Github CLI (gh)
From Ilianko
GitHub CLI (gh) is GitHub's official command-line tool that brings pull requests, issues, GitHub Actions workflows, releases, gists, and other GitHub features directly to the terminal.
Overview
gh allows developers to interact with GitHub.com and GitHub Enterprise Server without leaving the command line. It automatically detects the current Git repository context, handles authentication and SSH/HTTPS Git credential configuration, and provides both interactive prompts and scriptable flags (including JSON output with --json and --jq).
Installation
- Windows (winget / choco / scoop):
winget install --id GitHub.cli choco install gh
- macOS (Homebrew):
brew install gh
- Linux (Debian / Ubuntu):
sudo apt update sudo apt install gh
Update
winget upgrade --id GitHub.cli
Common Commands
# Check installation gh --version # Authenticate gh auth login # Check authentication gh auth status # Clone a repository gh repo clone OWNER/REPO # Create a repository gh repo create # List repositories gh repo list # Open current repo in browser gh repo view --web
Authentication
gh auth login # Interactive login to GitHub.com or GitHub Enterprise gh auth status # View active authentication state gh auth setup-git # Configure git to use gh as a credential helper gh auth token # Print the current authentication token
Repositories (gh repo)
gh repo clone OWNER/REPO # Clone a repository gh repo create # Create a new repository on GitHub gh repo fork # Fork an existing repository gh repo view --web # Open the repository in the browser
Pull Requests (gh pr)
gh pr list # List open pull requests gh pr create --fill # Create a pull request using commit info gh pr checkout NUMBER # Check out a pull request branch locally gh pr status # Show status of relevant pull requests gh pr checks # View CI/CD check statuses for a PR gh pr review --approve # Approve the current pull request gh pr merge --squash --delete-branch # Squash-merge and delete branch
Issues (gh issue)
gh issue list # List issues in the repository gh issue create # Create a new issue interactively gh issue view NUMBER # View issue details and comments gh issue develop NUMBER --checkout # Create and check out a branch linked to an issue gh issue close NUMBER # Close an issue
GitHub Actions (gh run and gh workflow)
gh workflow list # List workflows in the repository gh workflow run WORKFLOW_NAME # Trigger a workflow_dispatch event gh run list # List recent workflow runs gh run watch # Watch an in-progress workflow run live gh run view --log-failed # View logs for failed steps in a run
Releases, Gists and Codespaces
gh release list # List repository releases gh release create v1.0.0 --generate-notes # Create a release with auto-generated notes gh gist create FILE # Create a new GitHub Gist gh codespace list # List active GitHub Codespaces
update
Scripting, REST/GraphQL API and Extensions
- Structured JSON and jq filtering:
gh pr list --json number,title,author
- Direct GitHub API requests (gh api):
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/releases/latest
gh api graphql -f query='{ viewer { login } }'
- Aliases and Extensions:
gh alias set co 'pr checkout' gh extension search gh extension install dlvhdr/gh-dash
