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Chapter 5: GitHub CLI and Collaboration

GitHub is the most popular platform for hosting and collaborating on Git repositories. While the GitHub web interface is powerful, the GitHub Command Line Interface (CLI) enhances productivity by allowing you to manage repositories, issues, and pull requests directly from your terminal. This chapter focuses on using the GitHub CLI and best practices for team collaboration.

What is GitHub CLI?

GitHub CLI is a command-line tool that integrates GitHub workflows into your terminal. With GitHub CLI, you can:

  1. Clone repositories.
  2. Create and merge pull requests.
  3. Manage issues and discussions.
  4. Perform actions on repositories without switching to the web interface.

Installing GitHub CLI

On Linux

sudo apt update
sudo apt install gh

On macOS

Install using Homebrew:

brew install gh

On Windows

Download the installer from cli.github.com.

Authentication

Authenticate with your GitHub account:

gh auth login

Follow the interactive prompts to log in via the web or SSH.

Essential GitHub CLI Commands

Repository Management

  1. Cloning a Repository

    gh repo clone username/repository-name

  2. Creating a New Repository

    gh repo create repository-name
    • Use --public or --private to set visibility.

  3. Viewing Repository Details

    gh repo view

Pull Requests

  1. Creating a Pull Request

    gh pr create --title "Add feature X" --body "Description of the feature."

  2. Viewing Pull Requests

    gh pr list

  3. Checking Out a Pull Request

    gh pr checkout pull-request-number

  4. Merging a Pull Request

    gh pr merge pull-request-number

Issues

  1. Creating an Issue

    gh issue create --title "Bug in feature Y" --body "Steps to reproduce the issue."

  2. Viewing Issues

    gh issue list

  3. Closing an Issue

    gh issue close issue-number

Discussions

Engage with the community via GitHub Discussions:

gh discussion list

Notifications

Manage notifications directly from the CLI:

gh notification list

Collaboration Best Practices

Branch Naming Conventions

Use descriptive and consistent names for branches, such as:

  • feature/add-login
  • bugfix/fix-crash
  • hotfix/update-logo

Commit Messages

Write meaningful commit messages:

  1. Start with a verb: e.g., "Add," "Fix," "Update."
  2. Describe the change: e.g., "Fix crash on login screen."

Code Reviews

  • Review pull requests thoroughly.
  • Use comments to suggest improvements.
  • Approve or request changes as needed.

Managing Issues

  • Assign issues to team members.
  • Use labels (e.g., bug, enhancement) for better tracking.
  • Close issues automatically with commit messages: 
    Fixes #123

Use Project Boards

Organize tasks using GitHub Project Boards:

  1. Create columns for stages (e.g., To Do, In Progress, Done).
  2. Move cards as tasks progress.

Hands-On Exercises

Exercise 1: Create a Repository

  1. Create a new repository using the CLI: 
    gh repo create my-project --public
  2. Clone the repository: 
    gh repo clone username/my-project

Exercise 2: Manage Pull Requests

  1. Create a branch: 
    git checkout -b add-readme
  2. Add and commit a README file: 
    echo "# My Project" > README.md
git add README.md
git commit -m "Add README"
  3. Push the branch and create a pull request: 
    git push origin add-readme
gh pr create --title "Add README" --body "Initial README file."
  4. Merge the pull request: 
    gh pr merge

Summary

In this chapter, you learned:

  • How to use GitHub CLI for repository management, pull requests, and issues.
  • Best practices for collaboration on GitHub.

GitHub CLI enhances productivity by streamlining GitHub workflows. In the next chapter, we’ll explore virtualization and containerization with tools like Docker.