/gh-cli

name: gh-cli
description: GitHub CLI for remote repository analysis, file fetching, codebase comparison, and discovering trending code/repos. Use when analyzing repos without cloning, comparing codebases, or searching for popular GitHub projects.
metadata:
  version: "1.3.3"
  categories: "development, integrations"
  topics: "github, gh-cli, code-search, repo-analysis, pull-requests"
  upstream: "gh@2.96.0"
  openclaw:
    homepage: https://github.com/tenequm/skills/tree/main/skills/gh-cli
    emoji: "🐙"
    primaryEnv: GH_TOKEN
    requires:
      bins:
        - gh
    install:
      - kind: brew
        formula: gh
        bins:
          - gh
    envVars:
      - name: GH_TOKEN
        required: false
        description: GitHub auth token used by gh CLI.
      - name: GITHUB_TOKEN
        required: false
        description: Alias for GH_TOKEN.
      - name: GH_HOST
        required: false
        description: GitHub Enterprise host override.

GitHub CLI - Remote Analysis & Discovery

Remote repository operations, codebase comparison, and code discovery without cloning.

When to Use

• Analyze repositories without cloning
• Compare codebases side-by-side
• Fetch specific files from any repo
• Find trending repositories and code patterns
• Search code across GitHub

Quick Operations

Fetch a file remotely

gh repo read-file path/file.ts --repo OWNER/REPO

`gh repo read-file` (preview) is the preferred path: it prints raw content, takes `--ref` for any branch/tag/commit, and handles files above the Contents API's 1MB inline limit. Fall back to `gh api` where the command is unavailable:

gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/contents/path/file.ts -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.raw"

There is **no `base64decode` template function** - `--template '{{.content | base64decode}}'` fails with `function "base64decode" not defined`. To decode the default JSON response, pipe it:

gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/contents/path/file.ts --jq '.content' | base64 -d

Get directory listing

gh repo read-dir PATH --repo OWNER/REPO

# Or via the API
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/contents/PATH

Pin the repo in scripted workflows

`gh` infers the repository from the current working directory. In agent or CI workflows - where a `cd` may persist - always pass `--repo OWNER/REPO` so a stray cwd cannot silently retarget the command.

Search code

gh search code "pattern" --language=typescript

Find trending repos

gh search repos --language=rust --sort stars --order desc

Compare Two Codebases

Systematic workflow for comparing repositories to identify similarities and differences.

**Example use**: "Compare solana-fm/explorer-kit and tenequm/solana-idls"

Step 1: Fetch directory structures

gh repo read-dir PATH --repo OWNER-A/REPO-A
gh repo read-dir PATH --repo OWNER-B/REPO-B

If comparing a monorepo package, specify the path (e.g., `packages/explorerkit-idls`).

Step 2: Compare file lists

gh repo read-dir PATH --repo OWNER-A/REPO-A --json name --jq '.[].name'
gh repo read-dir PATH --repo OWNER-B/REPO-B --json name --jq '.[].name'

Compare the output of each command to identify files unique to each repo and common files.

Step 3: Fetch key files for comparison

Compare package dependencies:

gh repo read-file package.json --repo OWNER-A/REPO-A
gh repo read-file package.json --repo OWNER-B/REPO-B

Compare main entry points:

gh repo read-file src/index.ts --repo OWNER-A/REPO-A
gh repo read-file src/index.ts --repo OWNER-B/REPO-B

Add `--cache 1h` to `gh api` calls when iterating on the same files repeatedly, to avoid re-spending rate limit.

Step 4: Analyze differences

Compare the fetched files to identify:

**API Surface**

• What functions/classes are exported?
• Are the APIs similar or completely different?

**Dependencies**

• Shared dependencies (same approach)
• Different dependencies (different implementation)

**Unique Features**

• Features only in repo1
• Features only in repo2

For detailed comparison strategies, see [references/comparison.md](references/comparison.md).

Discover Trending Content

Find trending repositories

# Most starred repos
gh search repos --sort stars --order desc --limit 20

# Trending in specific language
gh search repos --language=rust --sort stars --order desc

# Recently popular (created in last month)
gh search repos "created:>2024-10-01" --sort stars --order desc

# Trending in specific topic
gh search repos "topic:machine-learning" --sort stars --order desc

Discover popular code patterns

# Find popular implementations (code search has no sorting - scope with filters)
gh search code "function useWallet" --language=typescript

# Scope to a known repo (code search can't filter by stars - stars:>N is literal text)
gh search code "implementation" --repo=honojs/hono

# Search specific organization
gh search code "authentication" --owner=anthropics

For complete discovery queries and patterns, see [references/discovery.md](references/discovery.md).

Search Basics

Code search

# Search across all repositories
gh search code "API endpoint" --language=python

# Search in specific organization
gh search code "auth" --owner=anthropics

# Exclude results with negative qualifiers
gh search issues -- "bug report -label:wontfix"

Issue & PR search

# Find open bugs
gh search issues --label=bug --state=open

# Search assigned issues
gh search issues --assignee=@me --state=open

Search rate limits

Search runs on a much tighter budget than the 5000/hr core API - check with `gh api rate_limit`:

| Resource | Limit (authenticated) | |----------|----------------------| | `core` (incl. `gh api`, `gh repo read-file`) | 5000/hr | | `search` (repos, issues, prs, commits) | 30/min | | `code_search` | 10/min |

For advanced search syntax, see [references/search.md](refe