---
title: "Connecting GitHub"
description: "Install the Indent GitHub App so Indent can read and write code, run tests, and open and review pull requests."
---

> Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.indent.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Connecting GitHub

GitHub is the backbone of Indent's engineering work — most coding, review, and incident tasks start
from a connected repository.

## Connect GitHub

1. **Install the GitHub App**

   Open [**Settings → GitHub Repositories**](https://app.indent.com/settings/github-repositories),
   select **Connect**, and sign in with your GitHub account. Install the Indent GitHub App for the
   organizations and repositories you want Indent to work in.
2. **Set up an environment**

   Pick a repository from the list and select **Setup Environment** to build a [development
   environment](/getting-started/environments). Indent builds an image from a Dockerfile, clones
   the repository, and starts your services, so a session can begin with your application built and
   running.

GitHub is always organization-scoped: the connection is shared with your team.

## Manage the connection

Once connected, the settings page shows your connected GitHub user and the repositories the app can
access.

- **Change user** — switch to a different GitHub account.
- **Manage GitHub App** — change which repositories the Indent app can access. This takes you to
  GitHub's app installation settings.

Each repository shows one action, depending on its state:

- **Setup Environment** — shown when the repository has no environment yet. It builds a
  [development environment](/getting-started/environments) so a session can start with your
  application built and running.
- **Manage** — shown once an environment exists. There is one environment per repository.

## What Indent does with GitHub

With the app installed, Indent can:

- Read and edit files in your repositories.
- Clone repositories into a session, and pull in related repositories when work spans more than one
  service.
- Run and test your application in the session.
- Open and update pull requests.
- Review pull requests, and comment on, label, and react to them.
- Track CI checks and commit statuses, and read GitHub Actions workflow runs.

The exact permissions Indent requests appear on GitHub's install screen when you add the app.

## Next steps

- [Writing code](/working-with-indent/writing-code) — hand Indent a change and get a pull request
  back.
- [Reviewing pull requests](/working-with-indent/reviewing-pull-requests) — let Indent review your
  team's pull requests.

Source: https://docs.indent.com/connecting/github/index.mdx