spotube/gh_2.76.2_macOS_amd64/share/man/man1/gh-api.1

.nh
.TH "GH-API" "1" "Jul 2025" "GitHub CLI 2.76.2" "GitHub CLI manual"

.SH NAME
gh-api - Make an authenticated GitHub API request


.SH SYNOPSIS
\fBgh api <endpoint> [flags]\fR


.SH DESCRIPTION
Makes an authenticated HTTP request to the GitHub API and prints the response.

.PP
The endpoint argument should either be a path of a GitHub API v3 endpoint, or
\fBgraphql\fR to access the GitHub API v4.

.PP
Placeholder values \fB{owner}\fR, \fB{repo}\fR, and \fB{branch}\fR in the endpoint
argument will get replaced with values from the repository of the current
directory or the repository specified in the \fBGH_REPO\fR environment variable.
Note that in some shells, for example PowerShell, you may need to enclose
any value that contains \fB{...}\fR in quotes to prevent the shell from
applying special meaning to curly braces.

.PP
The \fB-p/--preview\fR flag enables opting into previews, which are feature-flagged,
experimental API endpoints or behaviors. The API expects opt-in via the \fBAccept\fR
header with format \fBapplication/vnd.github.<preview-name>-preview+json\fR and this
command facilitates that via \fB--preview <preview-name>\fR\&. To send a request for
the corsair and scarlet witch previews, you could use \fB-p corsair,scarlet-witch\fR
or \fB--preview corsair --preview scarlet-witch\fR\&.

.PP
The default HTTP request method is \fBGET\fR normally and \fBPOST\fR if any parameters
were added. Override the method with \fB--method\fR\&.

.PP
Pass one or more \fB-f/--raw-field\fR values in \fBkey=value\fR format to add static string
parameters to the request payload. To add non-string or placeholder-determined values, see
\fB-F/--field\fR below. Note that adding request parameters will automatically switch the
request method to \fBPOST\fR\&. To send the parameters as a \fBGET\fR query string instead, use
\fB--method GET\fR\&.

.PP
The \fB-F/--field\fR flag has magic type conversion based on the format of the value:
.IP \(bu 2
literal values \fBtrue\fR, \fBfalse\fR, \fBnull\fR, and integer numbers get converted to
appropriate JSON types;
.IP \(bu 2
placeholder values \fB{owner}\fR, \fB{repo}\fR, and \fB{branch}\fR get populated with values
from the repository of the current directory;
.IP \(bu 2
if the value starts with \fB@\fR, the rest of the value is interpreted as a
filename to read the value from. Pass \fB-\fR to read from standard input.

.PP
For GraphQL requests, all fields other than \fBquery\fR and \fBoperationName\fR are
interpreted as GraphQL variables.

.PP
To pass nested parameters in the request payload, use \fBkey[subkey]=value\fR syntax when
declaring fields. To pass nested values as arrays, declare multiple fields with the
syntax \fBkey[]=value1\fR, \fBkey[]=value2\fR\&. To pass an empty array, use \fBkey[]\fR without a
value.

.PP
To pass pre-constructed JSON or payloads in other formats, a request body may be read
from file specified by \fB--input\fR\&. Use \fB-\fR to read from standard input. When passing the
request body this way, any parameters specified via field flags are added to the query
string of the endpoint URL.

.PP
In \fB--paginate\fR mode, all pages of results will sequentially be requested until
there are no more pages of results. For GraphQL requests, this requires that the
original query accepts an \fB$endCursor: String\fR variable and that it fetches the
\fBpageInfo{ hasNextPage, endCursor }\fR set of fields from a collection. Each page is a separate
JSON array or object. Pass \fB--slurp\fR to wrap all pages of JSON arrays or objects
into an outer JSON array.


