How to use the command "glab issue" (with examples)

The “glab issue” command allows users to manage GitLab issues. It provides various functionalities such as viewing, creating, listing, reopening, and filtering issues based on specific criteria. This article will illustrate each of these use cases with examples.

Use case 1: Display a specific issue

Code:

glab issue view issue_number

Motivation: This use case is helpful when you want to view a specific issue in the terminal without opening a web browser.

Explanation:

• glab issue view is the command to display a specific issue.
• issue_number is the number assigned to the issue you want to display.

Example output:

Issue: 123
Title: Fix bug in login functionality
Description: The login feature is not working properly. Need to investigate and fix the issue.
Status: Open

Use case 2: Display a specific issue in the default web browser

Code:

glab issue view issue_number --web

Motivation: This use case is useful when you prefer viewing an issue in the default web browser instead of the terminal.

Explanation:

• --web is an argument that specifies to open the issue in the default web browser.

Example output: The issue with the specified number opens in the default web browser.

Use case 3: Create a new issue in the default web browser

Code:

glab issue create --web

Motivation: This use case is beneficial when you want to quickly create a new issue without opening a web browser or leaving the terminal.

Explanation:

• glab issue create is the command to create a new issue.
• --web is an argument that specifies to create the issue in the default web browser.

Example output: A new issue creation page opens in the default web browser.

Use case 4: List the last 10 issues with the “bug” label

Code:

glab issue list --per-page 10 --label "bug"

Motivation: This use case is helpful when you want to retrieve a specific number of issues with a particular label, such as “bug”.

Explanation:

• glab issue list is the command to list issues.
• --per-page is an argument that specifies the number of issues to display per page (in this case, 10).
• --label is an argument that filters the issues based on a specific label, such as “bug”.

Example output:

Issues with "bug" label:
1. #123 - Title: Fix bug in login functionality, Status: Open
2. #234 - Title: Investigate network connectivity bug, Status: Open
3. #456 - Title: UI bug in home page layout, Status: Closed

Use case 5: List closed issues made by a specific user

Code:

glab issue list --closed --author username

Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to view all closed issues made by a specific user.

Explanation:

• --closed is an argument that filters the issues to only display closed issues.
• --author is an argument that filters the issues based on the username of the author.

Example output:

Closed issues by "username":
1. #456 - Title: UI bug in home page layout, Status: Closed
2. #567 - Title: Refactoring code, Status: Closed

Use case 6: Reopen a specific issue

Code:

glab issue reopen issue_number

Motivation: This use case is helpful when you want to reopen a previously closed issue.

Explanation:

• glab issue reopen is the command to reopen a specific issue.
• issue_number is the number assigned to the issue you want to reopen.

Example output: The specified issue is reopened and changes its status to “Open”.

Conclusion:

The “glab issue” command provides a comprehensive set of functionalities to manage GitLab issues. Whether it is viewing, creating, listing, reopening, or filtering issues, this command offers a convenient way to handle various issue-related tasks from the terminal. By understanding the different use cases and their respective command line arguments, users can effectively utilize “glab issue” to streamline their GitLab issue management workflows.