github-cli

GitHub CLI Skill

Use gh (GitHub CLI) for all GitHub operations. Prefer gh over raw API calls, curl, or web browser. Every gh command supports --help for flag discovery.

Principles

JSON first: Add --json <fields> + --jq <query> for machine-readable output in scripts
Repo context: Run commands from a git repo directory — gh auto-detects {owner} and {repo}
Cross-repo: Use -R owner/repo flag to target a different repository
No interactive prompts: Always pass --title, --body, flags explicitly — never rely on interactive prompts
Rate limits: Add sleep 1 between iterations in bulk loops

Issues

Create

gh issue create --title "Bug: login fails" --body "Steps to reproduce..." --label bug --assignee @me
gh issue create --title "Feature request" --body-file description.md --label enhancement --project "Roadmap"

List & Filter

gh issue list                                          # Open issues (default 30)
gh issue list --state all --limit 100                  # All states, more results
gh issue list --label "bug" --assignee @me             # By label + assignee
gh issue list --search "error no:assignee sort:created-asc"  # Advanced search query
gh issue list --json number,title,labels --jq '.[].title'    # JSON + jq

View & Modify

gh issue view 123                                      # View issue details
gh issue view 123 --json body,comments --jq '.comments[-1].body'  # Last comment
gh issue comment 123 --body "Working on this"
gh issue edit 123 --add-label "in-progress" --remove-label "needs-triage"
gh issue close 123 --reason completed
gh issue reopen 123

Link to PR

Reference issues in PR body with Fixes #123 or Closes #123 — GitHub auto-closes on merge.

Pull Requests

Create

gh pr create --title "feat: add auth" --body "Implements OAuth2 flow" --base main
gh pr create --fill                                    # Auto-fill from commit messages
gh pr create --fill-verbose                            # Commits msg+body in description
gh pr create --draft                                   # Draft PR
gh pr create --reviewer user1,team-name --label feature --assignee @me
gh pr create --body-file pr-description.md

List & Filter

gh pr list                                             # Open PRs
gh pr list --author @me                                # Your PRs
gh pr list --reviewer @me --state open                 # Awaiting your review
gh pr list --label "needs-review" --draft=false
gh pr list --search "is:open review:required"
gh pr list --json number,title,reviewDecision --jq '.[] | select(.reviewDecision == "APPROVED")'

Review

gh pr review 42 --approve                              # Approve
gh pr review 42 --approve --body "LGTM, tested locally"
gh pr review 42 --request-changes --body "See inline comments"
gh pr review 42 --comment --body "Quick question about line 42"
gh pr diff 42                                          # View diff
gh pr checks 42                                        # CI status

Checkout & Test

gh pr checkout 42                                      # Switch to PR branch
gh pr checkout 42 --detach                             # Detached HEAD

Merge

gh pr merge 42 --squash                                # Squash merge
gh pr merge 42 --merge                                 # Merge commit
gh pr merge 42 --rebase                                # Rebase merge
gh pr merge 42 --auto --squash                         # Auto-merge when checks pass
gh pr merge 42 --squash --delete-branch                # Merge + delete branch

Update & Edit

gh pr edit 42 --title "Updated title" --add-label "reviewed"
gh pr edit 42 --add-reviewer user1 --add-assignee @me
gh pr ready 42                                         # Mark draft as ready
gh pr update-branch 42                                 # Update branch from base

Releases

gh release create v1.0.0 --title "v1.0.0" --generate-notes
gh release create v1.0.0 ./dist/*.tar.gz --title "v1.0.0" --notes "Bug fixes"
gh release create v1.0.0 --notes-file CHANGELOG.md --draft
gh release list
gh release view v1.0.0
gh release download v1.0.0 --dir ./downloads
gh release edit v1.0.0 --draft=false                   # Publish draft release
gh release delete v1.0.0 --yes

GitHub Actions

Trigger Workflows

gh workflow run deploy.yml                             # Trigger workflow_dispatch
gh workflow run deploy.yml -f environment=production   # With inputs
gh workflow run deploy.yml -r release/v2               # On specific branch
echo '{"env":"staging"}' | gh workflow run deploy.yml --json  # JSON inputs

Monitor Runs

gh run list                                            # Recent runs
gh run list --workflow=ci.yml --limit 5                # Filter by workflow
gh run view 12345                                      # Run details
gh run view 12345 --log                                # Full logs
gh run view 12345 --log-failed                         # Only failed step logs
gh run watch 12345                                     # Watch in real-time
gh run rerun 12345                                     # Rerun failed
gh run rerun 12345 --failed                            # Rerun only failed jobs
gh run cancel 12345

Download Artifacts

gh run download 12345                                  # All artifacts
gh run download 12345 --name coverage-report           # Specific artifact
gh run download 12345 --dir ./artifacts

Repository

gh repo view                                           # Current repo info
gh repo view owner/repo --json description,stargazerCount
gh repo clone owner/repo
gh repo fork owner/repo --clone                        # Fork + clone
gh repo create my-project --public --clone             # Create + clone
gh repo edit --default-branch main
gh repo sync                                           # Sync fork with upstream

