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:

gh auth status

• Current repo context:

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

• List:

gh issue list --limit 20

• Create:

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

• Comment:

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

Pull requests

• Create from current branch:

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

• List:

gh pr list --limit 20

• View:

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.