gh-help
Display GitHub CLI help information
TLDR
Display general help
Display help for the gh help subcommand
Display help about environment variables that can be used with gh
Display a markdown reference of all gh commands
Display help about formatting JSON output from gh using jq
Display help about using gh with MinTTY
Display help for a subcommand
Display help for a subcommand action
SYNOPSIS
gh help [<command>] [--all|-a] [--json|-J] [--man|-m]
PARAMETERS
<command>
Subcommand to show detailed help for (positional argument)
-a, --all
Show all available commands, including aliases and hidden ones
-J, --json
Output commands in machine-readable JSON format
-m, --man
Generate and display the manual page for the command
DESCRIPTION
The gh help command is a built-in utility within the GitHub CLI (gh), an official command-line tool for interacting with GitHub. It provides detailed usage information, options, and examples for the gh tool itself or any of its subcommands.
When invoked without arguments, it lists all available top-level commands with brief descriptions. Specifying a subcommand like gh help repo drills down into that command's syntax, flags, and examples. This makes it invaluable for quick reference during scripting, automation, or daily GitHub workflows from the terminal.
Key features include formatted output for readability, support for JSON export for programmatic use, and man page generation. It's especially useful for developers managing repositories, issues, pull requests, and more via CLI, reducing reliance on web interfaces or external docs. Output is context-aware, adapting to the specified command's complexity.
CAVEATS
Requires gh to be installed and authenticated with GitHub. JSON output structure may evolve between versions; parse cautiously in scripts.
EXAMPLES
gh help # List all top-level commands
gh help pr # Help for pull request subcommands
gh help --json # JSON output of all commands
gh help repo --man # View repo command man page
AUTHENTICATION
Help content may reference auth-dependent features; run gh auth login first for full context.
HISTORY
Introduced with GitHub CLI v0.5.0 in February 2020. GitHub CLI, developed by GitHub (now Microsoft), reached v1.0 in December 2020 and is actively maintained with regular updates for new GitHub features.
