GitHub CLI Auth, Alias, and Config

GitHub CLI•Permalink

Authentication, enterprise usage, aliases, extensions, completion, org secrets, and administrative helpers.

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Auth, Tokens, and Enterprise

Credential flows, env vars, and multi-host usage.

Print active auth token

Print the active token for scripting.

bashANYauthtoken

↗#

bash

gh auth token

Notes

Print the active token for scripting.

Switch active account

Switch between authenticated accounts on a host.

bashANYauthaccount

↗#

bash

gh auth switch

Notes

Switch between authenticated accounts on a host.

Configure Git protocol auth

Configure Git to use GitHub CLI as a credential helper.

bashANYauthgit

↗#

bash

gh auth setup-git

Notes

Configure Git to use GitHub CLI as a credential helper.

Set git protocol to ssh

Set the preferred Git protocol used by gh.

bashANYconfiggitssh

↗#

bash

gh config set git_protocol ssh

Notes

Set the preferred Git protocol used by gh.

Authenticate with token from stdin

Authenticate non-interactively using a token piped from stdin.

bashANYauthtoken

↗#

bash

printenv GITHUB_TOKEN | gh auth login --with-token

Notes

Authenticate non-interactively using a token piped from stdin.

Use GH_ENTERPRISE_TOKEN env var

Authenticate automation against GitHub Enterprise Server using env vars.

bashANYenterpriseauthenv

↗#

bash

export GH_HOST=github.example.com && export GH_ENTERPRISE_TOKEN=token

Notes

Authenticate automation against GitHub Enterprise Server using env vars.

Set default host env var

Set the default host for gh commands.

bashANYenterprisehostenv

↗#

bash

export GH_HOST=github.example.com

Notes

Set the default host for gh commands.

Set GH_REPO for scripts

Set the default repository context for scripts.

bashANYenvrepoautomation

↗#

bash

export GH_REPO=my-org/platform-api

Notes

Set the default repository context for scripts.

Aliases, Extensions, and Completion

Customize gh for faster workflows.

List aliases

List configured aliases.

bashANYalias

↗#

bash

gh alias list

Notes

List configured aliases.

Create an alias

Create a simple alias.

bashANYaliasproductivity

↗#

bash

gh alias set pv "pr view"

Notes

Create a simple alias.

Create a shell alias

Create a shell-powered alias.

bashANYaliasshell

↗#

bash

gh alias set cleanup '!git branch --merged | egrep -v "(^\*|main|master)" | xargs -r git branch -d'

Notes

Create a shell-powered alias.

Delete an alias

Delete a configured alias.

bashANYalias

↗#

bash

gh alias delete pv

Notes

Delete a configured alias.

Import aliases from YAML

Import aliases from a YAML file.

bashANYaliasimport

↗#

bash

gh alias import aliases.yml --clobber

Notes

Import aliases from a YAML file.

List installed extensions

List installed gh extensions.

bashANYextension

↗#

bash

gh extension list

Notes

List installed gh extensions.

Install an extension

Install a GitHub CLI extension from a repo.

bashANYextensioninstall

↗#

bash

gh extension install dlvhdr/gh-dash

Notes

Install a GitHub CLI extension from a repo.

Upgrade extensions

Upgrade installed extensions.

bashANYextensionupgrade

↗#

bash

gh extension upgrade --all

Notes

Upgrade installed extensions.

Remove an extension

Uninstall an extension.

bashANYextensionremove

↗#

bash

gh extension remove dlvhdr/gh-dash

Notes

Uninstall an extension.

Generate Bash completions

Generate shell completion for Bash.

bashANYcompletionbash

↗#

bash

gh completion -s bash > /etc/bash_completion.d/gh

Notes

Generate shell completion for Bash.

Generate Zsh completions

Generate shell completion for Zsh.

bashANYcompletionzsh

↗#

bash

gh completion -s zsh > "${fpath[1]}/_gh"

Notes

Generate shell completion for Zsh.

Generate Fish completions

Generate shell completion for Fish.

bashANYcompletionfish

↗#

bash

gh completion -s fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/gh.fish

Notes

Generate shell completion for Fish.

Organizations, Projects, and Admin Utilities

Useful org-level and admin-oriented commands.

List organizations for account

List organizations visible to your account.

bashANYorg

↗#

bash

gh org list

Notes

List organizations visible to your account.

List projects

List GitHub Projects for an owner.

bashANYproject

↗#

bash

gh project list --owner @me

Notes

List GitHub Projects for an owner.

View a project

Show a GitHub Project.

bashANYproject

↗#

bash

gh project view 5 --owner my-org

Notes

Show a GitHub Project.

List org secrets

List organization secrets.

bashANYsecretorg

↗#

bash

gh secret list --org my-org

Notes

List organization secrets.

Set org secret

Create an organization secret.

bashANYsecretorg

↗#

bash

gh secret set MY_TOKEN --org my-org --visibility all < token.txt

Notes

Create an organization secret.

List org variables

List organization variables.

bashANYvariableorg

↗#

bash

gh variable list --org my-org

Notes

List organization variables.

Set org variable

Create or update an organization variable.

bashANYvariableorg

↗#

bash

gh variable set APP_REGION --org my-org --body us-west-2

Notes

Create or update an organization variable.

Add an SSH key

Upload an SSH public key.

bashANYssh-key

↗#

bash

gh ssh-key add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub --title "work-laptop"

Notes

Upload an SSH public key.

Add a GPG key

Upload a GPG key.

bashANYgpg-key

↗#

bash

gh gpg-key add ~/.gnupg/public.asc

Notes

Upload a GPG key.

List common licenses

List common software licenses.

bashANYlicense

↗#

bash

gh license list

Notes

List common software licenses.

View a license template

Show a license template body.

bashANYlicense

↗#

bash

gh license view mit

Notes

Show a license template body.

More in GitHub CLI

GitHub CLI Releases, Gists, and API

Release management, gist workflows, and direct REST or GraphQL automation with gh api.

GitHub CLI Issues and Actions

Issue triage plus GitHub Actions workflows, runs, secrets, variables, and caches.

GitHub CLI Repos and Pull Requests

Repository creation, forking, syncing, pull request creation, review, and merge workflows in GitHub CLI.

GitHub CLI Cheat Sheet

Core GitHub CLI commands for auth, repository context, search, JSON output, and daily workflows.

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