docs: add FAQ entry about assigning in a private repo (#218)

* fixed file ingestion

* working binary files

* added replaced baseUrl

* fix: add type assertion for GitHub blob API response

Fixes TypeScript error where blobData was of type 'unknown' by adding
proper type assertion for the blob creation response.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/code)

Co-Authored-By: Andrew Grosser <dioptre@gmail.com>
Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: Andrew Grosser <dioptre@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

FAQ.md

@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ The `github-actions` user cannot trigger subsequent GitHub Actions workflows. Th
 
 Only users with **write permissions** to the repository can trigger Claude. This is a security feature to prevent unauthorized use. Make sure the user commenting has at least write access to the repository.
 
+### Why can't I assign @claude to an issue on my repository?
+
+If you're in a public repository, you should be able to assign to Claude without issue. If it's a private organization repository, you can only assign to users in your own organization, which Claude isn't. In this case, you'll need to make a custom user in that case.
+
 ### Why am I getting OIDC authentication errors?
 
 If you're using the default GitHub App authentication, you must add the `id-token: write` permission to your workflow:

README.md

@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ jobs:
 | --------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------- | --------- |
 | `anthropic_api_key`   | Anthropic API key (required for direct API, not needed for Bedrock/Vertex)                                           | No\*     | -         |
 | `direct_prompt`       | Direct prompt for Claude to execute automatically without needing a trigger (for automated workflows)                | No       | -         |
+| `base_branch`         | The base branch to use for creating new branches (e.g., 'main', 'develop')                                           | No       | -         |
 | `max_turns`           | Maximum number of conversation turns Claude can take (limits back-and-forth exchanges)                               | No       | -         |
 | `timeout_minutes`     | Timeout in minutes for execution                                                                                     | No       | `30`      |
 | `github_token`        | GitHub token for Claude to operate with. **Only include this if you're connecting a custom GitHub app of your own!** | No       | -         |
@@ -96,6 +97,7 @@ jobs:
 | `assignee_trigger`    | The assignee username that triggers the action (e.g. @claude). Only used for issue assignment                        | No       | -         |
 | `label_trigger`       | The label name that triggers the action when applied to an issue (e.g. "claude")                                     | No       | -         |
 | `trigger_phrase`      | The trigger phrase to look for in comments, issue/PR bodies, and issue titles                                        | No       | `@claude` |
+| `branch_prefix`       | The prefix to use for Claude branches (defaults to 'claude/', use 'claude-' for dash format)                         | No       | `claude/` |
 | `claude_env`          | Custom environment variables to pass to Claude Code execution (YAML format)                                          | No       | ""        |
 
 \*Required when using direct Anthropic API (default and when not using Bedrock or Vertex)

action.yml

@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@ inputs:
   base_branch:
     description: "The branch to use as the base/source when creating new branches (defaults to repository default branch)"
     required: false
+  branch_prefix:
+    description: "The prefix to use for Claude branches (defaults to 'claude/', use 'claude-' for dash format)"
+    required: false
+    default: "claude/"
 
   # Claude Code configuration
   model:
@@ -101,9 +105,10 @@ runs:
         bun run ${GITHUB_ACTION_PATH}/src/entrypoints/prepare.ts
       env:
         TRIGGER_PHRASE: ${{ inputs.trigger_phrase }}
-        LABEL_TRIGGER: ${{ inputs.label_trigger }}
         ASSIGNEE_TRIGGER: ${{ inputs.assignee_trigger }}
+        LABEL_TRIGGER: ${{ inputs.label_trigger }}
         BASE_BRANCH: ${{ inputs.base_branch }}
+        BRANCH_PREFIX: ${{ inputs.branch_prefix }}
         ALLOWED_TOOLS: ${{ inputs.allowed_tools }}
         DISALLOWED_TOOLS: ${{ inputs.disallowed_tools }}
         CUSTOM_INSTRUCTIONS: ${{ inputs.custom_instructions }}
@@ -115,7 +120,7 @@ runs:
     - name: Run Claude Code
       id: claude-code
       if: steps.prepare.outputs.contains_trigger == 'true'
-      uses: anthropics/claude-code-base-action@ce5cfd683932f58cb459e749f20b06d2fb30c265 # v0.0.25
+      uses: anthropics/claude-code-base-action@f6ef8c1000c0197b625af70349f68cb212e34fc1 # v0.0.28
       with:
         prompt_file: ${{ runner.temp }}/claude-prompts/claude-prompt.txt
         allowed_tools: ${{ env.ALLOWED_TOOLS }}

src/github/context.ts

@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ export type ParsedGitHubContext = {
     customInstructions: string;
     directPrompt: string;
     baseBranch?: string;
+    branchPrefix: string;
   };
 };
 
