Skills Development GitHub CLI for Development Automation

GitHub CLI for Development Automation

v20260509
github
Master the use of the `gh` CLI to interact with core GitHub features. This guide covers managing issues, checking Pull Request statuses, listing and debugging CI workflow runs, and executing advanced data queries via the GitHub API. Essential for automating DevOps workflows and debugging CI/CD pipelines directly from the terminal.
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Overview

GitHub Skill

Use the gh CLI to interact with GitHub. Always specify --repo owner/repo when not in a git directory, or use URLs directly.

When to Use

  • When the user asks about GitHub issues, pull requests, workflow runs, or CI failures.
  • When you need gh issue, gh pr, gh run, or gh api from the command line.

Pull Requests

Check CI status on a PR:

gh pr checks 55 --repo owner/repo

List recent workflow runs:

gh run list --repo owner/repo --limit 10

View a run and see which steps failed:

gh run view <run-id> --repo owner/repo

View logs for failed steps only:

gh run view <run-id> --repo owner/repo --log-failed

Debugging a CI Failure

Follow this sequence to investigate a failing CI run:

  1. Check PR status — identify which checks are failing:
    gh pr checks 55 --repo owner/repo
    
  2. List recent runs — find the relevant run ID:
    gh run list --repo owner/repo --limit 10
    
  3. View the failed run — see which jobs and steps failed:
    gh run view <run-id> --repo owner/repo
    
  4. Fetch failure logs — get the detailed output for failed steps:
    gh run view <run-id> --repo owner/repo --log-failed
    

API for Advanced Queries

The gh api command is useful for accessing data not available through other subcommands.

Get PR with specific fields:

gh api repos/owner/repo/pulls/55 --jq '.title, .state, .user.login'

JSON Output

Most commands support --json for structured output. You can use --jq to filter:

gh issue list --repo owner/repo --json number,title --jq '.[] | "\(.number): \(.title)"'

Limitations

  • Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
  • Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
  • Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.
Info
Category Development
Name github
Version v20260509
Size 1.41KB
Updated At 2026-05-10
Language