CodeRelay

GitHub handoff briefs with AI and branch webhook tracking.

Getting Started

CodeRelay User Guide

Learn how to set up CodeRelay, track your GitHub repositories, and keep your branch briefs automatically updated whenever code changes happen.

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What is CodeRelay?

CodeRelay watches your GitHub repositories and automatically creates "briefs" for each branch. A brief is a summary document that tells the next developer exactly what has been done, what didn't work, what needs fixing, and what comes next. No manual handoff docs needed—CodeRelay builds them automatically from your code commits, pull request discussions, and developer notes.

Automatic

Triggered by GitHub push events, no manual input needed.

Smart

Uses AI to synthesize commits, diffs, and PR discussion.

Human-friendly

Add voice notes or text to guide the brief generation.

Step 1: Sign in and save your API keys

CodeRelay needs permission to access your GitHub repositories and use AI services. Here's what you need to do:

GitHub Personal Access Token

Go to github.com/settings/tokens and create a new token with repo access. Paste it in the "Integration Keys" panel on the dashboard.

Groq API Key

Sign up at console.groq.com and get an API key. This powers the AI brief generation. Paste it in the same "Integration Keys" panel.

💡 Tip: Your API keys are stored securely and never shared. Only you can see and use them.

Step 2: Connect a GitHub repository

Use the "Connect GitHub Project" card on the dashboard to add a repository you want to track.

Owner: your-github-username
Repository: my-app
Webhook Secret: (optional - leave blank to use default)

The webhook secret is for security. If you leave it blank, CodeRelay will use a global secret. If you want a unique secret per repository, enter one here and use the same secret when configuring the GitHub webhook (next step).

Step 3: Set up the GitHub webhook

Now tell GitHub to send push notifications to CodeRelay. Go to your repository settings on GitHub:

  1. 1. Go to Settings → Webhooks
  2. 2. Click "Add webhook"
  3. 3. Fill in the form:
    Payload URL: https://code-relay-six.vercel.app/api/webhooks/github
    Content type: application/json
    Secret: (use the same secret as step 2)
    Events: Push events (select only this)
  4. 4. Click "Add webhook"

✓ If set up correctly, CodeRelay will start receiving push notifications from your repo.

📝 Add notes

After pushing code, you can add text or voice notes to the branch directly from the dashboard. These notes are included in the brief so the next developer knows your context.

🤖 Get your brief

CodeRelay processes the push event, fetches your code changes and PR discussion, then generates a brief using AI. This typically takes 5-10 seconds.

📊 Share with your team

The latest brief appears on the dashboard. Share the summary with teammates taking over the branch so they understand what's been done and what comes next.

Understanding the dashboard panels

Branches

Shows all branches in your tracked repositories. Click a branch to view its brief and notes.

Brief

The generated handoff summary. Includes: what was done, what didn't work, rough edges, and next steps.

Notes

Text and voice notes you've added. Voice notes are automatically transcribed and included in briefs.

Timeline

Shows the processing history. You can see when webhooks arrived and when briefs were generated.

What happens after a push?

  1. 1. GitHub sends a push event to CodeRelay when you push to your branch.
  2. 2. CodeRelay validates the request using the webhook secret you set up.
  3. 3. A job is queued to process the brief generation (you'll see "Active" in the Queue status).
  4. 4. CodeRelay fetches your code — commits, diffs, and pull request discussion.
  5. 5. AI generates the brief by reading all that context and your notes.
  6. 6. The brief appears on the dashboard in the branch panel for you to review.

Troubleshooting

No briefs appearing?

1. Confirm your GitHub and Groq API keys are saved. 2. Check the timeline panel for errors. 3. Make sure the webhook secret matches.

GitHub webhook not triggering?

Go to your repo's webhook settings on GitHub and check the "Recent Deliveries" tab to see if requests succeeded or failed.

Invalid credentials error?

Your GitHub token or Groq API key may have expired. Generate new ones and update them in the dashboard integrations panel.