GitHub API PR creation without local git. Use when submitting file changes as a PR without local commits — quick fixes, typos, config updates, or bypassing local git state.
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GitHub API PR creation without local git. Use when submitting file changes as a PR without local commits — quick fixes, typos, config updates, or bypassing local git state.
One or more file paths to create/update in the repo
--title <text>
Yes
PR title — use conventional commit format
--base <branch>
No
Base branch (default: repo default branch from context)
--branch <name>
No
New branch name (auto-generated from title if omitted)
--body <text>
No
PR body/description
--draft
No
Create as draft PR
--delete
No
Delete the specified files instead of updating them
Execution
Execute this server-side PR creation workflow:
Step 1: Validate inputs
Parse file paths and flags from $ARGUMENTS
Verify --title is provided — error if missing
For each file path (unless --delete):
Verify the local file exists using Read tool
Resolve to a repo-relative path (strip leading ./ or working directory prefix)
Determine the repo from context ($REPO)
Determine base branch: use --base if provided, otherwise use default branch from context
Step 2: Resolve base branch state
# Get base branch SHA
BASE_SHA=$(gh api repos/$REPO/git/ref/heads/$BASE_BRANCH -q .object.sha)
# Get base tree SHA
BASE_TREE=$(gh api repos/$REPO/git/commits/$BASE_SHA -q .tree.sha)
If this fails, the base branch doesn't exist — report error and list available branches.
Step 3: Generate branch name (if --branch not provided)
Derive from the --title:
Take the subject part (after type(scope): )
Convert to kebab-case
Prefix with the commit type (e.g., fix/kebab-subject)
gh api repos/$REPO/git/refs \
-f ref="refs/heads/$BRANCH" \
-f sha="$COMMIT_SHA"
If this fails with "Reference already exists", report the error and suggest using a different branch name.
Step 8: Create PR
When --body is provided, write it to a tempfile with the Write tool and pass --body-file. This sidesteps shell quoting entirely so backticks and code fences in the body render correctly. See the Body content rule in github-issue-writing for the canonical guidance.
