explaingit

mislav/hub

★ 22,949GoAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5DormantLicenseSetup · easy

TLDR

A command-line tool that adds GitHub superpowers to git, letting you clone repos, create pull requests, and manage issues without leaving your terminal.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((hub))
    What it does
      Wraps git commands
      GitHub operations
      Clone shorthand
      PR management
    Key features
      Terminal-based workflow
      Context awareness
      Aliasable as git
      Script automation
    Use cases
      Developer workflows
      CI/CD pipelines
      Issue management
      Batch operations
    Tech stack
      Go language
      Single executable
      No dependencies
    Platforms
      macOS
      Linux
      Windows

Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Clone GitHub repositories using just owner/repo instead of full URLs from your terminal.

USE CASE 2

Create and manage pull requests, list issues, and browse GitHub without switching to the web browser.

USE CASE 3

Automate GitHub workflows in CI/CD pipelines and shell scripts using command-line GitHub operations.

USE CASE 4

Extend git with GitHub-specific commands while keeping all standard git functionality intact.

Tech stack

GoGitGitHub API

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

GitHub API token required for authenticated requests

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice and license text.

In plain English

Hub is a command-line tool that wraps the standard git program and adds extra commands for working with GitHub. Git is the underlying version control system that tracks code changes; GitHub is the online platform where many developers host their code. Normally, doing things like cloning someone's repository, creating a pull request (a proposal to merge your code changes), or browsing open issues requires switching to the GitHub website. Hub lets you do all of this without leaving your terminal. You can, for example, clone a repository by typing just the owner and repo name instead of the full web address. Hub also understands your current project context, if you're inside a git folder connected to a GitHub repo, hub commands like listing pull requests or creating issues work automatically. Hub can also be aliased as git itself, so every git command you already know keeps working, but now you have bonus GitHub superpowers mixed in. This is ideal for developers who live in the terminal and want to keep their GitHub workflow there too, creating pull requests, managing issues, and automating GitHub actions through scripts. It also works in automated GitHub Actions pipelines. It's written in Go, runs as a single executable with no extra dependencies, and installs on macOS, Linux, and Windows.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Show me how to use hub to clone a GitHub repository with just the owner and repo name instead of the full URL.
Prompt 2
How do I create a pull request from the command line using hub, and what information does it need from my git repo?
Prompt 3
Give me examples of hub commands I can use in a shell script to automate GitHub tasks like creating issues or listing PRs.
Prompt 4
How do I set up hub as an alias for git so I can use both git and hub commands seamlessly?
Prompt 5
What are the differences between using hub commands and the GitHub CLI, and when would I choose hub?
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Generated 2026-05-18 · Model: sonnet-4-6 · Verify against the repo before relying on details.