GitHub CLI Workflow

# 1. create folder and init git
mkdir my-project
cd my-project
git init

# 2. create first file
echo "# My Project" > README.md

# 3. first commit
git add -A
git commit -m "init"

# 4. create github repo and push in one shot
gh repo create my-project --public --source=. --push

cd ~/my-existing-project
git init
git add -A
git commit -m "init"
gh repo create my-existing-project --public --source=. --push

# 1. make sure you're on main and up to date
git checkout main
git pull

# 2. create a feature branch
git checkout -b feature/navbar

# 3. write code...

# 4. stage and commit
git add -A
git commit -m "feat: add navbar component"

# 5. push branch to github
git push -u origin HEAD

# 6. open a pull request
gh pr create --title "feat: add navbar" --body "adds responsive navbar"

# 7. check CI status
gh pr checks

# 8. merge and delete branch
gh pr merge --squash --delete-branch

# 9. come back to main and sync
git checkout main
git pull

# examples
git commit -m "feat: add ctrl+k search"
git commit -m "fix: regex tester not highlighting matches"
git commit -m "refactor: split toolkit into individual pages"
git commit -m "chore: add cloudflare notes"

# create and switch to branch
git checkout -b feature/dark-mode

# list all branches
git branch -a

# switch between branches
git checkout main
git checkout feature/dark-mode

# delete a branch locally
git branch -d feature/dark-mode

# delete a branch on github
git push origin --delete feature/dark-mode
# or
gh pr merge --delete-branch

# create PR (interactive — asks for title, body, reviewers)
gh pr create

# create with flags (no prompts)
gh pr create --title "feat: add search" --body "adds ctrl+k search modal"

# draft PR (not ready to merge yet)
gh pr create --draft

# view your open PRs
gh pr list

# check CI status of current branch's PR
gh pr checks

# watch CI live
gh pr checks --watch

# view PR in browser
gh pr view --web

# merge options
gh pr merge --merge           # regular merge commit
gh pr merge --squash          # squash all commits into one
gh pr merge --rebase          # rebase onto main
gh pr merge --squash --delete-branch   # squash + clean up branch

# clone your own repo
gh repo clone username/repo

# clone and immediately cd into it
gh repo clone username/repo && cd repo

# fork someone else's repo and clone it
gh repo fork username/repo --clone

# keep your fork in sync with upstream
git remote add upstream https://github.com/original/repo.git
git fetch upstream
git merge upstream/main
# or
gh repo sync

# undo last commit (keep changes)
git reset --soft HEAD~1

# undo last commit (discard changes)
git reset --hard HEAD~1

# undo changes to a file
git checkout -- filename.js

# undo all unstaged changes
git restore .

# revert a pushed commit (safe — creates new commit)
git revert abc1234
git push

# stash changes temporarily
git stash
git stash pop           # bring them back
git stash list          # see all stashes
git stash drop          # delete top stash

# pull latest from main
git pull origin main

# pull with rebase (cleaner history)
git pull --rebase origin main

# if you have conflicts after pull
# → open the conflicted files
# → look for <<<<<<< HEAD markers
# → fix manually
# → then
git add .
git rebase --continue
# or if merging
git merge --continue

# abort if things go wrong
git rebase --abort
git merge --abort

# see what's changed
git status
git status -s           # short version

# see what changed in files
git diff
git diff --staged       # changes you've staged

# commit history
git log
git log --oneline       # compact
git log --oneline --graph --all    # visual branch tree

# who changed what line
git blame filename.js

# search commits
git log --grep="navbar"
git log --author="yourname"

# open repo in browser
gh repo view --web

# see CI runs
gh run list
gh run watch            # watch current run live

# open issues
gh issue list
gh issue create --title "bug: trackpad not working"

# create a release
gh release create v1.0.0 --generate-notes

# create a gist from a file
gh gist create file.js --public

cd ~/notes-site

# add a new note
cp ~/Downloads/new-note.md src/
# add it to ORDER array in build.sh
nano build.sh

# build and push
bash build.sh
git add -A
git commit -m "chore: add new-note"
git push

# watch github pages deploy
gh run list

cd ~/visual-site

# start a new page
git checkout -b feature/new-tool-page

# work on the page...

git add -A
git commit -m "feat: add binary-search visualizer page"
git push -u origin HEAD
gh pr create --title "feat: binary search page"
gh pr merge --squash --delete-branch
git checkout main && git pull