Mastering GitHub CLI

Command-line interface for GitHub operations: search, monitoring, resource creation, workflow authoring, and automation.

Contents

• Quick Start
• Command Reference
• Workflow Authoring
• Scripts
• Validation Checklist
• When Not to Use

Quick Start

Find repos with specific files/directories

gh search code "path:.skilz" --json repository --jq '.[].repository.fullName'
gh search code --filename SKILL.md
gh search code --filename Dockerfile --language python

Monitor CI/CD

gh run list --workflow=CI --status=failure --limit 10
gh run watch 12345 --exit-status      # Block until complete
gh run view 12345 --log-failed        # Failed logs only
gh pr checks 123 --watch              # PR CI status

Create resources

gh pr create --title "Feature" --body "Description" --reviewer @user
gh issue create --title "Bug" --label bug,urgent --assignee @me
gh repo fork owner/repo --clone

Trigger and monitor workflow

gh workflow run deploy.yml -f environment=staging
sleep 5
RUN_ID=$(gh run list --workflow=deploy.yml --limit 1 --json databaseId --jq '.[0].databaseId')
gh run watch "$RUN_ID" --exit-status

Command Reference

JSON Output

gh pr list --json                              # Discover fields
gh pr list --json number,title,author,labels   # Select fields
gh run list --json status --jq '.[] | select(.status=="completed")'

Environment & Auth

Rate Limits

Workflow Authoring

GitHub Actions workflow YAML patterns for CI/CD pipelines.

Basic Structure

name: CI Pipeline
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: make build
      - run: make test

Caching Patterns

# Python/Poetry
- uses: actions/setup-python@v5
  with:
    python-version: '3.11'
- uses: actions/cache@v4
  with:
    path: .venv
    key: venv-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('poetry.lock') }}

# Node.js
- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
  with:
    node-version: '20'
    cache: 'npm'

Matrix Builds

strategy:
  matrix:
    os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest]
    node: [18, 20]
  fail-fast: false

OIDC Authentication (AWS/GCP)

permissions:
  id-token: write
  contents: read

steps:
  - uses: aws-actions/configure-aws-credentials@v4
    with:
      role-to-assume: arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/GitHubActionsRole
      aws-region: us-east-1

Full reference: references/workflow-authoring.md

Advanced Patterns

For enterprise CI/CD pipelines:

• Ephemeral PR Environments - Auto-create/destroy per PR
• Release Please - Automated semantic versioning
• PR Cleanup - Resource cleanup on close
• Testing Patterns - pytest, Gradle, Jest with coverage
• Deployment Status Checks - Wait for stack readiness
• Separate Build/Deploy Roles - Fine-grained OIDC permissions
• Multi-Stack Ordering - Foundation → Schemas → Application

Additional References:

• Workflow Summaries - Rich markdown output with $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
• Container Security - Multi-stage builds, Trivy scanning, image tagging
• Security Scanning - CodeQL, Dependabot, IaC scanning (Checkov, tfsec)
• Troubleshooting - Debug mode, flaky tests, common issues
• Performance - Limits, runner specs, optimization tips

Scripts

Pre-built automation scripts with error handling and rate limit awareness.

Exit Codes

Validation Checklist

Before completing a GitHub CLI task, verify:

- [ ] gh authenticated (`gh auth status`)
- [ ] Command syntax matches documentation
- [ ] Exit codes checked and handled appropriately
- [ ] Rate limits considered (code search: 10/min, repo search: 30/min)
- [ ] JSON output parsed correctly (if using --json)
- [ ] Artifacts downloaded to correct directory (if applicable)
- [ ] PR/Issue created with proper labels and assignees (if applicable)
- [ ] Workflow triggered and monitored to completion (if applicable)

When Not to Use

This skill covers gh CLI and GitHub Actions workflow authoring. Do not use for:

• Git commands: git push, git commit, git pull (use git directly)
• GitHub web UI: Questions about github.com interface navigation
• GitHub Desktop: Different application entirely
• Direct curl/HTTP: API calls without gh wrapper
• GitHub mobile app: Mobile-specific features