GitHub CLI

Safety-first wrapper for GitHub CLI (gh). Every command is classified by risk level before execution.

When to Use

• User asks to create, list, merge, or close PRs
• User asks to manage issues, releases, or repos
• User asks to check CI/CD status or workflow runs
• User asks to call the GitHub API via gh api
• User asks to manage GitHub Actions secrets or variables

Prerequisites

1. Install: brew install gh or see https://cli.github.com
2. Auth: gh auth login
3. Verify: gh --version (requires v2.86+)
4. Scopes: gh auth status — confirm repo, read:org scopes minimum

Safety Model

Every gh command falls into one of four risk tiers:

Tier	Action Required	Examples
Safe	Execute immediately	gh pr list, gh issue view, gh repo view
Write	Inform user, then execute	gh pr create, gh issue create, gh release create
Destructive	AskUserQuestion BEFORE executing	gh pr merge, gh pr close, gh release delete
Forbidden	Multi-step validation, NEVER auto-confirm	gh repo delete, gh repo transfer, visibility changes

See references/safety-rules.md for the full classification and confirmation templates.

Decision Flow

Command received
  → Classify risk tier (see Quick Reference)
  → Safe?        Execute immediately
  → Write?       Inform user what will happen → execute
  → Destructive? AskUserQuestion with options → wait for answer → execute or cancel
  → Forbidden?   Warn → require typed confirmation → final confirm → execute or cancel

Quick Reference

Safe (read-only, execute immediately)

Command	Description
gh pr list	List pull requests
gh pr view	View PR details
gh pr checks	View CI status
gh pr diff	View PR diff
gh issue list	List issues
gh issue view	View issue details
gh repo view	View repo info
gh repo list	List repos
gh repo clone	Clone a repo
gh release list	List releases
gh release view	View release details
gh run list	List workflow runs
gh agent-task list / view	List/inspect Copilot coding-agent tasks (v2.80+)
gh run view	View run details
gh run view --log	View run logs
gh workflow list	List workflows
gh workflow view	View workflow details
gh run download	Download workflow artifacts
gh api (GET)	Read-only API calls
gh auth status	Check auth
gh browse	Open repo in browser
gh status	Check your GitHub dashboard
gh gist list	List your gists
gh gist view	View gist details
gh label list	List labels
gh search repos	Search repos
gh search issues	Search issues
gh search prs	Search PRs
gh search code	Search code

Write (inform, then execute)

Command	Description
gh pr create	Create PR
gh agent-task create	Kick off a Copilot coding-agent session (opens PRs on your repo — inform user; v2.80+)
gh skill install	Install an agent skill (gh skill is public preview, Apr 2026)
gh pr edit	Edit PR metadata
gh pr comment	Comment on PR
gh pr review	Submit review
gh pr ready	Mark PR as ready
gh pr checkout	Check out a PR branch locally
gh issue create	Create issue
gh issue edit	Edit issue
gh issue comment	Comment on issue
gh issue reopen	Reopen a closed issue
gh issue pin	Pin an issue
gh issue unpin	Unpin an issue
gh label create	Create label
gh label edit	Edit label
gh release create	Create release
gh repo create	Create new repo
gh repo edit	Edit repo settings (non-visibility)
gh repo fork	Fork a repo
gh repo rename	Rename a repository
gh gist create	Create a new gist
gh gist edit	Edit an existing gist
gh run rerun	Re-run workflow
gh workflow enable	Enable workflow
gh workflow disable	Disable workflow
gh workflow run	Manually trigger a workflow
gh secret set	Set secret
gh variable set	Set variable
gh api -X POST/PUT/PATCH	Write API calls

Destructive (AskUserQuestion required)

Command	Description
gh pr merge	Merge PR (irreversible in most workflows)
gh pr close	Close PR
gh issue close	Close issue
gh issue delete	Delete issue (permanent)
gh issue transfer	Transfer issue to another repo
gh release delete	Delete release
gh label delete	Delete label
gh repo archive	Archive repo
gh secret delete	Delete secret
gh variable delete	Delete variable
gh auth logout	Log out of GitHub CLI
gh run cancel	Cancel running workflow
gh api -X DELETE	Delete API calls

Forbidden (multi-step validation)

Command	Description
gh repo delete	Delete repository (PERMANENT)
gh repo transfer	Transfer repo ownership
gh repo edit --visibility	Change repo visibility
Bulk destructive loops	Any loop running delete/close/merge

Workflow Patterns

Pull Requests

# List open PRs
gh pr list

# Create PR (Write — inform user first)
gh pr create --title "feat: add auth" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Summary
- Add JWT authentication middleware

