# Gh CLI

> Enforces authenticated gh CLI workflows over unauthenticated curl/WebFetch patterns for GitHub operations.

- Skill: `trailofbits/gh-cli` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add trailofbits/gh-cli`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/trailofbits/gh-cli/raw
- Safety review: PASS (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Integrations & APIs, REST & GraphQL APIs
- Tags: Api Integration, Authentication, Gh Cli, Github, Issues, Pull Requests
- Author: Trail of Bits (https://skillmd.com/u/trailofbits), verified publisher
- Updated: 2026-07-06
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/trailofbits/gh-cli

---


# gh-cli

## When to Use

- Working with GitHub repositories, pull requests, issues, releases, or raw file URLs.
- You need authenticated access to private repositories or higher API rate limits.
- You are about to use `curl`, `wget`, or unauthenticated web fetches against GitHub.

## When NOT to Use

- The target is not GitHub.
- Plain local git operations already solve the task.

## Guidance

Prefer the authenticated `gh` CLI over raw HTTP fetches for GitHub content. In particular:

- Prefer `gh repo view`, `gh pr view`, `gh pr list`, `gh issue view`, and `gh api` over unauthenticated `curl` or `wget`.
- Prefer cloning a repository and reading files locally over fetching `raw.githubusercontent.com` blobs directly.
- Avoid using GitHub API `/contents/` endpoints as a substitute for cloning and reading repository files.

Examples:

```sh
gh repo view owner/repo
gh pr view 123 --repo owner/repo
gh api repos/owner/repo/pulls
```

For the hook implementation, see:
- `plugins/gh-cli/README.md`
- `plugins/gh-cli/hooks/`