GitHub has released an open-source command line tool that you can use to issue pull requests and work with issues from the command line. GitHub CLI is now in beta for Linux, macOS, and Windows.

The developers of the tool say they've created it to provide an easier and more seamless way to work with GitHub from the command line:

"Millions of developers rely on GitHub to make building software more fun and collaborative, and gh brings the GitHub experience right to your terminal."

They point out that GitHub CLI has been designed to work alongside the git command line tool, so if you're working with a Git-specific workflow you should stick to the git CLI.

There was already a command line way of working with GitHub using the third party Hub tool. However, this took a different approach to the new tool, as Hub wraps git to extend it with extra features and commands that make working with GitHub easier.

The new tool takes a simpler approach by simply providing command line ways to issue GitHub commands. The developers say they started with issues and pull requests because many developers use them every day, but that other commands will be added over time.

You can create pull requests and issues without leaving the command line. If you use the tool to create pull requests, it also automatically creates a fork when you don’t already have one, and it pushes your branch and creates your pull request to get your change merged.

You can also carry out status checks to see the status of open issues and pull requests, and see what’s waiting for review.

The tool also has a filter option. If you look for lists of issues or pull requests in a repository, the default behavior is that you will see the most recent 20 open items. However, you can use flags to filter the list. At the moment there are four possible flags to filter by assignee, label, maximum number of issues to fetch, and state (open, closed or all).

GitHub CLI is available for use in a beta version.

More Information

GitHub CLI Home Page

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