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GitHub

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At a glance

Cogno plugs into the repositories your team already works in. Connect GitHub and Cogno reads pull requests, issues, and commits as they happen, turns them into suggested tasks, and can carry out actions like merging a PR you’ve approved — without pulling you out of your normal workflow.

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Before you start

  • You have the Manage integrations permission in the target workspace.
  • You can install a GitHub App on the target organization (or an org owner can approve it).
  • You know which repositories Cogno should watch.

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Connect GitHub in Cogno

1

Open the GitHub integration

Open Integrations and select GitHub.
2

Install the GitHub App

Click Add account. In the desktop app, Cogno opens the connection flow in your default browser. Complete the GitHub installation there.
3

Approve on GitHub

Choose the organization and approve the app. On GitHub you can grant all repositories or pick specific ones. If your org requires an owner’s approval, GitHub records a request and Cogno says so; once an owner approves, run Add account again to finish connecting.
4

Confirm the account

Back in Cogno, the account appears under GitHub accounts with its repository settings. Every connected account is listed on the same page. Use Add account to connect another organization or personal account.

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Choose repositories

1

Open the account

Every connected account is listed under GitHub accounts, each with its own repositories, member mapping, and Issue import settings. The ⋯ menu on an account holds Disconnect.
2

Let the repo list sync

Under Repositories, Cogno pulls the list from the GitHub App installation on its own — when you open the account, and whenever GitHub grants access to more repositories than Cogno holds. Syncing repositories… shows while it runs.
3

Choose repositories

Turn on the repositories Cogno should watch. Each change saves automatically; if saving fails, the switch returns to its previous state and an error appears.
You can select multiple repositories and connect multiple organizations to one Workspace. Each GitHub App installation belongs to one Workspace. The selection controls which repositories are available through this connection; Issue import is configured separately below.

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Import Issues as Tasks

Expand Issue import settings. Under Issue import, turn import on for each repository where new open Issues should become Tasks, with each change saved automatically. Use Import existing to queue the repository’s current open Issues. Under Issue field mapping, select a repository, click Refresh values if needed, and map the values Cogno found to Cogno Task fields:
  • Issue state → Task status — the statuses on offer are Backlog, Ready, In Review, Done, and Archived (imported Issues never land directly in In Progress, which holds only queued or running work)
  • Labels → Tags
  • Assignees → Members
  • Milestones → Projects
If values fail to load, the editor shows an error instead of a saved status. Open Error details for the provider message, then use Refresh values to retry. Click Save mappings before importing. The Issue title and body are copied into the Task, and later Task edits remain independent. The Task’s GitHub work panel keeps a link to the source Issue and shows its current open or closed state.

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Map GitHub members to workspace members

On an organization installation’s page, expand Member mapping and link GitHub organization members to workspace members so GitHub activity is attributed to the right person. Choose Select member on a row, or choose Remove mapping from its menu to clear an existing match. Use Sync members to refresh the list. A personal GitHub installation has no member mappings — repository access still works.

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Sign in to your personal GitHub account

Open Account → Profile and choose Connect on the GitHub row. The desktop app opens your default browser; return to Cogno after signing in. The same row shows your GitHub username and Connected after confirmation. This personal sign-in applies across your Workspaces and is not configured on the Workspace integration page. The two settings have different jobs: Member mapping includes a link to the Account settings. Disconnecting your personal account does not remove Workspace repository connections; disconnecting a repository connection does not sign you out of your personal GitHub account.

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What Cogno does with GitHub

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Review pull requests from a task

When a task has an open pull request, use Review under GitHub work to submit a comment, approve, or request changes. If a reviewer requests changes, Cogno summarizes the feedback on the task and loads the complete live list of unresolved inline threads, so every thread can be replied to or resolved in context. Use Files changed to load the pull request’s changed files, select an added, removed, or context line, and post a new inline comment. This is the direct path for giving the coding agent an exact file-and-line implementation instruction. Cogno checks the pull request’s latest head commit again before every review write. Inline comments are also checked against the live diff. If the PR changed after the task loaded, refresh the GitHub state and review the new head before submitting.
Reviews, replies, and thread resolution are posted as the connected Cogno GitHub App. Pull request authors cannot approve their own pull requests, so an App-created PR must be approved by a human reviewer. GitHub repository rules also determine whether an App approval satisfies required-review protection.

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What agents can do on GitHub

Engine-managed runs get GitHub tools for each GitHub connection. Both capabilities start allowed. Under Agent tools on this page a workspace owner or admin sets each one for that exact connection — Block, Ask, or Allow — and a Project can narrow them further under Integrations in Project settings, where Inherit follows the workspace value: Read GitHub reads live from GitHub: a repository’s files, commits, code search, pull requests, and issues, but only for repositories selected in the Project’s GitHub filter. It also reads the Task’s own pull request — its changed files, reviews, inline review threads, and CI checks with the failure output and line annotations GitHub reported. Publish to GitHub is how an agent delivers a code change. It commits to the branch Cogno reserved for the current Task, opens that Task’s pull request onto the repository’s base branch, rewrites its title and description, replies to or resolves its review threads, and re-runs failed GitHub Actions runs on its latest commit. Commits are made by the Cogno GitHub App, with the member who started the work as co-author when they linked their GitHub account. An agent cannot pick another branch or pull request, and it cannot merge: merging stays with the task’s GitHub work actions. Cogno no longer commits, pushes, or opens a pull request on its own after a run.

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Manage or remove

  • Manage permissions on GitHub opens the app’s installation settings on GitHub.
  • Disconnect (then confirm in the dialog) removes the connection and all synced data (repositories and member mappings) for that installation.
Removing an installation deletes its synced repos and member mappings from the workspace. You can reconnect anytime from the integrations page.

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Common states

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Reference URLs