gh-threads
A terminal UI for people receiving GitHub pull-request reviews. It shows open PRs and a scrollable PR dashboard with the description, branches, review state, merge conflicts and affected files, checks, people, labels, milestone, activity, change statistics, thread totals, submitted reviews, and the PR conversation. Review threads and comments are paginated rather than silently stopping at the first page. The thread viewer includes highlighted diff hunks, comment authors, and read-only reaction counts on individual comments. Resolved threads start folded. GitHub suggestion blocks are shown as syntax-highlighted remove/add previews. Comments and PR descriptions render GitHub Flavored Markdown, including quoted replies, inline and fenced code, lists and tasks, links, tables, emphasis, strikethrough, emoji, and GitHub alerts. The current PR is refreshed in the background.
Install and run
Requires Go 1.24+, Git 2.38+, and an authenticated GitHub CLI:
go install .
gh auth login
gh-threads
To run directly from a source checkout instead:
go run .
Use go run ., not go run main.go: the latter compiles only main.go and
omits the other files in the package.
For automation, GH_TOKEN or GITHUB_TOKEN can still be provided and takes
precedence over the GitHub CLI credential. Enterprise token environment
variables are also supported.
By default the PR picker searches all repositories for open PRs assigned to the
authenticated user and groups the results by repository. Use --repo to limit
the picker to one repository:
gh-threads --repo owner/repository
With a repository selected, pass --all to include every open PR in that
repository:
gh-threads --repo owner/repository --all --poll 15s
GitHub Enterprise Server can be used after authenticating that host:
gh auth login --hostname github.example.com
gh-threads --repo owner/repository \
--endpoint https://github.example.com/api/graphql
Configuration
The optional TOML configuration is loaded from
$GH_THREADS_CONFIG, $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gh-threads/config.toml, or the
operating system's user configuration directory at gh-threads/config.toml.
On Linux this is normally ~/.config/gh-threads/config.toml. On macOS,
~/Library/Application Support/gh-threads/config.toml is preferred, with
~/.config/gh-threads/config.toml automatically used as a fallback when it
exists.
theme = "dark" # dark, light, high-contrast, or no-color
refresh_interval = "10s"
repository = "" # optional owner/repository default
show_all = false # requires repository
limit = 50
endpoint = "https://api.github.com/graphql"
[display]
fold_resolved = true
thread_list_width_percent = 33 # 20-60
dashboard_mode = "hotkey" # "hotkey" or "intermediate"
compact_reviews = true # aggregate submitted review history
[paths]
scroll = false
scroll_interval = "350ms" # minimum 50ms
[threads]
# Each status must occur exactly once. "outdated" means unresolved and outdated;
# resolved threads remain in "resolved" even when they are also outdated.
status_order = ["unresolved", "outdated", "resolved"]
within_status = "file" # "file" or "timestamp" (oldest first)
[cache]
enabled = true # instant stale view plus offline fallback
max_age = "168h" # 7 days; 0 means no age limit
directory = "" # defaults to the OS user cache directory
max_entries = 200 # bounded oldest-first pruning; 10-10000
[editing]
mode = "vim" # "vim" or "standard"; description field only for now
[keybindings.general]
quit = ["q", "ctrl+c"]
help = ["?", "f1"]
refresh = ["r"]
back = ["b", "esc"]
confirm = ["y"]
reject = ["n", "esc"]
[keybindings.navigation]
