GitHub CLI Cheatsheet

Q: How do I authenticate with gh?

Run `gh auth login`. Supports browser-based OAuth and token authentication. For CI/CD, use `gh auth login --with-token < token.txt`. Use `gh auth status` to verify.

Q: How do I create a PR from CLI?

`gh pr create --title 'My PR' --body 'Description' --base main`. Add `--fill` to auto-populate title and body from commits. Add `--draft` for a draft PR.

GitHub CLI lets you do everything on GitHub from the terminal: clone, create PRs, review code, manage issues, trigger Actions, publish releases.

Updated: 2026-07-20·21 commands

Quick Start

bash
gh auth login                     # Log in
gh repo clone cli/cli            # Clone repo
gh repo create my-project --public
gh pr create --fill              # Create PR from commits
gh pr list --state open          # List open PRs
gh issue list --label bug        # List bug issues
gh run list --limit 5            # List Actions runs
gh release download v1.0 --pattern '*.tar.gz'

Startup & Modes(21)

Command	Level	Example
`gh --help` Show gh help	Basic	`gh --help`
`gh auth login` Log in to GitHub account	Basic	`gh auth login`
`gh auth status` Check auth status	Basic	`gh auth status`
`gh repo clone` Clone a repository locally	Basic	`gh repo clone cli/cli`
`gh repo create` Create a new repo (local + remote)	Basic	`gh repo create my-project --public`
`gh repo fork` Fork a repository	Basic	`gh repo fork cli/cli`
`gh pr create` Create a Pull Request	Basic	`gh pr create --title 'Fix bug' --body 'Description'`
`gh pr list` List Pull Requests	Basic	`gh pr list --state open`
`gh pr checkout` Check out a PR locally	Basic	`gh pr checkout 42`
`gh pr review` Submit a PR review	Intermediate	`gh pr review 42 --approve`
`gh pr merge` Merge a PR	Intermediate	`gh pr merge 42 --squash`
`gh issue list` List Issues	Basic	`gh issue list --label bug`
`gh issue create` Create an Issue	Basic	`gh issue create --title 'Bug report' --body '...'`
`gh issue close` Close an Issue	Basic	`gh issue close 123`
`gh run list` List Actions workflow runs	Intermediate	`gh run list --limit 10`
`gh run watch` Watch Actions run logs in real-time	Intermediate	`gh run watch 1234`
`gh release list` List releases	Basic	`gh release list`
`gh release download` Download release assets	Intermediate	`gh release download v1.0 --pattern '*.tar.gz'`
`gh gist create` Create a Gist	Basic	`gh gist create script.py --public`
`gh search repos` Search repositories	Intermediate	`gh search repos 'topic:rag language:python' --limit 20`
`gh config set` Set git config	Intermediate	`gh config set git_protocol ssh`

FAQ

How do I authenticate with gh?

How do I create a PR from CLI?

This cheatsheet is compiled from official tool documentation. Last updated: 2026-07-20.