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
gh auth status
gh repo view --json nameWithOwner,url,defaultBranchRef
Core workflows
Repo create (private by default)
gh repo create OWNER/NAME --private --confirm --description "..."
If running inside a local repo, use
--source . --remote origin --push
.
Clone / fork
gh repo clone OWNER/NAME
gh repo fork OWNER/NAME --clone
Issues
gh issue list --limit 20
gh issue create --title "..." --body "..."
gh issue comment <num> --body "..."
Pull requests
- Create from current branch:
gh pr create --title "..." --body "..."
gh pr list --limit 20
gh pr view <num> --web
- Merge (use explicit method):
gh pr merge <num> --merge
Releases
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.