-contributor'
    steps:
      - uses: anthropics/claude-code-action@v1
        with:
          prompt: |
            Please provide a thorough review of this pull request.
            Pay extra attention to coding standards, security practices,
            and test coverage since this is from an external contributor.
          anthropic_api_key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

Perfect for automatically reviewing PRs from new team members, external contributors, or specific developers who need extra guidance. The action automatically runs in agent mode when a prompt is provided.

Custom Prompt Templates

Use the prompt input with GitHub context variables for dynamic automation:

- uses: anthropics/claude-code-action@v1
  with:
    prompt: |
      Analyze PR #${{ github.event.pull_request.number }} in ${{ github.repository }} for security vulnerabilities.

      Focus on:
      - SQL injection risks
      - XSS vulnerabilities
      - Authentication bypasses
      - Exposed secrets or credentials

      Provide severity ratings (Critical/High/Medium/Low) for any issues found.
    anthropic_api_key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

You can access any GitHub context variable using the standard GitHub Actions syntax:

• ${{ github.repository }} - The repository name
• ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }} - PR number
• ${{ github.event.issue.number }} - Issue number
• ${{ github.event.pull_request.title }} - PR title
• ${{ github.event.pull_request.body }} - PR description
• ${{ github.event.comment.body }} - Comment text
• ${{ github.actor }} - User who triggered the workflow
• ${{ github.base_ref }} - Base branch for PRs
• ${{ github.head_ref }} - Head branch for PRs

Advanced Configuration with claude_args

For more control over Claude's behavior, use the claude_args input to pass CLI arguments directly:

- uses: anthropics/claude-code-action@v1
  with:
    prompt: "Review this PR for performance issues"
    claude_args: |
      --max-turns 15
      --model claude-4-0-sonnet-20250805
      --allowedTools Edit,Read,Write,Bash
      --system-prompt "You are a performance optimization expert. Focus on identifying bottlenecks and suggesting improvements."
    anthropic_api_key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

This provides full access to Claude Code CLI capabilities while maintaining the simplified action interface.