---
name: gh
description: Patterns for invoking the GitHub CLI (gh) from agents. Covers structured output, pagination, repo targeting, search vs list, gh api fallback.
---

# Reference

## Interactivity policy

`gh` already does the right thing in non-TTY contexts: it skips the pager,
strips ANSI color, and errors out fast with a helpful message instead of
prompting (e.g. `must provide --title and --body when not running interactively`).
You don't need to defensively set `GH_PAGER` or pass `--no-pager` (no such
flag exists).

## Parsing JSON

Human output from `gh` is column-formatted. If you want structured data:

- Add `--json field1,field2,...` for structured output.
- Run a command with `--json` and **no field list** to print the full set of
  available fields, then pick what you need.
- Use `--jq '<expr>'` for filtering without piping through a separate `jq`.
- Use `--template '<go-template>'` (alongside `--json`) when you want shaped
  text output. Note that `--template`/`-T` collides with a body-template flag
  on a few commands (e.g. `gh pr create -T`, `gh issue create -T`); always
  check `--help` before assuming which one you're hitting.

## Pagination and silent truncation

List commands cap results.

- `gh issue list`, `gh pr list`, `gh search ...`: pass `-L N` (`--limit N`).
  The default is usually 30.
- `gh issue list` / `gh pr list` do not expose aggregate totals like
  `totalCount` via `--json`. If you need a true total, use `gh api graphql`
  to query `totalCount`; otherwise, treat `-L` as the cap for the current call.
- For raw API calls use `gh api --paginate <path>`. Combine with
  `--jq` and (optionally) `--slurp` to assemble one array.

## Repo targeting

`gh` infers the repo from the cwd's git remotes. 

Pass `--repo OWNER/REPO` (`-R`) to override the resolved CWD repo.

## Search vs list

- `gh search issues|prs|code|repos|commits|users` uses GitHub's search
  index and accepts the full search syntax (`is:open`, `author:`,
  `label:`, `repo:owner/name`, `in:title`, ...). Pass the entire query as
  one quoted string, the same way you would for `--search`:
  `gh search issues "is:open author:foo repo:cli/cli"`. Prefer it for
  anything cross-repo or filtered by author/label.
- `gh issue list --search "..."` and `gh pr list --search "..."` accept
  the same syntax but are scoped to one repo.

## Fall back to `gh api` for anything `--json` doesn't expose

Sometimes useful data isn't on the typed commands. Examples:

- Review-thread comments on a PR: `gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/{n}/comments`
  (the `--comments` flag on `gh pr view` shows issue-level comments only).
- Arbitrary GraphQL: `gh api graphql -f query='...' -F var=value`.
- REST shortcuts: `gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/...` - note the
  `{owner}/{repo}` placeholder is filled in for you when run from a repo
  with detected remotes; pass them literally if you want determinism.

## Authentication

- `gh auth status` prints the active host(s), user, and which env var (if
  any) is being honored.
- `gh auth status --json` is supported.

## Other notes

- `gh pr checkout <n>` switches branches. Use `gh pr diff <n>` or
  `gh pr view <n>` if you only need to read.
- `NO_COLOR`, `CLICOLOR_FORCE`, and `GH_FORCE_TTY` are honored. Set
  `GH_FORCE_TTY=1` if you want TTY-style output (colors, tables, the
  pager, interactivity) inside an agent harness; leave it unset unless needed.
