GitHub CLI (gh) Cheatsheet

The GitHub CLI brings GitHub functionality to your terminal.

Key Commands

Repository Management

gh repo view                      # View current repo
gh repo view owner/repo           # View specific repo
gh repo view --web                # Open in browser
gh repo clone owner/repo          # Clone repository
gh repo fork                      # Fork current repo
gh repo create name               # Create new repo
gh repo list                      # List your repos
gh repo list owner                # List user/org repos
gh repo sync                      # Sync fork with upstream

Issues

gh issue list                     # List open issues
gh issue list --state all         # All issues
gh issue list --assignee @me      # Assigned to you
gh issue list --label bug         # Filter by label
gh issue view 123                 # View issue
gh issue view 123 --comments      # With comments
gh issue create                   # Interactive create
gh issue create --title "T" --body "B"
gh issue close 123                # Close issue
gh issue reopen 123               # Reopen issue
gh issue comment 123 --body "msg" # Add comment
gh issue edit 123 --add-label bug # Edit issue

Pull Requests

gh pr list                        # List open PRs
gh pr list --state merged         # Merged PRs
gh pr list --author @me           # Your PRs
gh pr view 123                    # View PR
gh pr view 123 --web              # Open in browser
gh pr checkout 123                # Checkout PR locally
gh pr create                      # Interactive create
gh pr create --fill               # Auto-fill from commits
gh pr create --draft              # Create as draft
gh pr merge 123                   # Merge PR
gh pr merge 123 --squash          # Squash merge
gh pr merge 123 --rebase          # Rebase merge
gh pr review 123 --approve        # Approve PR
gh pr review 123 --comment -b "m" # Comment on PR
gh pr diff 123                    # View PR diff
gh pr checks 123                  # View CI status
gh pr ready 123                   # Mark as ready

Search

# Search repositories
gh search repos "react language:typescript stars:>1000"
gh search repos "owner:facebook" --limit 20

# Search issues
gh search issues "repo:owner/repo is:open label:bug"
gh search issues "author:@me is:open"

# Search PRs
gh search prs "repo:owner/repo is:open review:required"

# Search code
gh search code "function main repo:owner/repo"
gh search code "filename:config.json owner:org"

# Search commits
gh search commits "fix bug repo:owner/repo"

Releases

gh release list                   # List releases
gh release view v1.0.0            # View release
gh release create v1.0.0          # Create release
gh release create v1.0.0 --draft  # Draft release
gh release create v1.0.0 ./dist/* # With assets
gh release download v1.0.0        # Download assets
gh release delete v1.0.0          # Delete release

Gists

gh gist list                      # List your gists
gh gist create file.txt           # Create from file
gh gist create -p file.txt        # Public gist
gh gist view <id>                 # View gist
gh gist edit <id>                 # Edit gist
gh gist clone <id>                # Clone gist
gh gist delete <id>               # Delete gist

API Requests

# REST API
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}       # Get repo info
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues
gh api /user                      # Current user
gh api -X POST repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues \
  -f title="Bug" -f body="Description"

# With query parameters
gh api -X GET search/issues -f q='repo:cli/cli is:open'

# With pagination
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues --paginate

# Format output with jq
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues --jq '.[].title'

# GraphQL
gh api graphql -f query='{ viewer { login } }'
gh api graphql -F owner='{owner}' -F name='{repo}' -f query='
  query($name: String!, $owner: String!) {
    repository(owner: $owner, name: $name) {
      stargazerCount
    }
  }
'

Status & Notifications

gh status                         # Your GitHub status
gh status -o org-name             # Status for org
gh status -e owner/repo           # Exclude repo

Workflows (GitHub Actions)

gh run list                       # List workflow runs
gh run view <run-id>              # View run details
gh run download <run-id>          # Download artifacts

# Watch run progress (use tmux for background)
tmux new -d -s gh-watch 'gh run watch <run-id>'
gh workflow list                  # List workflows
gh workflow run <workflow>        # Trigger workflow
gh workflow view <workflow>       # View workflow

Common Flags

JSON Output

# Get JSON output
gh issue list --json number,title,state
gh pr list --json number,title,author

# Filter with jq
gh issue list --json title --jq '.[].title'
gh pr list --json number,title --jq '.[] | "\(.number): \(.title)"'

Tips

• Use {owner} and {repo} placeholders in API calls (auto-filled from current dir)
• Use --web to open any resource in browser
• Use --json with --jq for scriptable output
• Use -R owner/repo to target different repositories
• gh auth status to check authentication
• gh config set editor vim to set default editor
• Use gh alias set to create command shortcuts