GitHub CLI

Operate GitHub via gh for repos, issues, PRs

GitHub CLI (gh)

Overview

Use gh for authenticated GitHub operations from the terminal. Prefer explicit, idempotent commands and report URLs back to the user.

Quick checks

• Auth status:

bash

gh auth status

• Current repo context:

bash

gh repo view --json nameWithOwner,url,defaultBranchRef

Core workflows

Repo create (private by default)

bash

gh repo create OWNER/NAME --private --confirm --description "..."

If running inside a local repo, use --source . --remote origin --push.

Clone / fork

bash

gh repo clone OWNER/NAME

bash

gh repo fork OWNER/NAME --clone

Issues

• List:

bash

gh issue list --limit 20

• Create:

bash

gh issue create --title "..." --body "..."

• Comment:

bash

gh issue comment <num> --body "..."

Pull requests

• Create from current branch:

bash

gh pr create --title "..." --body "..."

• List:

bash

gh pr list --limit 20

• View:

bash

gh pr view <num> --web

• Merge (use explicit method):

bash

gh pr merge <num> --merge

Releases

bash

gh release create vX.Y.Z --title "vX.Y.Z" --notes "..."

Safety notes

• Confirm the target repo/owner before destructive actions (delete, force push).
• For private repos, ensure --private is set on create.
• Prefer --confirm to avoid interactive prompts in automation.