github-repo-manager

GitHub Repo Manager

This skill helps manage GitHub repositories using GitHub CLI (gh). Includes basic operations like listing, creating, deleting, searching, and updating repo properties.

When to Use

• When user wants to view their or others' repositories
• When need to create a new repository on GitHub
• When need to delete a repository (careful - irreversible!)
• When need to search repositories by keyword or owner
• When need to change visibility (public/private) of repo
• When need to fork a repo to your account
• When need to rename or archive repository

Prerequisites

Check authentication before use:

gh auth status

If not logged in, run:

gh auth login

Commands

Below are basic and advanced commands for managing GitHub repositories.

1. List Repositories

List all repositories for a user:

gh repo list <username> --limit 100

List with JSON for easier parsing:

gh repo list <username> --limit 100 --json name,visibility,description,createdAt,updatedAt

Filter by visibility:

gh repo list <username> --visibility public
gh repo list <username> --visibility private

2. View Repository Details

View detailed information of a repo:

gh repo view <owner>/<repo>

View details in JSON format:

gh repo view <owner>/<repo> --json name,description,visibility,defaultBranch,url,createdAt,updatedAt,pushedAt

3. Search Repositories

Search repos by owner:

gh search repos --owner <username> --limit 20

Search by keyword:

gh search repos "<keyword>" --owner <username> --limit 20

4. Delete Repository

WARNING: Permanent deletion, cannot be recovered!

gh repo delete <owner>/<repo> --confirm

5. Create Repository

Create new (empty) repo:

gh repo create <repo-name> --public
gh repo create <repo-name> --private
gh repo create <repo-name> --public --clone

Create repo from current directory (push code to GitHub):

gh repo create <repo-name> --source . --public

6. Rename Repository

Rename repository (run in repo directory or specify owner/repo):

gh repo rename <new-name>

7. Change Visibility

Switch between public and private:

gh repo edit <owner>/<repo> --visibility public
gh repo edit <owner>/<repo> --visibility private

8. Fork Repository

Fork a repo to your account:

gh repo fork <owner>/<repo>

9. Archive Repository

Archive repository (cannot push but can still clone):

gh repo edit <owner>/<repo> --archive

Common Workflows

View all repos for a user

gh repo list dt418 --json name,visibility,description,createdAt

Delete multiple repos at once

# Delete each repo
gh repo delete dt418/repo1 --confirm
gh repo delete dt418/repo2 --confirm

Find unused repos (over 1 year old)

gh repo list dt418 --limit 100 --json name,createdAt,updatedAt | jq '.[] | select(.updatedAt < "2025-01-01")'

Check if repo is a fork

gh repo view dt418/repo-name --json isFork

Output Format

By default gh CLI outputs to terminal. Use jq to parse:

# Get list of repo names
gh repo list dt418 --json name | jq '.[].name'

# Filter private repos
gh repo list dt418 --json name,visibility | jq '.[] | select(.visibility == "PRIVATE")'

# Count number of repos
gh repo list dt418 --json name | jq 'length'

# Get repo descriptions
gh repo list dt418 --json name,description | jq '.[] | select(.description != null)'

Tips

• Always use --confirm when deleting to avoid interactive prompts
• Use gh api to call GitHub API directly when advanced operations needed
• Run gh help <command> to see more options
• Check gh auth status before performing operations
• For repos not owned by you, need admin permissions to make changes