gh-rest-api

name

gh-rest-api

description

Enforces using `gh api` REST endpoints instead of `gh` CLI subcommands for ALL GitHub interactions (reads and writes) in the east-guard repo. Use this skill whenever you're about to run any `gh pr`, `gh issue`, `gh release`, `gh repo`, or `gh label` command — even for listing or viewing. Also use when the user asks you to check PRs, create issues, update labels, post comments, or any other GitHub operation. This applies to the f-rustrated/EastGuard repository specifically.

GitHub REST API Enforcement — east-guard

The rule

Use gh api for every GitHub interaction. Never use gh pr, gh issue, gh release, or other convenience subcommands.

The repo is f-rustrated/EastGuard.

CRITICAL: Case-sensitive repo name. The GitHub REST API requires exact casing: EastGuard, NOT east-guard, eastguard, or Eastguard. A wrong case returns 404. Always use f-rustrated/EastGuard exactly.

Common operations reference

Pull Requests

List PRs:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/pulls --method GET -f state=open

View a PR:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/pulls/NUMBER

Create a PR:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/pulls --method POST \
  -f title='PR title' \
  -f body='PR description' \
  -f head='branch-name' \
  -f base='main'

Update a PR (title, body, state):

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/pulls/NUMBER --method PATCH \
  -f body='Updated description'

List PR comments:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/pulls/NUMBER/comments

Add PR comment:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/pulls/NUMBER/comments --method POST \
  -f body='Comment text'

List PR reviews:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/pulls/NUMBER/reviews

Merge a PR:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/pulls/NUMBER/merge --method PUT \
  -f merge_method='squash'

PR diff:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/pulls/NUMBER -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3.diff"

PR files changed:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/pulls/NUMBER/files

Issues

List issues:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/issues --method GET -f state=open

View an issue:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/issues/NUMBER

Create an issue:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/issues --method POST \
  -f title='Issue title' \
  -f body='Issue description'

Create an issue with labels (or any array field):

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/issues --method POST \
  --input - <<< '{"title":"Issue title","body":"Issue description","labels":["bug","priority"]}'

-f sends strings only. Fields like labels and assignees require JSON arrays. Use --input - with a full JSON body whenever the payload includes array or non-string fields. Never use -f labels='["..."]' — GitHub rejects the string with HTTP 422.

Update an issue:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/issues/NUMBER --method PATCH \
  -f body='Updated body'

Add issue comment:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/issues/NUMBER/comments --method POST \
  -f body='Comment text'

Close an issue:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/issues/NUMBER --method PATCH \
  -f state='closed'

Labels

List labels:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/labels

Add label to issue/PR:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/issues/NUMBER/labels --method POST \
  --input - <<< '{"labels":["bug","priority"]}'

Releases

List releases:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/releases

Create release:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/releases --method POST \
  -f tag_name='v1.0.0' \
  -f name='Release 1.0.0' \
  -f body='Release notes'

Branches & Refs

List branches:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/branches

Get branch protection:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/branches/main/protection

CI / Checks

List check runs for a ref:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/commits/REF/check-runs

List workflow runs:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/actions/runs

Pagination

REST API paginates by default (30 items). Use -f per_page=100 for larger result sets. For full pagination, use --paginate:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/pulls --paginate -f state=all -f per_page=100

JSON filtering

Use jq-style queries with --jq:

gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/pulls --jq '.[].title'
gh api repos/f-rustrated/EastGuard/pulls/42 --jq '.body'

Edge cases

• Array fields (labels, assignees, etc.): -f always sends strings. Use --input - with a JSON body for any payload containing arrays or non-string types. Never do -f labels='["bug"]' — GitHub returns HTTP 422.
• Creating PRs with long bodies: Use --input - with heredoc or pipe from file instead of -f body= to avoid shell escaping issues.
• Binary content / assets: Use gh api with --input for upload endpoints.
• Rate limiting: REST API has separate rate limits from GraphQL. Check X-RateLimit-Remaining header if doing bulk operations.