GitHub Discussions CLI

A powerful command-line tool for interacting with GitHub Discussions without opening a browser. Perfect for developers who want to quickly access, read, and contribute to discussions while staying in their terminal.

Features

• 📋 List discussions in any repository
• 🔍 Search discussions with text matching and filters
• 👀 View discussion details and comments
• 💬 Post comments to discussions
• ✨ Create new discussions
• ✏️ Edit discussion titles and descriptions
• 📊 Repository statistics and analytics
• 🏷️ Filter by category, author, or comment count
• ⚙️ Configurable settings and authentication
• 🎨 Multiple output formats (table, JSON, markdown)
• 🚀 Fast and lightweight CLI interface
• 🔒 Secure token management
• ⚡ Enhanced error handling with retry logic
• 🎯 Visual feedback with spinners and progress bars

Installation

Via npm (Recommended)

Install globally from npm registry:

npm install -g @taizo-pro/github-discussions-cli

After installation, both the gh-discussions and ghd commands will be available globally in your terminal. You can use either command interchangeably.

Alternative: npx (No Installation Required)

You can also use the tool without installing it globally:

npx @taizo-pro/github-discussions-cli --help

Note: Replace gh-discussions with npx @taizo-pro/github-discussions-cli in all usage examples if using npx.

Quick Start

1. Install the CLI tool:

   npm install -g @taizo-pro/github-discussions-cli

2. Set up authentication:

   # Use either command
   gh-discussions config
   # or the shorter alias
   ghd config

3. Test with a public repository:

   # Use either command format
   gh-discussions list microsoft/vscode
   # or shorter version
   ghd list microsoft/vscode

4. View a specific discussion:

   gh-discussions show 1 microsoft/vscode

5. Try the new search and statistics features:

   # Search for discussions about bugs
   gh-discussions search "bug" microsoft/vscode
      
   # View repository statistics
   gh-discussions stats microsoft/vscode

Setup

1. Create a GitHub Personal Access Token

Before using the CLI, you need to create a GitHub Personal Access Token with the required permissions:

1. Sign in to GitHub and go to your account settings

2. Navigate to Developer Settings

   • Click your profile picture (top-right corner)
   • Select Settings
   • Scroll down and click Developer settings (left sidebar)

3. Access Personal Access Tokens

   • Click Personal access tokens
   • Select Tokens (classic) or Fine-grained tokens

4. Create New Token (Classic)

   • Click Generate new token → Generate new token (classic)
   • Give your token a descriptive name (e.g., "GitHub Discussions CLI")
   • Set expiration (recommended: 90 days or custom)
   • Select the following scopes (⚠️ Important - choose based on your needs):

   For Private Repositories:

   • ✅ repo (Full control of private repositories)
   • This single scope provides access to discussions in private repositories

   For Public Repositories Only:

   • ✅ public_repo (Access public repositories)
   • This is sufficient if you only work with public repository discussions

   Additional Recommended Scopes:

   • ✅ read:user (Read user profile data) - For displaying author information
   • ✅ user:email (Access user email) - For proper attribution

   ⚠️ Security Note: Only select repo if you need private repository access, as it grants broad permissions.

   • Click Generate token

5. Alternative: Fine-grained Personal Access Tokens (Beta) If you prefer more granular control, you can use fine-grained tokens:

   • Click Generate new token → Generate new token (beta)
   • Resource owner: Select your account or organization
   • Repository access: Choose specific repositories or "All repositories"
   • Repository permissions:
     • ✅ Discussions: Read and write
     • ✅ Metadata: Read (required)
     • ✅ Contents (if creating discussions with file references): Read

   📝 Note: Fine-grained tokens are currently in beta and may have limitations.