## Test plan
- [ ] Unit tests pass
- [ ] Manual login flow verified
EOF
)"

# View PR with checks
gh pr view 42
gh pr checks 42

# Merge PR (Destructive — AskUserQuestion first)
gh pr merge 42 --squash --delete-branch

Issues

# List issues with filters
gh issue list --label bug --assignee @me
gh issue list --state closed --limit 10

# Create issue (Write)
gh issue create --title "Bug: login fails" --body "Steps to reproduce..." --label bug

# View issue
gh issue view 123

# Close issue (Destructive — confirm first)
gh issue close 123 --reason completed

Releases

# List releases
gh release list

# Create release (Write — inform user)
gh release create v1.2.0 --generate-notes --title "v1.2.0"

# Create release with assets
gh release create v1.2.0 ./dist/*.tar.gz --title "v1.2.0" --notes "Release notes here"

# Delete release (Destructive — confirm first)
gh release delete v1.2.0

CI/CD & Actions

# List recent runs
gh run list --limit 10

# View specific run
gh run view 12345

# View logs for failed run
gh run view 12345 --log-failed

# Re-run failed jobs (Write)
gh run rerun 12345 --failed

# Cancel running workflow (Destructive — confirm)
gh run cancel 12345

# Manage secrets (Write for set, Destructive for delete)
gh secret set API_KEY --body "sk-..."
gh secret list

Repository

# View repo info
gh repo view

# Create repo (Write)
gh repo create my-app --public --clone

# Clone
gh repo clone owner/repo

# Fork (Write)
gh repo fork owner/repo --clone

# Archive (Destructive — confirm first)
gh repo archive owner/repo

API

# GET (Safe)
gh api repos/owner/repo/pulls
gh api repos/owner/repo/issues/123/comments

# POST (Write)
gh api repos/owner/repo/issues -f title="Bug" -f body="Description"

# DELETE (Destructive — confirm first)
gh api repos/owner/repo/issues/123/labels/bug -X DELETE

Self-Healing

gh evolves monthly. On any error: read it → gh help <command> → if still unclear, WebFetch https://cli.github.com/manual/gh_<command> (underscores join subcommands, e.g. gh_pr_merge) → adjust → re-run. Release notes: https://github.com/cli/cli/releases.

AskUserQuestion Integration

For Destructive operations, use AskUserQuestion with tailored options:

PR Merge Example

Question: "How should PR #42 'feat: add auth' be merged?"
Options:
  - "Squash and merge" — Combine all commits into one
  - "Create merge commit" — Preserve commit history
  - "Rebase and merge" — Rebase onto base branch
  - "Cancel" — Do not merge

PR/Issue Close Example

Question: "Close PR #42 'feat: add auth'?"
Options:
  - "Close only" — Close without deleting branch
  - "Close and delete branch" — Close PR and remove source branch
  - "Cancel" — Keep open

Delete Example

Question: "Delete release v1.2.0?"
Options:
  - "Delete release only" — Keep the git tag
  - "Delete release and tag" — Remove both release and git tag
  - "Cancel" — Keep release

For Forbidden operations, follow the triple-confirmation protocol in references/safety-rules.md.

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Fix
gh: command not found	Not installed	brew install gh
authentication required	Not logged in	gh auth login
HTTP 403	Insufficient scopes	gh auth refresh -s scope
HTTP 404	Repo not found or no access	Check repo name and permissions
HTTP 422	Validation failed	Check required fields, branch exists
HTTP 409	Merge conflict	Resolve conflicts first
HTTP 429	Rate limited	Wait, or use --limit to reduce calls
GraphQL: ...	API query error	Check field names and types

CLI Flags Reference

Flag	Description
--json fields	Output specific JSON fields
--jq expr	Filter JSON with jq expressions
--template tmpl	Format output with Go templates
-R owner/repo	Target a different repo
--limit N	Limit results
--state open|closed|all	Filter by state
--label name	Filter by label
--assignee user	Filter by assignee
--author user	Filter by author
--web	Open in browser

Shell Safety

• No interactive mode: Never use -i or --interactive flags
• No pagers: Always pipe to cat if output may trigger a pager: gh pr list | cat
• Timeouts: Set reasonable timeouts for commands that could hang
• Quote arguments: Always quote multi-word arguments and heredoc bodies
• Never pass --yes to forbidden operations — always require explicit confirmation

Integration

Pairs with:

• code-quality — Review code before PR creation
• brainstorm — Design features before opening issues
• codex-cli — Second-opinion audit before merging PRs
• gemini-cli — Alternative AI review for PR changes