github-operations

---

name: github-operations description: Comprehensive guide for all common GitHub operations via gh CLI: fetching issues and PRs, creating PRs, pushing branches, listing and filtering, and managing PR lifecycle. Use this when performing any GitHub task beyond basic git commands.

GitHub Operations Guide

A single reference for all common GitHub operations in this project using the gh CLI.

When to use this skill

• Fetching issue or PR details for analysis
• Creating a new pull request after pushing a branch
• Checking PR review status or CI check results
• Listing open issues or PRs
• Any GitHub operation beyond local git commands

Prerequisites

# Install and authenticate (one-time)
gh auth login

# ALWAYS prefix gh commands with this to prevent interactive pager
export GH_PAGER=cat

Project defaults:

• Repo: hongyuan007/tapword-translator
• Release target branch: release/0.4.2
• Branch naming: fix/YYMMDD/topic or feat/YYMMDD/topic

1. Push a Branch (first time)

New branches have no upstream; always use the explicit form:

git push origin <branch-name>
# or set upstream so bare `git push` works afterward:
git push --set-upstream origin <branch-name>

To configure git to auto-track all new branches globally:

git config --global push.autoSetupRemote true

2. Create a Pull Request

GH_PAGER=cat gh pr create \
  --repo hongyuan007/tapword-translator \
  --base release/0.4.2 \
  --head <your-branch> \
  --title "<type>(<scope>): <short description>" \
  --body "<PR body>"

PR title conventions (follow Conventional Commits):

• fix(scope): description for bug fixes
• feat(scope): description for new features
• docs(scope): description for documentation

PR body checklist (include in body):

• Problem statement
• Root cause (if bug fix)
• Summary of changes per file
• Edge cases considered
• How to test / verify

Returns the PR URL on success.

3. Fetch Issue Details

GH_PAGER=cat gh issue view <issue-number> \
  --repo hongyuan007/tapword-translator \
  --json number,title,body,createdAt,updatedAt,author,state,comments,labels,assignees,url

To save locally for analysis:

gh issue view <number> --repo hongyuan007/tapword-translator \
  --json number,title,body,createdAt,updatedAt,author,state,comments,labels,url \
  > docs/plan/y2026/m<MM>-issue-<number>-<slug>/issue.json

Download images from the issue body:

wget -O screenshot-1.png "<image-url-from-issue-body>"

4. Fetch PR Details (Full)

4.1 Metadata + Review Summaries

GH_PAGER=cat gh pr view <pr-number> \
  --repo hongyuan007/tapword-translator \
  --json number,title,body,createdAt,updatedAt,author,state,labels,comments,reviews,url

Key fields:

• reviews[].body — top-level review summaries (Copilot overview, etc.)
• reviews[].state — COMMENTED | APPROVED | CHANGES_REQUESTED
• comments — general conversation (not inline code comments)

4.2 Inline Code Review Comments

gh pr view does NOT include inline code comments. Use the REST API:

GH_PAGER=cat gh api repos/hongyuan007/tapword-translator/pulls/<pr-number>/comments \
  --jq '[.[] | {path: .path, line: .line, body: .body, author: .user.login, createdAt: .created_at}]'

4.3 Changed Files

GH_PAGER=cat gh pr view <pr-number> \
  --repo hongyuan007/tapword-translator \
  --json files \
  --jq '[.files[] | {path: .path, additions: .additions, deletions: .deletions}]'

4.4 CI Check Runs

GH_PAGER=cat gh pr checks <pr-number> --repo hongyuan007/tapword-translator

5. List Issues / PRs

# List open issues
GH_PAGER=cat gh issue list --repo hongyuan007/tapword-translator --state open

# List open PRs
GH_PAGER=cat gh pr list --repo hongyuan007/tapword-translator --state open

# Filter by label
GH_PAGER=cat gh issue list --repo hongyuan007/tapword-translator --label "bug"

# Filter PRs by base branch
GH_PAGER=cat gh pr list --repo hongyuan007/tapword-translator --base release/0.4.2

6. Check PR / Issue Status

# View PR status (CI, reviews, merge state)
GH_PAGER=cat gh pr view <pr-number> --repo hongyuan007/tapword-translator

# View issue status
GH_PAGER=cat gh issue view <issue-number> --repo hongyuan007/tapword-translator

7. Close / Merge / Comment

# Merge a PR (squash)
GH_PAGER=cat gh pr merge <pr-number> --repo hongyuan007/tapword-translator --squash

# Close an issue
GH_PAGER=cat gh issue close <issue-number> --repo hongyuan007/tapword-translator

# Add a comment to an issue or PR
GH_PAGER=cat gh issue comment <issue-number> --repo hongyuan007/tapword-translator --body "Comment text"
GH_PAGER=cat gh pr comment <pr-number> --repo hongyuan007/tapword-translator --body "Comment text"

8. Saving PR/Issue to Local Directory

Use this pattern for archiving or analysis:

docs/plan/y<YEAR>/m<MM>-issue-<number>-<slug>/
  issue.json         # raw API response
  README.md          # human-readable summary
  screenshot-1.png   # downloaded images

README.md structure

# Issue/PR #<N>: <title>

## Metadata
| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| Status | <state> |
| Author | <login> |
| URL | <url> |

## Description
<body>

## Comments / Reviews
### <author> — <date>
<body>

## Changed Files (PRs only)
| File | +Add | -Del |
|------|------|------|

Best Practices

• Always use GH_PAGER=cat — prevents output from opening an interactive pager
• Explicit --repo flag — prevents operating on the wrong repo if CWD differs
• Push branch before gh pr create — the branch must exist on remote first
• Use --jq for large JSON — filter fields immediately rather than parsing full output
• Inline comments need REST API — gh pr view only returns top-level review summaries

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Fix
git push fails with "no upstream branch"	Use git push origin <branch> or git push --set-upstream origin <branch>
Pager opens interactive buffer	Prefix command with GH_PAGER=cat
gh api returns HTML	Token lacks repo scope → gh auth login --scopes repo
comments array is empty from gh pr view	Inline comments need separate REST API call (Section 4.2)
gh pr create says branch not found	Push the branch first: git push origin <branch>