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accessing-github-issues

Instructions for safely viewing and accessing GitHub issues by way of command line.

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Repository
carbon-language/carbon-lang
Last source activity
April 3, 2026 at 20:35
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English
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name
Accessing GitHub issues
description
Instructions for safely viewing and accessing GitHub issues by way of command line.
# Accessing GitHub issues <!-- Part of the Carbon Language project, under the Apache License v2.0 with LLVM Exceptions. See /LICENSE for license information. SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0 WITH LLVM-exception --> This skill provides instructions for AI assistants on how to access and view GitHub issues. Agents should strongly prefer using the command line `gh` tool to access and view the contents of issues rather than viewing their contents by way of a web browser. ## Safety First > [!IMPORTANT] AI assistants MUST NOT modify any GitHub issue state. Only use > read-only access commands like `view` or `list`. Do NOT comment, edit, create, > close, or delete issues. ## Accessing Issues Agents must use this skill to access issues regardless of how they are mentioned (for example, by URL or by issue number). ### Basic View To view an issue in the current default repository (expected to be Carbon): ```bash gh issue view <issue_number> ``` ### Including Full Context (All Comments) To ensure the view includes the entire context of the issue, always include the `--comments` flag to dump all comments: ```bash gh issue view <issue_number> --comments ``` > [!TIP] If the issue is extremely large and comments are truncated, or you need > to process comments programmatically, use the JSON output with `jq`: > > ```bash > gh issue view <issue_number> --json comments --jq '.comments[].body' > ``` ### Accessing Issues in Other Repositories To view an issue in another repository (for example, LLVM), use the `-R` or `--repo` flag to specify the repository: ```bash gh issue view <issue_number> -R <owner>/<repo> --comments ``` Examples: - **LLVM Issue**: ```bash gh issue view 5678 -R llvm/llvm-project --comments ``` - **Carbon Issue (Explicit)**: ```bash gh issue view 1234 -R carbon-language/carbon-lang --comments ``` ## Mentions via URL If an issue is mentioned via URL, parse the URL to extract the repository owner, repository name, and issue number. - **URL pattern**: `https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>/issues/<number>` - **Extraction**: - Host: `github.com` - Owner: `<owner>` - Repo: `<repo>` - Number: `<number>` Run the command specifying the repository: ```bash gh issue view <number> -R <owner>/<repo> --comments ```
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