# Connecting GitHub

> Installing the Stableship GitHub App, choosing repositories, and what Stableship may do in them.

## How do I connect GitHub?

During setup, Stableship asks you to install its GitHub App and **choose which repositories Stableship can read**. You can change the selection on GitHub at any time. After you install it, Stableship records the installation and lists the repositories it may read; this usually takes a few seconds.

## My organization owner has to approve it

If your GitHub organization requires approval, your request goes to the organization owner on GitHub. Once they approve it, come back to setup and the repositories appear.

## A repository is missing from the list

Add it to the Stableship GitHub App's repository selection on GitHub (the "Missing a repository? Add it on GitHub" link in setup opens it). If the list still looks out of date, ask setup for the list again; repositories appear as soon as GitHub answers.

## Which repository should I pick?

Pick the repository where your customers' flows live, plus any others that ship with it. Tests run from the primary repository; the others are read for context and watched for pushes. Each app gets its own audit, and you can add more apps later.

## What can Stableship do in my repositories?

Stableship reads your code to draft your rules and build a private copy of your app. It posts a check on each push and replies to comments, and it never writes to your repository: no pushes, no pull requests, no merges. Your coding agent writes every fix, and Stableship checks it.

To keep your rules in the repository (`.gate/rules.md`, `.gate/context.md` and a Stableship section in `AGENTS.md`), ask your coding agent to commit the files from the `get_repo_files` tool. If you edit `.gate/rules.md` and push it to your default branch, the change comes back to Stableship as a rule suggestion.

Pull requests Stableship opened before 2 November 2026 stay in your repository for you to merge or close.

## Releases are not being held on GitHub

On Protect, releases are held through GitHub deployment protection. In the repository, open Settings, then Environments, then production, and enable "Stableship AI". If GitHub asks you to accept updated permissions for the Stableship GitHub App, accept them first.