Overview

gh lets you interact with GitHub from the command line, covering repositories, issues, PRs, and workflow runs. It handles authentication automatically and works with private repositories, making routine GitHub tasks faster.

How This Skill Works

You run gh commands like gh repo view, gh issue view, gh pr view, and gh run view to fetch metadata and status. For tasks not covered by built-in commands, use gh api with REST endpoints (e.g., repos/{owner}/{repo}/contents/{path}). Authentication is managed by gh. When creating a PR, push your feature branch first, then use gh pr create.

When to Use It

• View a repository's README and metadata with gh repo view
• Inspect a specific issue or pull request with gh issue view or gh pr view
• Monitor CI by checking workflow runs and job logs via gh run view
• Fetch file contents or other API data using gh api (e.g., contents, PR comments)
• Prepare and open a pull request after pushing a feature branch (gh pr create)

Quick Start

1. Step 1: Install gh and ensure authentication (usually automatic for your repo).
2. Step 2: gh repo view owner/repo to inspect repository README/metadata.
3. Step 3: gh pr view 123 or gh run view 456 to inspect PRs or workflow runs; use gh api for advanced data like contents.

Best Practices

• Always confirm repo context before running commands (gh repo view helps)
• Use gh pr view to verify PR details before merging
• Track CI status with gh run view and fetch logs with --log when debugging
• Switch to gh api for data not exposed by built-in commands
• Push your branch before gh pr create to follow the standard workflow

Example Use Cases

• gh repo view owner/repo to see README and metadata
• gh issue view 123 to inspect an issue
• gh pr view 456 to review a pull request
• gh api repos/owner/repo/contents/path to fetch a file's contents
• gh run view 789 to check a workflow run status

Frequently Asked Questions