Gh 2 91 0

GitHub CLI v2.91.0

Overview

gh is GitHub's official command-line tool that brings pull requests, issues, releases, workflows, codespaces, and other GitHub concepts to the terminal. It is a standalone tool (not a git proxy) written in Go, supporting macOS, Windows, and Linux. Version 2.91.0 adds pseudonymous telemetry, expanded gh skill agent support, and improved skill discovery with hidden directory detection.

Supported platforms: GitHub.com, GitHub Enterprise Cloud, and GitHub Enterprise Server 2.20+.

When to Use

• Managing pull requests from the terminal (create, review, merge, checkout)
• Creating, listing, editing, and closing issues without leaving the shell
• Automating GitHub Actions workflows and run management
• Scripting GitHub API calls with gh api for custom automation
• Managing releases, secrets, variables, and repository settings from CLI
• Working with GitHub Codespaces (create, manage, SSH, ports)
• Installing and managing AI agent skills via gh skill
• Authenticating to GitHub.com or GitHub Enterprise Server
• Searching across code, issues, PRs, commits, and repositories

Installation / Setup

macOS

# Homebrew
brew install gh

# Precompiled binary from releases page
# Download from https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/latest

Linux & Unix

# Debian, Ubuntu, Raspberry Pi (apt)
# Follow instructions at docs/install_linux.md

# Amazon Linux, CentOS, Fedora, openSUSE, RHEL, SUSE (rpm)
# Follow instructions at docs/install_linux.md

# Precompiled binary from releases page
# Download from https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/latest

Windows

# WinGet
winget install GitHub.cli

# Precompiled binary from releases page
# Download from https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/latest

GitHub Codespaces

Add to your devcontainer configuration:

"features": {
  "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/github-cli:1": {}
}

GitHub Actions

GitHub-hosted runners have gh pre-installed and updated weekly. For a specific version, install it using the platform-specific instructions above.

Build from Source

See the install_source.md in the cli/cli repository for building from source.

Binary Verification

Since v2.50.0, gh produces Build Provenance Attestation via Sigstore:

# Verify a downloaded release (requires gh already installed)
gh attestation verify -R cli/cli gh_2.91.0_macOS_arm64.zip

Core Concepts

Authentication: gh authenticates via OAuth device flow or personal access tokens. Use gh auth login to begin interactive setup, or gh auth login --with-token for non-interactive token-based authentication.

Repository Context: Commands operate on the current repository by default (detected from git remote). Override with -R OWNER/REPO or set GH_REPO.

Output Formatting: All list/view commands support --json for structured output, --jq for filtering with jq syntax, and --template for Go template rendering.

Aliases: Create shortcuts for frequently used command combinations with gh alias set.

Extensions: Extend gh with community or custom extensions installed via gh extension install.

Skills (v2.91): Install AI agent skills from GitHub repositories using gh skill install, supporting multiple agent hosts (Claude Code, pi, Codex, etc.) with hidden directory discovery (--allow-hidden-dirs).

Usage Examples

Pull Requests

# List open pull requests
gh pr list

# Create a PR interactively
gh pr create

# Create a PR with title and body
gh pr create --title "Fix bug" --body "Fixed the login issue"

# Create with reviewers
gh pr create --reviewer monalisa,hubot

# Auto-fill from commit messages
gh pr create --fill

# Checkout a PR locally
gh pr checkout 321

# View PR status
gh pr status

# Check CI status
gh pr checks

# Merge a PR
gh pr merge 123 --delete-branch

# Review a PR
gh pr review 123 --comment --body "Looks good!"

Issues

# List open issues
gh issue list

# Create an issue with label
gh issue create --label bug

# View an issue
gh issue view 123

# Close an issue
gh issue close 123

# Add a comment
gh issue comment 123 --body "Working on this"

Repositories

# Create a new repository
gh repo create my-project --private --source=.

# Clone a repository
gh repo clone cli/cli

# View repository details
gh repo view

# Fork a repository
gh repo fork cli/cli

# Archive/unarchive a repository
gh repo archive owner/repo
gh repo unarchive owner/repo

GitHub Actions

# List workflow runs
gh run list

# View a specific run
gh run view 12345

# Watch a run (follow logs)
gh run watch 12345

# Download artifacts
gh run download 12345

# Rerun a failed job
gh run rerun 12345 --job build

# List workflows
gh workflow list

# Disable/enable a workflow
gh workflow disable ci.yml
gh workflow enable ci.yml

API Access

# REST API call
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/releases

# POST with fields
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/123/comments -f body='Hi from CLI'

# Use jq to filter response
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues --jq '.[].title'

# GraphQL query
gh api graphql -f query='
  query {
    viewer {
      repositories(first: 10) {
        nodes { nameWithOwner }
      }
    }
  }
'

# Paginated request
gh api graphql --paginate -f query='
  query($endCursor: String) {
    viewer {
      repositories(first: 100, after: $endCursor) {
        nodes { nameWithOwner }
        pageInfo { hasNextPage endCursor }
      }
    }
  }
'

Skills (v2.91)

# Search for skills
gh skill search terraform

# Install a skill interactively
gh skill install github/awesome-copilot

# Install a specific skill
gh skill install github/awesome-copilot git-commit

# Pin to version
gh skill install github/awesome-copilot git-commit@v1.2.0

# Install from local directory
gh skill install ./my-skills --from-local

# Install for Claude Code at user scope
gh skill install github/awesome-copilot git-commit --agent claude-code --scope user

# Allow hidden directories (.claude/skills/, .agents/skills/)
gh skill install owner/repo --allow-hidden-dirs

# Update all installed skills
gh skill update --all

# Preview a skill before installing
gh skill preview github/awesome-copilot git-commit

Aliases

# Set an alias
gh alias set bugs 'issue list --label="bug"'

# List aliases
gh alias list

# Import aliases from file
gh alias import aliases.json

# Delete an alias
gh alias delete bugs

Advanced Topics

Authentication and Enterprise: OAuth flows, token management, GitHub Enterprise Server setup, SSH key integration → Authentication

Output Formatting: JSON output, jq filtering, Go templates, helper functions (tablerow, timeago, hyperlink) → Output Formatting

Extensions and Skills: Extension system architecture, creating extensions, skill installation across agent hosts → Extensions and Skills

GitHub Actions Automation: Workflow management, run control, secrets, variables, cache operations → GitHub Actions

Codespaces Management: Creating, managing, SSH access, port forwarding, Jupyter integration → Codespaces

Search and API: Full-text search across code/issues/PRs/repos, REST and GraphQL API patterns → Search and API

Configuration and Environment: Config keys, environment variables, shell completion, telemetry → Configuration