Managing GitHub Releases with gh release (with examples)

GitHub’s “gh” command-line tool provides a simple and convenient way to manage releases in a GitHub repository. The “gh release” command allows you to perform various actions related to releases, such as listing releases, creating new releases, viewing release information, deleting releases, downloading release assets, and uploading assets to a release. In this article, we will explore these different use cases of the “gh release” command, along with code examples for each one.

1: List releases in a GitHub repository

To list the releases in a GitHub repository, you can use the following command:

gh release list

Motivation: This command is useful when you want to quickly get an overview of all the releases in a repository, including their tags, release dates, and other relevant information.

Explanation: The list subcommand lists releases in a GitHub repository. This command does not require any additional arguments.

Example Output:

Release           Tag       Published
v1.0.0            v1.0.0    2021-01-01
v1.1.0            v1.1.0    2021-02-01
v1.2.0            v1.2.0    2021-03-01

2: View information about a specific release

To view detailed information about a specific release, you can use the following command:

gh release view <tag>

Motivation: This command is useful when you want to see the details of a particular release, including release notes, assets, and other metadata.

Explanation: The view subcommand displays information about a specific release. You need to provide the <tag> argument, which specifies the tag of the release you want to view.

Example Output:

Release: v1.0.0
Tag: v1.0.0
Published: 2021-01-01
Author: John Doe <johndoe@example.com>

Changelog:
- Added feature A
- Fixed bug B

Assets:
- asset1.zip
- asset2.tar.gz

3: Create a new release

To create a new release in a GitHub repository, you can use the following command:

gh release create <tag>

Motivation: This command allows you to easily create a new release for your repository, including release notes and optional release assets.

Explanation: The create subcommand creates a new release in a GitHub repository. You need to provide the <tag> argument, which specifies the tag of the release you want to create. By default, this command will open an editor to enter the release title and description.

Example Output:

Created release v1.3.0

4: Delete a specific release

To delete a specific release from a GitHub repository, you can use the following command:

gh release delete <tag>

Motivation: This command is useful when you want to remove a release that is no longer needed or contains incorrect information.

Explanation: The delete subcommand deletes a specific release from a GitHub repository. You need to provide the <tag> argument, which specifies the tag of the release you want to delete. This command will prompt for confirmation before deleting the release.

Example Output:

Deleted release v1.2.0

5: Download assets from a specific release

To download assets from a specific release in a GitHub repository, you can use the following command:

gh release download <tag>

Motivation: This command allows you to download release assets without having to manually navigate to the release page in a web browser.

Explanation: The download subcommand downloads assets from a specific release in a GitHub repository. You need to provide the <tag> argument, which specifies the tag of the release from which you want to download assets. The assets will be saved in the current working directory.

Example Output: No output is shown when assets are successfully downloaded.

6: Upload assets to a specific release

To upload assets to a specific release in a GitHub repository, you can use the following command:

gh release upload <tag> <path/to/file1> <path/to/file2> ...

Motivation: This command is useful when you want to add release assets, such as binary files, documents, or images, to a specific release.

Explanation: The upload subcommand uploads assets to a specific release in a GitHub repository. You need to provide the <tag> argument, which specifies the tag of the release to which you want to upload assets. You also need to provide the <path/to/file1>, <path/to/file2>, etc., arguments to specify the paths of the files you want to upload as assets.

Example Output: No output is shown when assets are successfully uploaded.

In this article, we have learned about different use cases of the “gh release” command and provided code examples for each one. These examples demonstrate how to list releases, view release information, create new releases, delete specific releases, download release assets, and upload assets to releases using the “gh release” command. Utilizing the “gh” command-line tool, repository maintainers can easily manage and interact with releases directly from the command line, enhancing their productivity and workflow when working with GitHub repositories.