Claude Code /install-github-app: Let Claude Help Automatically on Every PR

When working solo, you can just call Claude Code from the terminal. But once you push code to GitHub and start collaborating, it gets tedious to fire up Claude Code for review every single time you push. What makes this run automatically is /install-github-app.

Definition (What It Is)

/install-github-app is a command that installs the Claude GitHub app on your GitHub repository, connecting Claude to act automatically within your code workflow.

Here, a GitHub App is an integration program attached to a GitHub repository to make it perform certain actions automatically. This app works through GitHub Actions (a feature that automatically runs predefined tasks when code arrives in a GitHub repository). So once installed, Claude can step in and help every time a pull request (a request to merge the code you worked on into the main repository — abbreviated PR) comes in.

How to Use It (By Difficulty)

Basic — Starting the Installation

Type it with the repository open.

/install-github-app

This starts the installation process. Usually you go through a step of granting GitHub permissions, then choose which repository to attach the app to. Just follow the on-screen guidance.

Intermediate — Choosing the Repository to Install

During installation, GitHub asks "which repository will you allow this app on."

At first, we recommend attaching it to just one practice repository. Rather than attaching to all repos at once, it's safer to confirm the behavior first and then widen the scope. You can change how far to grant permissions anytime later in GitHub settings.

Advanced — Building an Automatic PR Help Flow

Once installation is done, you can weave Claude into your collaboration flow.

1. Push your worked code as a PR.
2. The installed Claude app reads the PR contents and automatically reviews or comments.
3. If needed, you can also request fixes from Claude within the PR.

Instead of a person firing up Claude Code each time to say "please look at this PR," help follows along the moment code is pushed.

Common Pitfalls

• To install, you need an account that can grant permissions on that repository. For a company or team repo, admin approval may be required, so check in advance.
• Automatic actions run on top of GitHub Actions, so it won't work if action execution is blocked in the repository. Check that Actions is enabled.
• Granting too broad a permission scope can feel burdensome. It's better to attach it only to the repositories you really need.

Real-World Example

A beginner developer running a small project with a friend on GitHub found it overwhelming to review each other's pushed code one by one. After attaching the Claude app to the repo with /install-github-app, review comments were added automatically every time a PR came in, so they could look at each other's code with a first-pass check already done. They could focus more on the parts a human needs to review.

Taking It Further

GitHub integration is the starting point of collaboration automation. To further refine the auto-fix flow on PRs, use it with those features, and if you want to call Claude in Slack the same way, continue on to Slack integration with /install-slack-app. Once you taste automation, you'll naturally see how far you can automate.

Summary

/install-github-app is a command that installs the Claude app on your GitHub repository so you get automatic help on every PR. At first, attach it to just one practice repository to confirm the behavior, and widen the scope as you get used to it. It's the first step in naturally weaving Claude into your collaboration flow.

Based on: Claude Code v2.1.154 (2026.05)