GitHub Repository Management

Create, clone, fork, configure, and manage GitHub repositories using the gh CLI and git. Covers repo creation, branch management, secrets, and repo settings.

When to Use

• User wants to create a new GitHub repository
• User wants to clone or fork an existing repository
• User wants to list repositories in an organization or for a user
• User wants to manage branches (list, create, protect, delete)
• User wants to add or list GitHub Actions secrets

How to Use

1. Create a new repository

# Create public repo and clone locally
gh repo create my-new-project --public --clone

# Create private repo with description
gh repo create my-new-project --private --description "Internal API service"

# Create repo from local directory
cd "C:\Users\<you>\Projects\myapp"
gh repo create my-new-project --source=. --private --push

2. Clone a repository

# Clone via gh (handles auth automatically)
gh repo clone owner/repo-name

# Clone to specific directory
gh repo clone owner/repo-name ./local-folder

# Clone with SSH explicitly
git clone git@github.com:owner/repo-name.git

3. Fork a repository

# Fork to your account and clone locally
gh repo fork owner/repo-name --clone

# Fork to an organization
gh repo fork owner/repo-name --org my-org

4. List repositories

# Your repos
gh repo list --limit 30

# Organization repos
gh repo list my-org --limit 50

# Filter by language
gh repo list --language python --limit 20

5. Manage branches

# List remote branches
git branch -r

# Create and push a new branch
git checkout -b feature/my-feature
git push -u origin feature/my-feature

# Delete a remote branch
git push origin --delete feature/old-branch

# List branches via gh
gh api repos/owner/repo/branches | python -m json.tool

6. View and update repo settings

# View repo details
gh repo view owner/repo-name