diff --git a/src/plugins/github/specToProject.js b/src/plugins/github/specToProject.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5ab1864
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/plugins/github/specToProject.js
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+// @flow
+
+import {type Project} from "../../core/project";
+import {
+  stringToRepoId,
+  githubOwnerPattern,
+  githubRepoPattern,
+} from "../../core/repoId";
+import {fetchGithubOrg} from "./fetchGithubOrg";
+
+/**
+ * Convert a string repository spec into a project.
+ *
+ * The spec may take one of two forms:
+ * - $REPO_OWNER/$REPO_NAME, as in 'sourcecred/example-github'
+ * - @$REPO_OWNER, as in '@sourcecred'
+ *
+ * In either case, we will create a project with the spec as its
+ * id. In the first construction, the project will have a single
+ * RepoId, matching the spec string. In the second construction,
+ * the project will have a RepoId for every repository owned by that
+ * owner.
+ *
+ * A valid GitHub token must be provided, so that it's possible to
+ * enumerate the repos for an org.
+ */
+export async function specToProject(
+  spec: string,
+  token: string
+): Promise<Project> {
+  const repoSpecMatcher = new RegExp(
+    `^${githubOwnerPattern}/${githubRepoPattern}$`
+  );
+  const ownerSpecMatcher = new RegExp(`^@${githubOwnerPattern}$`);
+  if (spec.match(repoSpecMatcher)) {
+    const project: Project = {
+      id: spec,
+      repoIds: [stringToRepoId(spec)],
+    };
+    return project;
+  } else if (spec.match(ownerSpecMatcher)) {
+    const owner = spec.slice(1);
+    const org = await fetchGithubOrg(owner, token);
+    const project: Project = {id: spec, repoIds: org.repos};
+    return project;
+  }
+  throw new Error(`invalid spec: ${spec}`);
+}
diff --git a/src/plugins/github/specToProject.test.js b/src/plugins/github/specToProject.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c3085c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/plugins/github/specToProject.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+// @flow
+
+import {specToProject} from "./specToProject";
+import {stringToRepoId} from "../../core/repoId";
+jest.mock("./fetchGithubOrg", () => ({fetchGithubOrg: jest.fn()}));
+type JestMockFn = $Call<typeof jest.fn>;
+const fetchGithubOrg: JestMockFn = (require("./fetchGithubOrg")
+  .fetchGithubOrg: any);
+
+describe("plugins/github/specToProject", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    jest.clearAllMocks();
+  });
+  it("works for a repoId", async () => {
+    const spec = "foo/bar";
+    const expected = {
+      id: spec,
+      repoIds: [stringToRepoId(spec)],
+    };
+    const actual = await specToProject(spec, "FAKE_TOKEN");
+    expect(expected).toEqual(actual);
+    expect(fetchGithubOrg).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+  it("works for an owner", async () => {
+    const repos = [stringToRepoId("foo/bar"), stringToRepoId("foo/zod")];
+    const spec = "@foo";
+    const token = "FAKE_TOKEN";
+    const fakeOrg = {name: "foo", repos};
+    fetchGithubOrg.mockResolvedValueOnce(fakeOrg);
+    const actual = await specToProject(spec, token);
+    expect(fetchGithubOrg).toHaveBeenCalledWith(fakeOrg.name, token);
+    const expected = {id: spec, repoIds: repos};
+    expect(actual).toEqual(expected);
+  });
+  describe("fails for malformed spec strings", () => {
+    const bad = [
+      "foo",
+      "foo_bar",
+      "@@foo",
+      " @foo ",
+      "foo / bar",
+      "",
+      "@foo/bar",
+    ];
+    for (const b of bad) {
+      it(`fails for "${b}"`, () => {
+        expect.assertions(2);
+        const fail = specToProject(b, "FAKE_TOKEN");
+        return (
+          expect(fail)
+            .rejects.toThrow(`invalid spec: ${b}`)
+            // The typedef says toThrow returns void, but this promise chain does
+            // actually work. We don't need help from flow, since tests will fail
+            // if the type is wrong.
+            // $ExpectFlowError
+            .then(() => {
+              expect(fetchGithubOrg).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(0);
+            })
+        );
+      });
+    }
+  });
+});