6. Copy Your Token

   • ⚠️ Important: Copy the token immediately - you won't be able to see it again
   • Store it securely (you'll need it in the next step)

2. Configure the CLI Tool

Run the interactive configuration setup:

gh-discussions config

The setup will prompt you for:

• GitHub Token: Paste the token you created above
• Default Repository: Enter a repo in owner/repository format (optional)
• Output Format: Choose table, json, or markdown (default: table)

3. Verify Setup

Test your configuration:

# Show current configuration
gh-discussions config --show

# Test by listing discussions (replace with actual repo)
gh-discussions list owner/repository

Troubleshooting Token Issues

Common Error Messages and Solutions:

❌ "Bad credentials" / "Invalid token"

• Double-check that you copied the token correctly (no extra spaces)
• Ensure the token hasn't expired
• Try generating a new token

❌ "Resource not accessible by integration"

• For private repositories: You need the repo scope (classic tokens)
• For public repositories: public_repo scope is sufficient
• For fine-grained tokens: Ensure "Discussions" permission is set to "Read and write"

❌ "Not Found" errors

• Verify the repository exists and you have access to it
• Check that Discussions are enabled in the repository settings
• Ensure your token has access to the specific repository (for fine-grained tokens)

❌ "API rate limit exceeded"

• Wait for the rate limit to reset (usually 1 hour)
• Authenticated requests have higher rate limits than anonymous ones

Permission Requirements by Action:

| Action | Classic Token Scope | Fine-grained Permission | |--------|--------------------|-----------------------| | List discussions | public_repo (public) / repo (private) | Discussions: Read | | View discussion details | public_repo (public) / repo (private) | Discussions: Read | | Create comments | public_repo (public) / repo (private) | Discussions: Write | | Create discussions | public_repo (public) / repo (private) | Discussions: Write | | Edit discussions | public_repo (public) / repo (private) | Discussions: Write |

Quick Setup Guide:

🎯 Most Common Setup (Public + Private repos):

✅ repo (Full control of private repositories)

🎯 Public Repositories Only:

✅ public_repo (Access public repositories)
✅ read:user (Read user profile data)

🎯 Fine-grained Token (Recommended for specific repos):

Repository permissions:
✅ Discussions: Read and write
✅ Metadata: Read

Security Best Practices

• Never share your token or commit it to version control
• Use the minimum required scopes for your use case
• Set reasonable expiration dates and rotate tokens regularly
• Revoke unused tokens from GitHub settings
• Use fine-grained tokens when possible for better security
• Test with public repositories first before granting private repo access

Usage

Note: If using npx instead of global installation, replace gh-discussions with npx @taizo-pro/github-discussions-cli in all examples below.

List Discussions

# List discussions in current/default repository
gh-discussions list

# List discussions in specific repository
gh-discussions list owner/repository

# Limit number of results
gh-discussions list --first 10

# Filter by category
gh-discussions list --category General

# Filter by author
gh-discussions list --author username

# Show only discussions with comments
gh-discussions list --has-comments

# Show only discussions without comments
gh-discussions list --no-comments

# Sort by creation date (ascending)
gh-discussions list --sort created --order asc

# Output as JSON
gh-discussions list --format json

# Output as markdown table
gh-discussions list --format markdown

View Discussion Details

# Show discussion by number
gh-discussions show 42

# Show discussion in specific repository
gh-discussions show 42 owner/repository

Create Comments

# Add comment with message
gh-discussions comment 42 "Great discussion!"

# Open editor for longer comments
gh-discussions comment 42 --editor

# Comment in specific repository
gh-discussions comment 42 "Thanks!" owner/repository

Search Discussions

# Search for discussions containing "bug"
gh-discussions search "bug"

# Search in specific repository
gh-discussions search "feature request" owner/repository

# Search only in titles
gh-discussions search "announcement" --in title

# Search with author filter
gh-discussions search "help" --author username

# Search with category filter
gh-discussions search "question" --category General

# Sort search results by comments
gh-discussions search "popular" --sort comments --order desc

# Limit search results
gh-discussions search "recent" --limit 5

# Output search results as JSON
gh-discussions search "api" --format json

Repository Statistics

# Show basic statistics for current/default repository
gh-discussions stats

# Show statistics for specific repository
gh-discussions stats owner/repository

# Show detailed statistics with recent activity
gh-discussions stats --detailed

Create Discussions

# Interactive creation
gh-discussions create

# With title and body
gh-discussions create "Bug Report" "I found a bug..."

# Open editor for body
gh-discussions create "Feature Request" --editor

# Specify category
gh-discussions create "Question" "How do I..." --category general

Edit Discussions

# Interactive editing (opens editor)
gh-discussions edit 42

# Edit title only
gh-discussions edit 42 --title "Updated Title"

# Edit description only
gh-discussions edit 42 --body "Updated description"

# Edit both title and description
gh-discussions edit 42 --title "New Title" --body "New description"

# Force interactive mode
gh-discussions edit 42 --interactive

# Edit in specific repository
gh-discussions edit 42 --title "Update" owner/repository

Configuration

# Show current configuration
gh-discussions config --show

# Set GitHub token
gh-discussions config --token ghp_xxxxxxxxxxxx

# Set default repository
gh-discussions config --repo owner/repository

# Set default output format
gh-discussions config --format table

# Clear all configuration
gh-discussions config --clear

Configuration Files

The tool stores configuration in ~/.github-discussions/:

