⚡ Keyboard-first GitHub for developers, maintainers, and release teams

Operate GitHub without leaving the terminal.

GitHub CLI turns issues, pull requests, releases, Actions, and repo administration into fast, scriptable commands. It is ideal when you want browser-grade GitHub power inside local workflows, shell scripts, CI jobs, and remote servers.

See workflow diagrams Browse example commands

Deployed at cli.spqw.net • small visual workflows • zero-JS static site

Create a PR

gh pr create --fill --base main --head feat/cli-site

Review work

gh pr checkout 184
> run tests
> gh pr review --approve

Ship a release

gh release create v1.4.0 --generate-notes dist/*

Automate triage

gh issue list --label bug --assignee @me --limit 20

PRs Create, review, diff, checkout, merge, and reopen pull requests from the shell.

Issues Search, filter, comment, close, assign, and script issue triage in seconds.

Actions Inspect runs, watch logs, rerun jobs, and unblock failed pipelines quickly.

Releases Publish tags, attach artifacts, and generate notes directly from commit history.

What GitHub CLI is best at

It compresses everyday repository work into repeatable command-line operations.

Pull requests

Fast PR lifecycle

Open pull requests with autofilled templates, inspect diffs, request reviews, checkout branches, merge with strategy flags, and keep context in one terminal tab.

Issue management

Triage without tab overload

Filter by label, milestone, assignee, author, state, and search query. That makes backlog cleanup and on-call triage much faster.

GitHub Actions

CI visibility from the shell

List runs, stream logs, identify failing jobs, rerun workflows, and connect local debugging directly to pipeline state.

Releases

Ship artifacts cleanly

Create releases, upload build outputs, draft notes from merged PRs, and standardize release operations in scripts or make targets.

Automation

Perfect for shell pipelines

Combine gh with jq, xargs, cron, CI jobs, or internal tooling to automate repetitive GitHub work with minimal glue code.

Extensions

Custom commands on demand

Install community extensions or build your own to add repo-specific workflows such as deployment shortcuts, sprint reports, or policy checks.

Small workflow diagrams

Three compact examples showing where GitHub CLI really shines in day-to-day engineering work.

Workflow 01

From local branch to reviewed pull request

Ideal when you want to stay inside a keyboard-first dev loop.

CodeCommit locally

→

Creategh pr create

→

ReviewShare PR link

→

Mergegh pr merge

Workflow 02

Triage bugs during on-call

A good fit for maintainers handling many incoming issues rapidly.

ListFilter open bugs

→

Inspectgh issue view

→

AssignOwner + labels

→

TrackComment or close

Workflow 03

Release from CI artifacts to public notes

Useful for teams that want simple, repeatable shipping from the command line.

BuildArtifacts ready

→

TagVersion chosen

→

Publishgh release create

→

ShareNotes + assets live

Command patterns people actually use

These examples show how gh fits into practical team workflows rather than isolated demos.

Review loop

gh pr status
gh pr checkout 184
pnpm test
gh pr review 184 --comment -b "Looks good with one minor suggestion"
gh pr merge 184 --squash --delete-branch

Useful for maintainers who want a tight PR review cycle without repeatedly switching between browser, terminal, and editor.

Issue triage

gh issue list --state open --label bug --limit 10
gh issue view 231
gh issue edit 231 --add-label needs-repro --assignee @me
gh issue comment 231 --body "Can you share a minimal repro?"

Turns issue handling into a fast text-based flow that works well for support rotations and maintainers with large backlogs.

Actions debugging

gh run list --limit 5
gh run view 99887766 --log-failed
gh workflow run deploy.yml
gh run watch

Helpful when a CI pipeline is red and you want the shortest path from failure signal to logs, rerun, and confirmation.

Release automation

gh release create v2.3.0 \
  --generate-notes \
  --title "v2.3.0" \
  dist/app-linux.tar.gz \
  dist/app-macos.zip

Works especially well in CI scripts, where release publication can be standardized and repeated safely across versions.

“GitHub CLI is not just a terminal wrapper around GitHub. It is a workflow accelerator: local context in, repository action out, with less browser friction in between.”

Best used when your team values repeatability, scripts, fast PR handling, and keyboard-first development habits.