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Charlie shows up in GitHub through two identities:
  • CharlieCreates is the GitHub App. It is Charlie’s primary GitHub authentication and action path for repository-scoped work.
  • CharlieHelps is the GitHub user. It supports GitHub UI workflows that expect a user account: mentions, PR review requests, assignments, and autocomplete.
Most teams use both. Install CharlieCreates on the repositories where Charlie should work, and invite CharlieHelps when you want people to interact with Charlie through GitHub’s mention, review request, assignment, and autocomplete UI.

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Comparison

QuestionCharlieCreatesCharlieHelps
Identity typeGitHub AppGitHub user account
Where you see itGitHub App installation, repository/org app settings, and app-authorized activity@CharlieHelps mentions, PR review-request picker, assignee picker, and autocomplete
What it is used forPrimary auth and action path for repo access, webhooks, reading code, pushing commits, and opening/updating PRsHuman-facing GitHub UI compatibility for mentions, PR review requests, assignments, and autocomplete
Does it grant repo access?Yes. The app installation scopes which repositories Charlie can access and what actions Charlie can take.No, not for Charlie’s repository-scoped execution. Inviting the user makes GitHub UI workflows available; the app installation remains the repo access path.
What breaks if it is missing?Charlie may not receive GitHub events and cannot reliably read repos, push commits, open PRs, or review code in that repository.People may not be able to mention Charlie, request Charlie’s review, assign issues/PRs to Charlie, or find Charlie in GitHub autocomplete.

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Why you may be asked to do both

GitHub Apps and GitHub users solve different setup problems:
  • The GitHub App is the right place to grant scoped repository access. It lets your team decide exactly which repositories Charlie can access and is the primary path Charlie uses to read code, push commits, open pull requests, and respond to GitHub events.
  • The GitHub user makes Charlie work in GitHub surfaces that are built around people: @ mentions, assignees, PR review requests, and autocomplete.
If support or onboarding asks you to install CharlieCreates and invite CharlieHelps, it is because the workflow needs both the repo-scoped app permission path and the user-shaped GitHub UI path. Inviting CharlieHelps does not replace installing CharlieCreates on the repositories where Charlie should operate.

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Setup guidance

  • Install CharlieCreates on every repository where Charlie should review PRs, open PRs, push commits, or respond to GitHub-routed events.
  • Invite CharlieHelps when your team wants to mention Charlie, request Charlie’s review, assign issues or PRs to Charlie, or find Charlie in GitHub autocomplete.
  • If Charlie cannot access or change a repository, check the CharlieCreates app installation first.
  • If people cannot mention, assign, or request a review from Charlie, check that CharlieHelps is available in the repository or organization.
For end-to-end setup, see Installation. For trigger and response issues, see Troubleshooting.