GitHub Search
Overview
Search across all GitHub entity types from the terminal using gh search. Use this for library evaluation, debugging, dependency triage, security monitoring, and learning from real-world code.
Code Search
Find real-world usage patterns, API examples, and implementation references.
Core Commands
bash
# Search code across GitHub gh search code "useCallback" --language=typescript --limit 30 # Search in specific repo gh search code "createContext" --repo=facebook/react --limit 20 # Search with file extension or path gh search code "jest.config" --extension=ts gh search code "middleware" --path=src --language=javascript # Search in org repos gh search code "middleware" --owner=expressjs --limit 30
Pattern Discovery
bash
# Find how an API is used gh search code "axios.interceptors" --language=typescript --limit 30 # Find configuration patterns gh search code "tsconfig.json compilerOptions strict" --limit 20 # Find import/usage patterns gh search code "from '@tanstack/react-query'" --language=typescript --limit 30 # Find error handling patterns gh search code "try catch axios" --language=typescript --limit 20
Learning a New Library
bash
# Step 1: Find basic usage
gh search code "import { trpc }" --language=typescript --limit 20
# Step 2: Find initialization
gh search code "createTRPCRouter" --language=typescript --limit 20
# Step 3: Find error handling
gh search code "TRPCError" --language=typescript --limit 20
# Step 4: Find testing approaches
gh search code "trpc" --path=test --language=typescript --limit 15
JSON Output
bash
gh search code "prisma migrate" --json path,repository,textMatches --limit 10 gh search code "useEffect" --language=typescript --json path,repository --jq '.[] | "\(.repository.fullName)/\(.path)"'
Commit Search
Track change history, find when bugs were introduced, and understand project evolution.
Core Commands
bash
# Search commits across GitHub gh search commits "fix memory leak" --limit 30 # Search in specific repo gh search commits "refactor" --repo=facebook/react --limit 20 # Search by author gh search commits --repo=nodejs/node --author=addaleax --limit 30 # Search by date range gh search commits "performance" --repo=vercel/next.js --committer-date=">$(date -v-30d +%Y-%m-%d)" --limit 30
Bug Tracking
bash
# Find bug fixes gh search commits "fix bug" --repo=prisma/prisma --limit 30 # Find commits fixing specific issues gh search commits "fixes #123" --repo=owner/repo --limit 20 # Find reverts (indicate problems) gh search commits "revert" --repo=webpack/webpack --limit 20 # Find security fixes gh search commits "CVE" --repo=urllib3/urllib3 --limit 20
Understanding Feature Evolution
bash
FEATURE="streaming" gh search commits "$FEATURE" --repo=vercel/next.js --sort=committer-date --order=asc --limit 30 gh search commits "implement $FEATURE" --repo=vercel/next.js --limit 10
Debugging "When Did This Break?"
bash
# Find commits around suspected break time gh search commits --repo=owner/repo --committer-date="2024-01-15..2024-01-20" --limit 50 # Find commits touching specific area gh search commits "authentication" --repo=owner/repo --committer-date=">2024-01-01" --limit 30
Issue Search
Dependency triage, debugging, and security monitoring.
Core Commands
bash
# Search issues across GitHub gh search issues "memory leak" --limit 30 # Search in specific repo with filters gh search issues "crash on startup" --repo=facebook/react --limit 20 gh search issues --repo=nodejs/node --label=bug --state=open --limit 50 # Find issues with workarounds (highly commented) gh search issues "timeout" --repo=grpc/grpc-node --sort=comments --limit 15
Dependency Triage
bash
# Check open bugs in a dependency gh search issues --repo=axios/axios --label=bug --state=open --sort=created --limit 30 # Find breaking changes discussions gh search issues "breaking change" --repo=prisma/prisma --state=open --sort=reactions # Find security-related issues gh search issues "security" --repo=lodash/lodash --sort=created --limit 20 gh search issues "CVE" --repo=urllib3/urllib3
Incident Response
bash
# Search for known issue by error message ERROR_MSG="ENOTFOUND" gh search issues "$ERROR_MSG" --repo=nodejs/node --sort=reactions --limit 15 # Find workarounds in closed issues gh search issues "$ERROR_MSG" --repo=nodejs/node --state=closed --sort=comments --limit 10
Severity Assessment
bash
# High severity: many reactions gh search issues --repo=vercel/next.js --state=open --sort=reactions --limit 10 --json number,title,reactions,comments | jq '.[] | select(.reactions.total_count > 50)' # Recent surge (potential problem) gh search issues --repo=docker/docker-ce --state=open --sort=created --created=">$(date -v-7d +%Y-%m-%d)" --limit 30
Security Monitoring Script
bash
DEPS=("expressjs/express" "nodejs/node" "axios/axios")
for repo in "${DEPS[@]}"; do
echo "=== $repo ==="
gh search issues "security vulnerability" --repo=$repo --state=open --sort=created --limit 5
done
PR Search
Track breaking changes, find migrations, and monitor dependency updates.
