gh-pr-close

GitHub PR Close

When to use

• The user asks to close a PR without merging.
• PR is abandoned, superseded, or no longer needed.
• Cleaning up stale PRs.

Inputs to confirm

• PR number, URL, or branch name.
• Whether to delete the associated branch.
• Optional closing comment.
• Target repo if not current (--repo OWNER/REPO).

Workflow

1. Verify auth:

   gh --version
   gh auth status
   

2. Check PR state first:

   gh pr view 123 --json number,title,state,headRefName
   

3. Close the PR:

   gh pr close 123
   gh pr close 123 --comment "Closing: superseded by #456"
   gh pr close 123 --delete-branch
   

4. Verify closure:

   gh pr view 123 --json state,closedAt
   

Examples

# Close PR without comment
gh pr close 123

# Close with explanation
gh pr close 123 --comment "No longer needed after refactoring."

# Close and delete branch
gh pr close 123 --delete-branch --comment "Superseded by #200"

Flags reference

Flag	Description
-c, --comment	Leave a closing comment
-d, --delete-branch	Delete local and remote branch after close

Notes

• Closed PRs can be reopened with gh pr reopen.
• Use --delete-branch to clean up feature branches.
• Arguments accept number, URL, or branch name.

References

• GitHub CLI manual: https://cli.github.com/manual/
• gh pr close --help