Using GitHub in Teams

Learn how to use GitHub in Teams to improve collaboration and streamline your workflow.

In this article

The GitHub integration for Microsoft Teams lets you connect your GitHub account to the GitHub app in Teams. Once connected, you can subscribe to notifications, run commands, and collaborate on issues and pull requests directly within Teams.

Connecting your GitHub account to the GitHub app in Teams

Note

Before you can connect your accounts, an admin for your Teams workspace must have installed the GitHub app. See Integrating GitHub with Teams.

  1. In Teams, open a direct message or personal app conversation with the GitHub app.
  2. Run @GitHub Notifications signin and follow the prompts in Teams and in your browser to authorize the connection.

Once your GitHub account is connected, Teams will show you a list of available commands and features.

Using commands in Teams

In channels, start commands with @GitHub Notifications. In the personal app, omit the prefix. For the full list of commands, see Command reference for the GitHub integration in Teams.

CommandDescription
@GitHub Notifications subscribe owner/repoSubscribes the channel to notifications for the specified repository.
@GitHub Notifications unsubscribe owner/repoUnsubscribes the channel from notifications for the specified repository.
@GitHub Notifications subscribe listLists all repositories the channel is subscribed to.
@GitHub Notifications subscribe list featuresLists all repositories and notification features the channel is subscribed to.

Note

When you subscribe a channel to a repository, you may be prompted to install the GitHub app and grant access to the repository or organization.

Working with issues and pull requests

You can create, comment on, and manage issues and pull requests directly from Teams. For step-by-step instructions, see:

Mentions in Teams

When you subscribe to a repository in Teams, you will see yourself mentioned in notifications for repository events in which you have been referenced. Mentions require you to be logged in to your GitHub account through the GitHub app in Teams.

Note

If you have multiple Teams workspaces where you use the GitHub app, mentions will only work in the workspace where you logged in most recently.

The following are scenarios in which you will be mentioned:

  • You are assigned to an issue.
  • Your review is requested on a pull request.
  • You are mentioned in a pull request, issue description, comment, or discussion.
  • Your review is requested on a deployment.
  • You receive a scheduled reminder for a pull request review request.

Threading conversations

Notifications for each issue or pull request are grouped into a thread in Teams. The parent card shows the latest status of the issue or pull request along with context such as assignees, reviewers, labels, and checks. When the state of an issue or pull request changes, Teams posts the update as a reply in the thread and as a channel message.

Link previews provide additional context when sharing links to GitHub resources in Teams. Link previews are shown for:

  • Pull requests
  • Issues
  • Discussions
  • Comments
  • Code snippets
  • Repositories
  • User accounts or organizations

Previews of links will not be shown if any of the following apply:

  • The repository is private and the user who shared the link is not signed in to GitHub in Teams.
  • The GitHub app has not been authorized for the repository.

Personal app experience

The GitHub personal app in Teams lets you manage subscriptions and receive notifications in a private chat. In the personal app, commands do not require the @GitHub Notifications prefix and notifications are not threaded.

Scheduling reminders for pull request reviews

You can schedule reminders for pending pull request reviews in channels or in the personal app. For instructions, see Scheduling pull request reminders in Teams.

Further reading