Core Commands
bash
# Search PRs across GitHub gh search prs "breaking change" --limit 30 # Search in specific repo gh search prs "migration" --repo=prisma/prisma --state=merged --limit 20 # Find semver-major PRs gh search prs --repo=nodejs/node --label=semver-major --state=merged --sort=created --limit 30
Pre-Upgrade Assessment
bash
REPO="prisma/prisma" # Find breaking changes gh search prs "breaking" --repo=$REPO --state=merged --merged=">2023-01-01" --sort=created --limit 30 # Find migration-related PRs gh search prs "migration" --repo=$REPO --state=merged --limit 20 # Find deprecation notices gh search prs "deprecated" --repo=$REPO --state=merged --limit 20
Security Patches
bash
gh search prs "security" --repo=lodash/lodash --label=security --state=merged --limit 20 gh search prs "CVE" --repo=urllib3/urllib3 --state=merged --limit 15
Change Monitoring
bash
DEPS=("facebook/react" "vercel/next.js" "prisma/prisma")
for repo in "${DEPS[@]}"; do
echo "=== Recent merges in $repo ==="
gh search prs --repo=$repo --state=merged --merged=">$(date -v-7d +%Y-%m-%d)" --json number,title --jq '.[].title' | head -10
done
Repo Search
Library discovery, alternative assessment, and dependency evaluation.
Core Commands
bash
# Search by keywords gh search repos "state management react" --limit 20 # Filter by language and quality signals gh search repos "http client" --language=python --stars=">100" --sort=stars --limit 20 # Find actively maintained projects gh search repos "graphql client" --updated=">$(date -v-90d +%Y-%m-%d)" --stars=">100"
Library Discovery
bash
# Step 1: Broad search gh search repos "csv parser" --language=python --stars=">50" --sort=stars --limit 30 # Step 2: Narrow to maintained gh search repos "csv parser" --language=python --stars=">50" --updated=">$(date -v-180d +%Y-%m-%d)" --limit 15 # Step 3: Deep dive gh search repos "csv parser" --language=python --stars=">500" --json fullName,description,stargazersCount,forksCount,openIssuesCount,license,updatedAt
Health Scoring Heuristic
| Signal | Good | Warning | Bad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last update | < 30 days | 30-180 days | > 180 days |
| Open issues ratio | < 10% of stars | 10-30% | > 30% |
| Forks/Stars ratio | > 10% | 5-10% | < 5% |
| License | MIT, Apache-2.0, BSD | LGPL, MPL | GPL, No license |
Comparison Data
bash
REPO="owner/repo"
gh api repos/$REPO --jq '{stars: .stargazers_count, forks: .forks_count, issues: .open_issues_count, updated: .updated_at, license: .license.spdx_id}'
gh api repos/$REPO/contributors --jq 'length'
Search Operators Reference
| Operator | Example | Applies To |
|---|---|---|
--language | --language=python | code, repos |
--repo | --repo=owner/name | code, commits, issues, prs |
--path | --path=src | code |
--extension | --extension=tsx | code |
--owner | --owner=facebook | code, repos |
--state | --state=open | issues, prs |
--label | --label=bug | issues, prs |
--sort | --sort=stars | all types |
--author | --author=user | commits |
--stars | --stars=">100" | repos |
--updated | --updated=">DATE" | repos |
Quick Aliases
bash
gh alias set find-code '!gh search code "$1" --language="$2" --limit 30' gh alias set find-usage '!gh search code "import.*$1" --language=typescript --limit 30' gh alias set dep-issues '!gh search issues --repo="$1" --state=open --sort=reactions --limit 20' gh alias set dep-bugs '!gh search issues --repo="$1" --label=bug --state=open --limit 20' gh alias set breaking-prs '!gh search prs "breaking" --repo="$1" --state=merged --sort=created --limit 20' gh alias set find-lib '!gh search repos "$1" --language="$2" --stars=">100" --sort=stars --updated=">2024-01-01" --limit 20'
Verification
- •Search returns relevant results for target entity type
- •Multiple sources compared for best practices
- •Health metrics gathered for dependency candidates
- •Security issues flagged and assessed