GitHub CLI Skill

Provides patterns for the gh CLI to interact with GitHub repositories, services, and APIs directly from the terminal. Covers authentication, repository management, issues, pull requests, actions, releases, projects, search, and the REST/GraphQL API. Git workflow patterns (branching, commits, CI/CD) are handled by a separate skill.

Quick Reference

Area	Key Commands
Auth	gh auth status, gh auth login, gh auth token
Repos	gh repo clone, gh repo create, gh repo fork, gh repo sync
Browse	gh browse, gh browse --settings, gh browse file.ts:42
Issues	gh issue list, gh issue create, gh issue edit, gh issue close
Pull Requests	gh pr create, gh pr review, gh pr merge, gh pr checkout
Actions	gh run list, gh run view, gh workflow run, gh cache list
Releases	gh release create, gh release list, gh release verify
Projects	gh project list, gh project create, gh project item-add
Search	gh search repos, gh search issues, gh search code
API	gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}, gh api graphql
Security	gh attestation verify, gh ruleset list, gh secret set
Status	gh status, gh pr checks, gh pr status
Codespaces	gh codespace create, gh codespace ssh, gh codespace code

Common Workflows

Workflow	Commands
Quick PR	git push -u origin feat then gh pr create --fill
Draft PR	gh pr create --draft --fill then gh pr ready when done
Review and merge	gh pr checkout 45 then gh pr review --approve then gh pr merge --squash --delete-branch
Auto-merge PR	gh pr merge --auto --squash (waits for required checks to pass)
Check CI	gh pr checks then gh run watch
Rerun failed CI	gh run rerun <run-id> --failed
Create release	gh release create v1.0.0 --generate-notes
Search code	gh search code "handleAuth" --repo owner/repo
Add issue to project	gh project item-add 1 --owner @me --url <issue-url>
Verify artifact	gh attestation verify artifact.tar.gz --owner owner
Trigger workflow	gh workflow run deploy.yml -f environment=production
Revert merged PR	gh pr revert 45
Sync fork	gh repo sync to update fork from upstream

Output Formatting

Most gh list and view commands support structured output for scripting and automation.

Flag	Purpose
--json	Output specified fields as JSON
--jq	Filter JSON with jq expressions
-t	Format JSON with Go templates
--web	Open the resource in a browser
--comments	Include comments (issues and PRs)

Scoping: Repo, Env, Org

Secrets and variables can be scoped to different levels.

Scope	Flag Example
Repository	gh secret set KEY (default)
Environment	gh secret set KEY --env production
Organization	gh secret set KEY --org name --visibility

Project commands always require --owner @me or --owner org-name.

Authentication Prerequisites

The gh CLI requires authentication before most commands work. Run gh auth status to verify the current session. Missing scopes cause silent failures -- use gh auth refresh -s scope to add scopes without re-authenticating. For CI environments, set the GITHUB_TOKEN or GH_TOKEN environment variable instead of interactive login.

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Correct Pattern
Running gh pr create without pushing the branch first	Push with git push -u origin branch before creating a PR
Using gh pr merge without checking CI status	Run gh pr checks first or use gh pr merge --auto to wait for checks
Forgetting --fill when creating PRs from well-written commits	Use gh pr create --fill to auto-populate title and body from commits
Using REST API when GraphQL is more efficient for nested data	Use gh api graphql for queries needing related objects in one call
Not authenticating with correct scopes	Run gh auth status to verify scopes, gh auth refresh -s scope to add
Using gh project commands without specifying --owner	Always pass --owner @me or --owner org-name for project commands
Manually downloading CI artifacts	Use gh run download <run-id> to download artifacts programmatically
Not using --json for scripting	Add --json field1,field2 and --jq for machine-readable output
Merging without --delete-branch	Use gh pr merge --squash --delete-branch to clean up after merge
Running gh api POST without -f fields	Use -f key=value for string fields, -F for typed fields

Delegation

• Search across repositories for code patterns or issues: Use Explore agent with gh search code and gh search issues
• Automate multi-step release workflows: Use Task agent to coordinate branch creation, PR merge, and release publishing
• Plan repository structure and access controls: Use Plan agent to design team permissions, branch protection, and workflow architecture

References

• Repos & Auth -- Authentication, repository management, configuration, extensions, aliases
• Issues -- Issue CRUD, labels, assignments, pinning, transferring, development branches
• Pull Requests -- PR creation, review, merge, checkout, checks, diff, auto-merge
• Actions -- Workflow runs, manual triggers, secrets, variables, caches, artifact downloads
• Releases & Search -- Releases, attestation verification, search, gists, SSH/GPG keys
• Projects & API -- Projects v2 management, REST API, GraphQL API, rulesets, status