# Shared by the picker, dashboard, thread panes, help, and Vim Normal/Visual modes.
down = ["j", "down"]
up = ["k", "up"]
left = ["h", "left"]
right = ["l", "right"]
first = ["g"]
last = ["G"]
page_down = ["ctrl+d", "pgdown"]
page_up = ["ctrl+u", "pgup"]
[keybindings.views]
open = ["enter", "l"]
dashboard = ["d"]
health = ["H"]
edit = ["e"]
auto_merge = ["a"]
merge_now = ["M"]
toggle_list = ["tab"]
[keybindings.threads]
search = ["/"]
clear_filter = ["F"]
next_unread = ["n"]
previous_unread = ["N"]
reply = ["c"]
resolve = ["R"]
toggle = ["enter"]
fold_prefix = ["z"]
fold_toggle = ["a"]
[keybindings.input]
cancel = ["esc"]
submit = ["ctrl+s"]
newline = ["enter"]
delete_backward = ["backspace"]
delete_forward = ["delete"]
clear = ["ctrl+u"]
next_field = ["tab"]
previous_field = ["shift+tab"]
next_completion = ["ctrl+n"]
previous_completion = ["ctrl+p"]
line_start = ["home", "ctrl+a"]
line_end = ["end", "ctrl+e"]
[keybindings.vim]
insert = ["i"]
append = ["a"]
insert_line_start = ["I"]
append_line_end = ["A"]
open_below = ["o"]
open_above = ["O"]
replace_character = ["s"]
visual = ["v"]
visual_line = ["V"]
selection_other_end = ["o"]
yank = ["y"]
delete = ["d", "x", "delete"]
delete_before = ["X", "backspace"]
paste = ["p"]
line_start = ["0", "home"]
first_non_blank = ["^"]
line_end = ["$", "end"]
word_forward = ["w"]
big_word_forward = ["W"]
word_backward = ["b"]
big_word_backward = ["B"]
word_end = ["e"]
big_word_end = ["E"]
go_prefix = ["g"]
find_forward = ["f"]
find_backward = ["F"]
till_forward = ["t"]
till_backward = ["T"]
repeat_find = [";"]
repeat_find_reverse = [","]
Every command binding accepts one or more Bubble Tea key names. Omitted
settings retain their defaults, while an explicitly configured action replaces
its default keys. Printable keys remain text in Insert mode, reply drafts, and
search queries; command bindings apply in the appropriate non-text context.
The contextual ? popup and compact screen footers use the configured keys.
Configuration loading also checks each active context independently. A key may
be reused on unrelated screens, but assigning it to two different actions that
can be active together reports the context and both conflicting actions.
When cached data exists, the picker and PR details are rendered immediately from that snapshot while a live GitHub refresh runs in the background. Cached screens are labelled with their save time and are replaced automatically when fresh data arrives. Core PR and review data is rendered before check annotations and conflict-file analysis finish. A failed subsection keeps its last complete value, is marked partial, and does not discard the rest of a successful refresh. Check annotations are fetched separately only for failed checks and are reused by immutable check ID.
The cache uses separate JSON files for the picker and each visited PR. Cache content is hashed before writing: unchanged responses do not rewrite their files. Their modification time is touched at most once per day (or half the configured maximum age, when shorter) so recently validated snapshots remain usable without writing on every poll. Changed files are replaced atomically, and oldest cache entries are pruned at the configured bound. Read state and recoverable reply/metadata drafts use versioned, atomic files beside the configuration.
Polling adapts to GitHub's reported rate-limit budget. It backs off as the remaining budget gets low, honors server retry windows, and adds jitter to avoid synchronized clients. Opening another PR or starting another refresh cancels the superseded request.
GitHub's public APIs report whether a PR conflicts but do not expose its
conflicting file paths. For conflicting PRs only, gh-threads performs a
read-only git merge-tree analysis in a temporary bare repository. It never
touches or inspects the current checkout, so Git, Jujutsu (jj), and directories
without a local repository behave identically. The analysis fetches the exact
remote base branch and pull-request head ref using the existing GitHub
credential. Results are memoized by the base and head commit, and failed scans
are retried after one minute.
Command-line flags override the configuration. GH_REPO overrides the
configured repository when --repo is not provided. The corresponding flags
include --config, --theme, --poll, --fold-resolved,
--thread-list-width, --dashboard-mode, --compact-reviews,
--path-scroll, and --path-scroll-interval, plus --cache,
--cache-max-age, --cache-dir, and --editor-mode.
Boolean settings can be disabled explicitly, for
example --compact-reviews=false.
With the default dashboard_mode = "hotkey", opening a PR goes directly to its
review threads and d opens the dashboard only when requested. Set
dashboard_mode = "intermediate" to follow picker → dashboard → review
threads instead.
Compact reviews aggregate submission counts by state and author. Reviews with
a written summary retain a compact one-line body, while timestamps and commit
SHAs are omitted. Set compact_reviews = false to restore the complete review
history and metadata.
