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

# GitHub

> Connect a GitHub repository so Lane can answer from your code and pull requests: whether something is built, how it works, and what shipped.

Product questions often have their real answer in the code: is this already built, how does it work today, did the fix ship? Without access to the repo, those questions go to an engineer and wait. The GitHub integration lets Lane answer them directly, by reading your code, pull requests and commits, so anyone on the team can get a grounded answer in seconds and engineers keep their focus.

Lane only reads. It never opens issues or pull requests, and never commits.

## What it's good for

Once connected, [ask Lane](/agent) things like:

* "Is the new pricing tier already wired up?"
* "Did the CSV export fix ship?"
* "How does our webhook handler work today?"
* "What changed in billing over the last two weeks?"

Lane answers whether something is built, partly built or not found, and names the files it looked at. If it can't find something, it says it couldn't find it in the code rather than claiming it doesn't exist.

It's especially useful for **non-engineers** who'd otherwise need to ping engineering, for [Docs](/docs) that should reflect what's really in the repo, and for checking a customer request against what's already shipped.

## Connect

1. Go to **Settings → Integrations → GitHub** and choose **Connect**.
2. Install the **Lane GitHub App** on your GitHub organization, choosing which repositories it can access.
3. Back in Lane, choose the **Repository** and the **Branch** your team ships from.

The branch you choose is Lane's focus: pull requests merged into it count as shipped, and open ones as work in progress. Once a repository is chosen, everyone in your Lane workspace can use it.

### Permissions requested

The Lane GitHub App asks only for read access:

* **Contents: read**, to read files
* **Metadata: read**, to list branches and find files
* **Pull requests: read**, to read pull requests and what they changed

No write access of any kind is requested.

## GitHub in Automations

[Automations](/automation) can start when a pull request merges in your chosen repository (**Pull request merged**, narrowed to a base branch if you like), for example to draft release notes linked to the customers who asked. GitHub is read only as an automation connector.

## Good to know

* **One repository at a time.** Lane reads the repository you've chosen; switch it in Settings any time.
* **Read only.** To have a coding agent build from a Doc and open a pull request, use [Cursor](/cursor).
* **Disconnecting.** Disconnect from **Settings → Integrations → GitHub**, or remove the Lane GitHub App from your GitHub organization to revoke access at the source.

## FAQs

**Q: Can Lane write to my repo?**\
A: No. The integration is read-only: no commits, no pull requests, no issues.

**Q: How does Lane know what shipped?**\
A: From pull requests merged into the branch you chose in Settings.

**Q: Does it work on private repos?**\
A: Yes, as long as the Lane GitHub App has access to the repository on GitHub.

**Q: Who can see what Lane finds in the repo?**\
A: Only the people who can see the chat or Doc where it was referenced. Lane doesn't expose the repo more broadly than it already is.


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