Create and Push a GitHub Repository from the Terminal

In my dream of owning a housing estate, I will name it "The Terminal". It would encompass everything a city needs to survive and flourish and I will never have to leave it.

~ Patrick Okafor

Introduction

Context switching kills productivity. Every time you leave your terminal to click around a browser, you break your flow state.

This guide shows you how to install the GitHub CLI (Command Line Interface), create a new repository, add files, and push your code to GitHub, all from your terminal. We will use Git and the GitHub CLI (gh), a tool that brings GitHub's features to your command line.

By the end, you will not only know the manual commands but also have a custom automation script to handle the entire process in seconds.

Prerequisites

This guide is for developers who want to learn the command-line workflow for managing GitHub projects.

Before you begin, you must have:

• Comfort using a terminal.

• A GitHub account.

• Git is installed on your system.

Step 1: Install and Authenticate the GitHub CLI

First, we install gh, the tool that brings GitHub's features to your command line.

1. Install the CLI

   Run the following script (for Debian/Ubuntu Linux) to install gh:

    # Install and authenticate gh using the official script for Debian/Ubuntu-based distributions.
    (type -p wget >/dev/null || (sudo apt update && sudo apt install wget -y)) \
    && sudo mkdir -p -m 755 /etc/apt/keyrings \
    && out=$(mktemp) && wget -nv -O$out [https://cli.github.com/packages/githubcli-archive-keyring.gpg](https://cli.github.com/packages/githubcli-archive-keyring.gpg) \
    && cat $out | sudo tee /etc/apt/keyrings/githubcli-archive-keyring.gpg > /dev/null \
    && sudo chmod go+r /etc/apt/keyrings/githubcli-archive-keyring.gpg \
    && sudo mkdir -p -m 755 /etc/apt/sources.list.d \
    && echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/githubcli-archive-keyring.gpg] [https://cli.github.com/packages](https://cli.github.com/packages) stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/github-cli.list > /dev/null \
    && sudo apt update \
    && sudo apt install gh -y
   

   Note: For macOS (brew install gh) or Windows (winget install GitHub.cli), refer to the official installation guide.

2. Authenticate

   Once installed, open your terminal and run the following command to log in to GitHub:

    gh auth login
   

   This command authenticates gh and git with GitHub, starting an interactive setup:

   • ❓ Where do you use GitHub?: Choose GitHub.com as your location.

   • ❓ What is your preferred protocol for Git operations on this host?: Choose HTTPS or SSH. I prefer the SSH protocol for working with GitHub because it is more secure and avoids the sign-in bottlenecks I sometimes encounter with HTTPS. To switch from HTTPS to SSH with GitHub, read this documentation.

   • ❓ Upload your SSH public key to your GitHub account?: Select "Yes" to upload your SSH public key to your GitHub account at the default location. If you saved your public key in a different location, use that instead.

   • ❓ Title for your SSH key: Choose any name you like for your SSH key title. It's best to use names that are easy to recognise and related to their purpose.

   • ❓ How would you like to authenticate GitHub CLI?: Log in and authenticate the GitHub CLI using a web browser, preferably the one you use for GitHub.

Copy the one-time code displayed in your terminal. Press Enter, and paste the code into the browser window that opens.

Note: If, after you press Enter and you encounter an error, don't worry. Just copy the URL manually, open it in your web browser, and sign in.

After you have signed in, you will be directed to a new page where you have to enter the one-time code provided to you in the terminal during authentication. Never use a code sent by someone else.

Congratulations, your account has been authenticated and authorised. You’re set.

3. Verify the installation

   To confirm that the CLI is installed and authenticated, run:

    gh --version
    # Output: gh version 2.x.x (2024-xx-xx)
   

   This command should display the installed version of the gh CLI.

   

Step 2: Create and Initialise Your Local Project

Next, create a directory for your new project and initialise it as a Git repository. Let's set up a mock project to test our workflow.

# 1. Create and enter the directory
mkdir E-commerce
cd E-commerce

# 2. Initialize Git
git init

# 3. Create a README and commit it
echo "# E-commerce Project" > README.md
git add README.md
git commit -m "Initial commit"

You now have a local Git repository with one commit.

Step 3: Create and Push to GitHub(The "Power User" Way)

In a traditional workflow, you would go to GitHub.com, create a repo, copy the link, add the remote, and push. With gh, we can do this in one command. This is where the GitHub CLI saves time.

Run the gh repo create command from inside your E-commerce directory:

gh repo create --public --source=. --remote=origin --push

Breaking down the flags:

• --public: Creates a public repository (use --private for private work).

• --source=.: Tells GitHub to use the current directory as the source code.

• --remote=origin: Automatically adds the remote git URL to your local config.

• --push: Pushes your current commits immediately.

Step 4: Link and Push Your Local Repository

Finally, connect your local repository to the new remote repository on GitHub and push your code.

1. Add the remote URL

   Git needs to know the URL of the remote repository. Use the git remote add command to link your local repository to the GitHub URL.

   Note: Replace patoski-patoski with your actual GitHub username.

    git remote add origin https://github.com/patoski-patoski/E-commerce.git
   

   • origin is the default shorthand name for the remote repository.

2. 2. Push your local branch

   Upload your local main (or master) branch to the origin remote repository.

    git push -u origin main
   

   • git push uploads your commits.

   • -u origin main sets the local main branch to track the main branch on the origin remote. This allows you to use a simple git push command for future updates.

Success! You have just created and pushed a repository without opening a browser.

Bonus: Automate It with a Bash Function

Typing those flags every time is tedious. As engineers, we should automate repetitive tasks.

Add this function to your .bashrc or .zshrc file to turn this 4-step process into a single command.

# Add this to your shell configuration file
create_repo() {
    # 1. Create directory and enter it
    mkdir "$1"
    cd "$1" || return

    # 2. Initialize Git and create a dummy file
    git init
    echo "# $1" > README.md
    git add README.md
    git commit -m "Initial commit"

    # 3. Use Github CLI to create and push in one go
    # Usage: create_repo <repo_name>
    gh repo create "$1" --public --source=. --remote=origin --push

    echo "🚀 Repository '$1' live on GitHub!"
}

How to use it: Now, whenever you start a project, simply run:

create_repo my-new-project

Summary

You have successfully moved your workflow from the browser to the terminal. You learned how to:

1. Authenticate securely with gh.

2. Use flags to combine creation and pushing into one step.

3. Write a shell script to automate the entire lifecycle.

NEXT STEPS

• GitHub CLI website documentation

• Learn More about the Terminal

• Learn about Git

• Learn about Git Aliases