name	github-cli
description	Comprehensive gh CLI reference — issues, tasks, PRs, repos, branches, Actions, search, and project board. Use whenever interacting with GitHub.

SKILL: GitHub CLI

Repo Context (always run first)

# Who am I, what repo am I in
gh auth status
gh repo view --json name,owner,defaultBranchRef,url,isPrivate

# Open issues + PRs at a glance
gh issue list --state open --limit 20 --json number,title,labels,assignees
gh pr list --state open --json number,title,headRefName,statusCheckRollup

Issues as Tasks

Create

# Feature story
gh issue create \
  --title "feat: {title}" \
  --body-file docs/stories/{slug}/Story.md \
  --label "type:feature,priority:high,phase:discover" \
  --milestone "v1.0" \
  --assignee "@me"

# Bug
gh issue create \
  --title "fix: {title}" \
  --body "## Steps to reproduce\n{steps}\n\n## Expected\n{expected}\n\n## Actual\n{actual}" \
  --label "type:bug,priority:high"

# Task (sub-work, no story file)
gh issue create \
  --title "task: {title}" \
  --body "{description}" \
  --label "type:task" \
  --assignee "@me"

Read

gh issue view {number}
gh issue view {number} --json number,title,state,body,labels,assignees,comments,milestone

# Search
gh issue list --search "label:blocked" --state open
gh issue list --search "assignee:@me is:open"
gh issue list --search "phase:implement" --label "tdd:red"
gh issue list --state open --label "type:feature" --milestone "v1.0"

Update

# Phase transition
gh issue edit {number} \
  --add-label "phase:architect" \
  --remove-label "phase:discover"

# Assign / unassign
gh issue edit {number} --add-assignee "@me"
gh issue edit {number} --remove-assignee "{login}"

# Change milestone
gh issue edit {number} --milestone "v2.0"

# Block / unblock
gh issue edit {number} --add-label "blocked"
gh issue edit {number} --remove-label "blocked"

Comment

gh issue comment {number} --body "{message}"

# Phase lifecycle comments (standard format)
gh issue comment {number} --body "Phase {N} {NAME}: starting. Target artifacts: {paths}"
gh issue comment {number} --body "Phase {N} {NAME}: complete. Artifacts: {paths}"
gh issue comment {number} --body "RED: Failing test at {path} — {message}"
gh issue comment {number} --body "GREEN: {count} tests passing."
gh issue comment {number} --body "BLOCKED: {agent} failed 3x on {task}. Human required."

Close

gh issue close {number} --comment "Acceptance criteria passing. Validation: {summary}"
gh issue close {number} --reason "not planned"

Pull Requests

# Create PR (always draft first)
gh pr create \
  --title "feat: {description}" \
  --body "## Summary\n{summary}\n\nCloses #{issue_number}" \
  --base main \
  --draft

# Mark ready when all gates pass
gh pr ready {number}

# View PR + CI status
gh pr view {number} --json number,title,state,reviews,statusCheckRollup,files

# Request review
gh pr edit {number} --add-reviewer "{login}"

# Check CI on PR
gh pr checks {number}

# Merge (squash — preferred)
gh pr merge {number} --squash --subject "feat: {description} (#{issue_number})" --delete-branch

# Review
gh pr review {number} --approve --body "LGTM"
gh pr review {number} --request-changes --body "{feedback}"

Branches

# List branches
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches --jq '.[].name'

# Create via API (when not in git context)
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/git/refs \
  -f ref="refs/heads/feat/{slug}" \
  -f sha="$(gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/git/ref/heads/main --jq '.object.sha')"

# Delete remote branch
gh api -X DELETE repos/{owner}/{repo}/git/refs/heads/feat/{slug}

# Branch protection status
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches/main/protection

Actions / CI

# List recent runs
gh run list --limit 10
gh run list --workflow ci.yml --branch main --limit 5

# Watch a run live
gh run watch {run-id}

# View failed run details
gh run view {run-id} --log-failed

# Trigger workflow manually
gh workflow run {workflow-file} --ref main

# Re-run failed jobs only
gh run rerun {run-id} --failed

# Download artifact
gh run download {run-id} --name {artifact-name} --dir ./artifacts

Repo Inspection

# Full repo metadata
gh repo view --json name,owner,description,topics,visibility,defaultBranchRef,\
licenseInfo,stargazerCount,forkCount,createdAt,updatedAt

# Collaborators
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/collaborators --jq '.[].login'

# Repo settings
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo} --jq '{private:.private,hasIssues:.has_issues,hasWiki:.has_wiki}'

# Topics
gh repo edit --add-topic "{topic}"

# Clone URL
gh repo view --json sshUrl,url

# Releases
gh release list --limit 5
gh release view {tag}

Labels & Milestones

# Bootstrap AI-Squad labels (idempotent)
bash scripts/bootstrap-labels.sh

# List labels
gh label list

# Create label
gh label create "type:task" --color "0075ca" --description "Work item"

# Create milestone
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/milestones \
  -f title="v1.0" \
  -f description="First release" \
  -f due_on="2026-06-01T00:00:00Z"

# List milestones
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/milestones --jq '.[] | {number:.number,title:.title,open:.open_issues}'

Search

# Search code in repo
gh search code "{query}" --repo {owner}/{repo} --json path,url

# Search issues across GitHub
gh search issues "{query}" --repo {owner}/{repo} --json number,title,state

# Search PRs
gh search prs "{query}" --repo {owner}/{repo} --state open

Issue Lifecycle (AI Squad Standard)

Event	Label added	Label removed	Comment
Story created	`phase:discover`	—	"Phase 1 DISCOVER: story created."
Architect done	`phase:architect`	`phase:discover`	"Phase 2 ARCHITECT: design complete."
Plan done	`phase:plan`	`phase:architect`	"Phase 3 PLAN: plan.md ready."
Infra done	`phase:infra`	`phase:plan`	"Phase 4 INFRA: containers healthy."
Implement start	`phase:implement,in-progress`	`phase:infra`	"Phase 5 IMPLEMENT: TDD loop starting."
TDD red	`tdd:red`	—	"RED: failing test at {path}"
TDD green	`tdd:green`	`tdd:red`	"GREEN: {n} tests passing."
Validate pass	`phase:validate,validated`	`phase:implement`	"Phase 6 VALIDATE: 100% pass."
Document done	`phase:document`	`phase:validate`	"Phase 7 DOCUMENT: docs complete."
PR created	`ready-for-review`	`phase:document`	"Phase 8: PR #{pr} created."
Blocked	`blocked`	—	"BLOCKED: {agent} failed 3x. Human needed."
Unblocked	—	`blocked`	"Unblocked: {resolution}"

Failure Modes

Condition	Action
Not authenticated	`gh auth login` — do not retry ops
Label missing	Create via `gh label create` before using
Milestone missing	Create via `gh api milestones` before using
Rate limited	Wait 60s, retry once; if fails again, stop
Issue already exists	`gh issue list --search "{title}" --state all` — return existing number
`gh` not found	Stop. Output: "gh CLI not available. Install from https://cli.github.com"