@@ -60,6 +61,7 @@ export function parseGitHubContext(): ParsedGitHubContext {
       customInstructions: process.env.CUSTOM_INSTRUCTIONS ?? "",
       directPrompt: process.env.DIRECT_PROMPT ?? "",
       baseBranch: process.env.BASE_BRANCH,
+      branchPrefix: process.env.BRANCH_PREFIX ?? "claude/",
     },
   };
 

src/github/operations/branch.ts

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ export async function setupBranch(
 ): Promise<BranchInfo> {
   const { owner, repo } = context.repository;
   const entityNumber = context.entityNumber;
-  const { baseBranch } = context.inputs;
+  const { baseBranch, branchPrefix } = context.inputs;
   const isPR = context.isPR;
 
   if (isPR) {
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ export async function setupBranch(
     .split("T")
     .join("_");
 
-  const newBranch = `claude/${entityType}-${entityNumber}-${timestamp}`;
+  const newBranch = `${branchPrefix}${entityType}-${entityNumber}-${timestamp}`;
 
   try {
     // Get the SHA of the source branch

src/mcp/github-file-ops-server.ts

@@ -125,13 +125,58 @@ server.tool(
             ? filePath
             : join(REPO_DIR, filePath);
 
-          const content = await readFile(fullPath, "utf-8");
+          // Check if file is binary (images, etc.)
-          return {
+          const isBinaryFile =
-            path: filePath,
+            /\.(png|jpg|jpeg|gif|webp|ico|pdf|zip|tar|gz|exe|bin|woff|woff2|ttf|eot)$/i.test(
-            mode: "100644",
+              filePath,
-            type: "blob",
+            );
-            content: content,
+
-          };
+          if (isBinaryFile) {
+            // For binary files, create a blob first using the Blobs API
+            const binaryContent = await readFile(fullPath);
+
+            // Create blob using Blobs API (supports encoding parameter)
+            const blobUrl = `${GITHUB_API_URL}/repos/${owner}/${repo}/git/blobs`;
+            const blobResponse = await fetch(blobUrl, {
+              method: "POST",
+              headers: {
+                Accept: "application/vnd.github+json",
+                Authorization: `Bearer ${githubToken}`,
+                "X-GitHub-Api-Version": "2022-11-28",
+                "Content-Type": "application/json",
+              },
+              body: JSON.stringify({
+                content: binaryContent.toString("base64"),
+                encoding: "base64",
+              }),
+            });
+
+            if (!blobResponse.ok) {
+              const errorText = await blobResponse.text();
+              throw new Error(
+                `Failed to create blob for ${filePath}: ${blobResponse.status} - ${errorText}`,
+              );
+            }
+
+            const blobData = (await blobResponse.json()) as { sha: string };
+
+            // Return tree entry with blob SHA
+            return {
+              path: filePath,
+              mode: "100644",
+              type: "blob",
+              sha: blobData.sha,
+            };
+          } else {
+            // For text files, include content directly in tree
+            const content = await readFile(fullPath, "utf-8");
+            return {
+              path: filePath,
+              mode: "100644",
+              type: "blob",
+              content: content,
+            };
+          }
         }),
       );
 

test/mockContext.ts

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ const defaultInputs = {
   useBedrock: false,
   useVertex: false,
   timeoutMinutes: 30,
+  branchPrefix: "claude/",
 };
 
 const defaultRepository = {

test/permissions.test.ts

@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ describe("checkWritePermissions", () => {
       disallowedTools: [],
       customInstructions: "",
       directPrompt: "",
+      branchPrefix: "claude/",
     },
   });
 

test/trigger-validation.test.ts

@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ describe("checkContainsTrigger", () => {
           allowedTools: [],
           disallowedTools: [],
           customInstructions: "",
+          branchPrefix: "claude/",
         },
       });
       expect(checkContainsTrigger(context)).toBe(true);
@@ -62,6 +63,7 @@ describe("checkContainsTrigger", () => {
           allowedTools: [],
           disallowedTools: [],
           customInstructions: "",
+          branchPrefix: "claude/",
         },
       });
       expect(checkContainsTrigger(context)).toBe(false);
@@ -273,6 +275,7 @@ describe("checkContainsTrigger", () => {
           allowedTools: [],
           disallowedTools: [],
           customInstructions: "",
+          branchPrefix: "claude/",
         },
       });
       expect(checkContainsTrigger(context)).toBe(true);
@@ -301,6 +304,7 @@ describe("checkContainsTrigger", () => {
           allowedTools: [],
           disallowedTools: [],
           customInstructions: "",
+          branchPrefix: "claude/",
         },
       });
       expect(checkContainsTrigger(context)).toBe(true);
@@ -329,6 +333,7 @@ describe("checkContainsTrigger", () => {
           allowedTools: [],
           disallowedTools: [],
           customInstructions: "",
+          branchPrefix: "claude/",
         },
       });
       expect(checkContainsTrigger(context)).toBe(false);