---
title: GitHub issue actions
source: https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/workflow-automation/setup-and-configure/actions-catalog/github/github-issue
---

This page provides a reference for GitHub issue actions available in the workflow automation actions catalog. These actions let you create, update, list, and manage issues in a GitHub repository directly from a workflow definition.

## Prerequisites

Before using GitHub issue actions in workflow automation, ensure you have:

-   A GitHub account with access to the target repository.
-   A GitHub Personal Access Token (PAT) with the required permissions.
-   The PAT stored in the New Relic Secrets Service.

## Set up PAT authentication

GitHub issue actions authenticate using a Personal Access Token (PAT) passed as a Bearer credential. This action supports two token types:

-   **Fine-grained PAT** — requires the **Issues: Read and write** repository permission.
-   **Classic PAT** — requires the **repo** scope.

### Create a GitHub Personal Access Token

1.  In GitHub, go to **Settings > Developer settings > Personal access tokens**.
2.  Choose **Fine-grained tokens** or **Tokens (classic)** and click **Generate new token**.
3.  Set the required permissions: **Issues: Read and write** for fine-grained tokens, or **repo** scope for classic tokens.
4.  Copy the generated token — GitHub shows it only once.

### Store the token as a secret

Store the token in the New Relic Secrets Service and reference it in your workflow YAML using the `${{ :secrets:keyName }}` syntax:

````yaml
token: ${{ :secrets:github-PAT-token }}
```

````

## Available GitHub issue actions

The following table lists the available GitHub issue actions and links to their reference pages.

| Action name                                                                                                                                         | Description                                                                       |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [**Create a GitHub issue**](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/workflow-automation/setup-and-configure/actions-catalog/github/github-issue-create)      | Creates a new issue in a GitHub repository.                                       |
| [**Update a GitHub issue**](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/workflow-automation/setup-and-configure/actions-catalog/github/github-issue-update)      | Updates an existing issue (title, body, state, assignees, labels, and milestone). |
| [**List GitHub issues**](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/workflow-automation/setup-and-configure/actions-catalog/github/github-issue-list)           | Lists issues in a GitHub repository with optional filtering.                      |
| [**Get a GitHub issue**](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/workflow-automation/setup-and-configure/actions-catalog/github/github-issue-get)            | Retrieves a single issue from a GitHub repository by issue number.                |
| [**Lock a GitHub issue**](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/workflow-automation/setup-and-configure/actions-catalog/github/github-issue-lock)          | Locks a GitHub issue, restricting who can add new comments.                       |
| [**Unlock a GitHub issue**](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/workflow-automation/setup-and-configure/actions-catalog/github/github-issue-unlock)      | Removes the conversation lock from a GitHub issue.                                |
| [**Comment on a GitHub issue**](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/workflow-automation/setup-and-configure/actions-catalog/github/github-issue-comment) | Creates a new comment on an existing GitHub issue.                                |