Boost Your Open‑Source Workflow: Master GitHub CLI in Minutes

GitHub recently released a beta version of its command‑line tool, GitHub CLI (gh), which provides a simpler, seamless way to use GitHub.

You can install GitHub CLI on macOS, Windows, and Linux, and GitHub will continue adding features based on user feedback.

Basic Features

GitHub CLI offers essential functions for open‑source contributors, starting with issues and pull requests. Users can search for projects, clone repositories, and list issues labeled “help wanted.” The tool can open issue details in a browser directly from the terminal.

Developers can create branches, commit fixes, and open pull requests. If no fork exists, GitHub CLI automatically creates a fork, pushes the branch, and opens the pull request for merging.

After submitting a PR, developers can quickly check its review status, switch back to the PR branch, and continue work without leaving the command line.

Usage Guide

Filter by user needs

Find a project to contribute to, clone it, and use gh filter options to list issues with the “help wanted” label.

These filtered issues are ready for contribution.

Quickly view issue details

To open issue #254 in a browser, run gh issue view 254 --web.

Create a pull request

Create a branch and use gh pr create to share your contribution. The CLI will create a branch, push it, and open the PR automatically.

View pull‑request status

Run gh pr status to see the current state of your PRs.

Check out a pull request

If a maintainer requests changes, use gh pr checkout <PR‑number> to switch to the PR branch.

GitHub CLI currently has over 5.4K stars and 146 forks on GitHub ( https://github.com/cli/cli#installation-and-upgrading ).

For a deeper dive, consult the official manual at https://cli.github.com/manual/ .