.SH OPTIONS
.TP
\fB--cache\fR \fB<duration>\fR
Cache the response, e.g. "3600s", "60m", "1h"

.TP
\fB-F\fR, \fB--field\fR \fB<key=value>\fR
Add a typed parameter in key=value format

.TP
\fB-H\fR, \fB--header\fR \fB<key:value>\fR
Add a HTTP request header in key:value format

.TP
\fB--hostname\fR \fB<string>\fR
The GitHub hostname for the request (default "github.com")

.TP
\fB-i\fR, \fB--include\fR
Include HTTP response status line and headers in the output

.TP
\fB--input\fR \fB<file>\fR
The file to use as body for the HTTP request (use "-" to read from standard input)

.TP
\fB-q\fR, \fB--jq\fR \fB<string>\fR
Query to select values from the response using jq syntax

.TP
\fB-X\fR, \fB--method\fR \fB<string> (default "GET")\fR
The HTTP method for the request

.TP
\fB--paginate\fR
Make additional HTTP requests to fetch all pages of results

.TP
\fB-p\fR, \fB--preview\fR \fB<strings>\fR
Opt into GitHub API previews (names should omit '-preview')

.TP
\fB-f\fR, \fB--raw-field\fR \fB<key=value>\fR
Add a string parameter in key=value format

.TP
\fB--silent\fR
Do not print the response body

.TP
\fB--slurp\fR
Use with "--paginate" to return an array of all pages of either JSON arrays or objects

.TP
\fB-t\fR, \fB--template\fR \fB<string>\fR
Format JSON output using a Go template; see "gh help formatting"

.TP
\fB--verbose\fR
Include full HTTP request and response in the output


.SH EXIT CODES
0: Successful execution

.PP
1: Error

.PP
2: Command canceled

.PP
4: Authentication required

.PP
NOTE: Specific commands may have additional exit codes. Refer to the command's help for more information.


.SH EXAMPLE
.EX
# List releases in the current repository
$ gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/releases

# Post an issue comment
$ gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/123/comments -f body='Hi from CLI'

# Post nested parameter read from a file
$ gh api gists -F 'files[myfile.txt][content]=@myfile.txt'

# Add parameters to a GET request
$ gh api -X GET search/issues -f q='repo:cli/cli is:open remote'

# Set a custom HTTP header
$ gh api -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github.v3.raw+json' ...

# Opt into GitHub API previews
$ gh api --preview baptiste,nebula ...

# Print only specific fields from the response
$ gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues --jq '.[].title'

# Use a template for the output
$ gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues --template \\
  '{{range .}}{{.title}} ({{.labels | pluck "name" | join ", " | color "yellow"}}){{"\\n"}}{{end}}'

# Update allowed values of the "environment" custom property in a deeply nested array
$ gh api -X PATCH /orgs/{org}/properties/schema \\
   -F 'properties[][property_name]=environment' \\
   -F 'properties[][default_value]=production' \\
   -F 'properties[][allowed_values][]=staging' \\
   -F 'properties[][allowed_values][]=production'

# List releases with GraphQL
$ gh api graphql -F owner='{owner}' -F name='{repo}' -f query='
  query($name: String!, $owner: String!) {
    repository(owner: $owner, name: $name) {
      releases(last: 3) {
        nodes { tagName }
      }
    }
  }
\&'

# List all repositories for a user
$ gh api graphql --paginate -f query='
  query($endCursor: String) {
    viewer {
      repositories(first: 100, after: $endCursor) {
        nodes { nameWithOwner }
        pageInfo {
          hasNextPage
          endCursor
        }
      }
    }
  }
\&'

# Get the percentage of forks for the current user
$ gh api graphql --paginate --slurp -f query='
  query($endCursor: String) {
    viewer {
      repositories(first: 100, after: $endCursor) {
        nodes { isFork }
        pageInfo {
          hasNextPage
          endCursor
        }
      }
    }
  }
\&' | jq 'def count(e): reduce e as $_ (0;.+1);
[.[].data.viewer.repositories.nodes[]] as $r | count(select($r[].isFork))/count($r[])'

.EE


.SH SEE ALSO
\fBgh(1)\fR