Labels

gh label list
gh label create "priority:high" --color FF0000 --description "High priority"
gh label edit "bug" --color 00FF00
gh label delete "old-label" --yes
gh label clone source-owner/source-repo                # Clone labels from another repo

Search (Cross-Repo)

gh search issues "memory leak" --repo owner/repo --state open
gh search prs "auth" --author @me --state merged
gh search repos "cli tool" --language go --stars ">100"
gh search code "handleAuth" --repo owner/repo
gh search commits "fix bug" --repo owner/repo --author user1

Secrets & Variables

# Secrets (encrypted, write-only)
gh secret set API_KEY                                  # Interactive input
gh secret set API_KEY --body "sk-..."                  # Inline value
gh secret set API_KEY < secret.txt                     # From file (safer — no shell history)
gh secret list
gh secret delete API_KEY
gh secret set ORG_SECRET --org myorg --visibility all  # Org-level

# Variables (plain text, readable)
gh variable set APP_ENV --body "production"
gh variable list
gh variable delete APP_ENV

gh api (REST & GraphQL)

The escape hatch for anything not covered by dedicated commands.

REST

# GET with jq filtering
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues --jq '.[].title'

# POST with fields
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues -f title="Bug" -f body="Details" -f 'labels[]=bug'

# PATCH
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/123 -X PATCH -f state=closed

# Pagination (all pages)
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues --paginate --jq '.[].title'

# Custom headers
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/readme -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github.v3.raw'

GraphQL

# Query with variables
gh api graphql -F owner='{owner}' -F name='{repo}' -f query='
  query($name: String!, $owner: String!) {
    repository(owner: $owner, name: $name) {
      issues(last: 5, states: OPEN) {
        nodes { title number }
      }
    }
  }
'

# Mutation
gh api graphql -f query='
  mutation($id: ID!) {
    closeIssue(input: {issueId: $id}) {
      issue { number state }
    }
  }
' -F id="I_kwDOxxx"

# Paginated GraphQL (requires $endCursor variable + pageInfo)
gh api graphql --paginate -f query='
  query($endCursor: String) {
    viewer {
      repositories(first: 100, after: $endCursor) {
        nodes { nameWithOwner }
        pageInfo { hasNextPage endCursor }
      }
    }
  }
'

Placeholders

{owner}, {repo}, {branch} auto-resolve from the current git repo context.

JSON Output & jq Patterns

Most list/view commands support --json <fields> + --jq <expression>:

# Discover available fields (pass --json without value)
gh pr list --json

# Select specific fields
gh pr list --json number,title,author --jq '.[] | "\(.number) \(.title) by \(.author.login)"'

# Filter with conditions
gh issue list --json number,labels --jq '[.[] | select(.labels | length > 0)]'

# Count by label
gh issue list --state all --limit 500 --json labels --jq '[.[].labels[].name] | group_by(.) | map({name: .[0], count: length}) | sort_by(-.count)'

Status Dashboard

gh status                                              # All: assigned issues, PRs, review requests, mentions
gh status -o myorg                                     # Filter to org
gh status -e owner/noisy-repo                          # Exclude specific repos

Scripting Patterns

Bulk Operations

# Close all issues with a label
gh issue list --label "wontfix" --json number --jq '.[].number' | \
  while read num; do gh issue close "$num" --reason "not planned"; sleep 1; done

# Add label to all open PRs
gh pr list --json number --jq '.[].number' | \
  while read num; do gh pr edit "$num" --add-label "reviewed"; sleep 1; done

Conditional Logic

# Merge PR only if all checks pass
if gh pr checks 42 --json state --jq 'all(.state == "SUCCESS")' | grep -q true; then
  gh pr merge 42 --squash
fi

PR Comments from API

# Read all comments on a PR
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/42/comments --jq '.[] | "\(.user.login): \(.body)"'

# Post a comment
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/42/comments -f body="Automated comment from script"

Common Mistakes

Missing --json fields: Run gh <cmd> --json with no value to see available fields
Interactive prompts in scripts: Always pass --title, --body, --yes explicitly
Rate limiting in loops: Add sleep 1 between API calls in bulk operations
Search exclusion syntax: Use -- before query on Unix: gh search issues -- "-label:bug"
Draft filter: --draft without value means "only drafts", use --draft=false for non-drafts
PR vs Issue numbers: GitHub shares the number space — PR #42 and Issue #42 cannot coexist

About this skill

Principles

Issues

Create

List & Filter

View & Modify

Link to PR

Pull Requests

Create

List & Filter

Review

Checkout & Test

Merge

Update & Edit

Releases

GitHub Actions

Trigger Workflows

Monitor Runs

Download Artifacts

Repository

Labels

Search (Cross-Repo)

Secrets & Variables

gh api (REST & GraphQL)

REST

GraphQL

Placeholders

JSON Output & jq Patterns

Status Dashboard

Scripting Patterns

Bulk Operations

Conditional Logic

PR Comments from API

Common Mistakes