Default keys
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
h / l |
Focus the thread list / thread detail |
j / k |
Move between items or scroll the dashboard/focused detail |
? |
Show contextual keybinding help |
H |
Open application health and diagnostics |
d |
Open the current pull request dashboard |
e |
Edit the current PR title, target branch, and description from its dashboard |
a |
Enable or disable auto-merge from the dashboard |
M |
Merge now when GitHub reports that all represented requirements are satisfied |
/ |
Fuzzy-search paths and filter with status:, author:, updated:true |
F |
Clear active thread filters |
n / N |
Next / previous thread with a new update |
c |
Compose a reply to the selected thread |
R |
Resolve or unresolve the selected thread |
ctrl-p / ctrl-n |
Choose the previous / next fuzzy-search or branch-completion match |
g / G |
First / last item |
enter / l |
Open the selected PR dashboard or its review threads |
enter |
Toggle the selected review thread |
za |
Toggle the selected thread |
ctrl-d / ctrl-u |
Scroll thread detail or page through lists |
tab |
Hide or reveal the thread list |
b / esc |
Return to the previous screen |
r |
Refresh now |
q |
Quit |
The Health modal reports the interactive loop, configuration, GitHub API,
rate-limit budget and reset/retry time, disk cache, unread-state persistence,
draft recovery, core PR data, and secondary enrichment. Session warnings and
errors are retained there with their component and timestamp. Long diagnostics
wrap to the modal width. Refresh activity occupies a stable informational row
so polling does not reorder the report. Press H from the picker, dashboard,
or thread view; b or esc closes it without changing the underlying scroll
position.
The reply composer appears inline beneath the selected thread so its code and
comments remain visible while writing. It supports multiple lines: enter
inserts a newline, ctrl-s opens the rendered confirmation preview, and esc
cancels. Replies and resolution changes require an explicit y confirmation.
Write keys remain disabled for cached snapshots, during refreshes, and whenever
GitHub does not grant the corresponding capability.
Auto-merge and immediate merge actions are available from the dashboard and
always require confirmation. The selected method is the repository's first
available method in squash, merge, then rebase preference order. Both
mutations include the currently displayed head commit OID, so a force-push or
new commit prevents a stale merge. “Merge now” is gated for drafts, conflicts,
required reviews, required checks, unresolved required conversations, closed
PRs, and branches that require a merge queue; GitHub performs the final
permission and mergeability validation.
The dashboard editor works with raw Markdown so template checklists can be
updated directly. The active line is highlighted without inserting a
layout-changing block character. It opens with the description focused;
tab and shift-tab move between the description, title, and target branch.
When the target branch is focused, repository branches are recommended using
the typed text, likely branch names, the current/default branch, and each
branch's latest commit time. The list updates as you type. Use ctrl-p and
ctrl-n to select the previous or next result, then tab or enter to complete it;
pressing tab again moves to the description.
With the default editing.mode = "vim", the description starts in Normal mode.
It supports hjkl, 0, ^, $, gg, G, w/W, b/B, e/E,
f/F/t/T with ; and ,, i/a/I/A, o/O, s, and
x/X. s removes the character under the cursor and enters Insert mode.
Soft-wrapped rows behave as visual editor lines for vertical and line-local
motions, but do not add newlines to the Markdown submitted to GitHub.
ctrl-d and ctrl-u move the cursor and viewport down or up by half a page,
including while extending a Visual selection.
v starts character-wise Visual mode and V starts visual-line selection;
d or x deletes the selection, y copies it to the system clipboard, and
p pastes from the system clipboard. Normal mode uses a block cursor, while
Insert mode uses the terminal's hardware bar cursor at the boundary between
characters without hiding or shifting either character.
The description retains its raw Markdown while headings, emphasis, inline
code, links, quote markers, and HTML comments receive syntax highlighting.
Highlighting consists only of zero-width terminal styling and cannot alter
wrapping, selection, clipboard contents, cursor offsets, or submitted text.
esc returns from Insert to Normal mode; a second esc cancels the editor.
Set editing.mode = "standard" for direct insertion with arrow,
home, and end navigation. Title and target branch remain standard inputs
in either mode. ctrl-s opens an explicit confirmation. If the title,
description, or target branch changes remotely while the editor is open,
submission is blocked rather than overwriting the newer metadata.
Current scope
The application can reply to review threads, resolve or unresolve them, update
the PR title, target branch, and description, enable or disable auto-merge, and
merge an eligible PR immediately. Comment reactions remain read-only. Other
write operations remain disabled. The dashboard shows the capability gate,
including why each action is unavailable. Read state
persists beside the configuration, and recent PR data is cached for offline
fallback. Check contexts and annotations are paginated. GitHub features which
depend on server-side context, such as unfurling issue references or displaying
uploaded images, are represented textually in the terminal. See
TODO.md for remaining read-only work and write-support preparation.