• config.json - General settings (default repo, output format)
• token - GitHub Personal Access Token (stored securely)

Development

For developers who want to contribute to this project:

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• TypeScript
• npm

Setup for Development

git clone https://github.com/taizo-pro/github-discussions-cli.git
cd github-discussions-cli
npm install

Development Commands

# Build the project
npm run build

# Build and watch for changes during development
npm run build:watch

# Run in development mode (uses ts-node)
npm run dev

# Run tests
npm test

# Watch tests during development
npm run test:watch

# Lint code
npm run lint

# Format code
npm run format

Testing

# Run all tests
npm test

# Run with coverage
npm run test -- --coverage

# Run specific test file
npm test github-client.test.ts

Note: This section is for contributors and developers. End users should install via npm as described in the Installation section.

Command Reference

Available Commands

| Command | Description | Features | |---------|-------------|----------| | list [repo] | List discussions in a repository | Enhanced with filters (v1.1.0) | | show <number> [repo] | Show discussion details and comments | Core feature | | comment <number> <message> [repo] | Add a comment to a discussion | Core feature | | create [title] [body] [repo] | Create a new discussion | Core feature | | edit <number> [repo] | Edit discussion title and/or description | Added in v1.3.0 | | search <query> [repo] | Search discussions by text | Added in v1.1.0 | | stats [repo] | Show repository discussion statistics | Added in v1.1.0 | | config | Configure authentication and settings | Core feature |

Command Options

List Command

• --first <number> - Number of discussions to fetch (default: 20)
• --category <name> - Filter by category name
• --author <username> - Filter by author username
• --has-comments - Only show discussions with comments
• --no-comments - Only show discussions without comments
• --sort <field> - Sort by field (created, updated)
• --order <direction> - Sort order (asc, desc)
• --format <format> - Output format (table, json, markdown)

Search Command

• --in <fields> - Search in specific fields (title, body, comments)
• --author <username> - Filter by author
• --category <category> - Filter by category
• --state <state> - Filter by state (open, closed)
• --sort <field> - Sort by field (created, updated, comments)
• --order <direction> - Sort order (asc, desc)
• --limit <number> - Maximum results to return
• --format <format> - Output format (table, json, markdown)

Edit Command

• --title <title> - New title for the discussion
• --body <body> - New body/description for the discussion
• --interactive - Force interactive mode to edit title and body

Stats Command

• --detailed - Show detailed statistics with recent activity

API Documentation

Core Classes

GitHubClient

Main client for interacting with GitHub's GraphQL API.

AuthManager

Handles secure storage and validation of GitHub tokens.

ConfigManager

Manages user configuration and preferences.

EnhancedErrorHandler

Provides comprehensive error handling with retry logic and user-friendly messages.

Error Handling

The tool provides detailed error messages and suggestions:

• Authentication errors: Invalid or expired tokens
• Network errors: Connection issues
• API errors: GitHub API-specific errors
• Configuration errors: Invalid settings or file permissions

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Support

• 🐛 Report bugs by creating an issue
• 💡 Request features by creating an issue
• 💬 Ask questions in GitHub Discussions
• 📖 Check the documentation in this README

Roadmap

• [x] Basic CLI functionality
• [x] Authentication and configuration
• [x] Discussion listing and viewing
• [x] Comment creation
• [x] Discussion creation
• [x] Discussion editing (title and description)
• [x] Short command alias (ghd)
• [x] npm package publication
• [x] Discussion search and filtering
• [x] Repository statistics and analytics
• [x] Enhanced error handling with retry logic
• [x] GitHub Actions CI/CD
• [ ] Reaction support (👍, ❤️, 🎉, etc.)
• [ ] Markdown editing improvements
• [ ] Configuration import/export
• [ ] Bulk operations
• [ ] Discussion templates