gh-stack

gh stack

is a GitHub CLI extension for stacked branches and pull requests. A stack is an ordered chain of branches rooted on a trunk, where each branch has one PR based on the branch below it, so a reviewer sees only that layer's diff.

gh stack

prints a stack trunk-first, left to right:

(main) <- auth <- api <- frontend

Left is the bottom, right is the top.

auth

is based on

main

and merges first;

frontend

merges last.

up

moves toward the top, away from trunk;

down

moves toward it. Foundational work belongs at the bottom, code that depends on it above. For how to choose the layers, read

references/stack-design.md

Setup

Requires Git 2.36+ and an authenticated GitHub CLI.

bash

gh extension install github/gh-stack
git config rerere.enabled true         # remember conflict resolutions
git config remote.pushDefault origin   # required if the repo has more than one remote

Non-interactive use

gh stack

branches on whether stdout is a TTY. Piped, most commands error cleanly or print static text; under a PTY the same commands open a prompt or a full-screen TUI and block forever. Agent harnesses differ, so always pass the flags below instead of relying on that detection.

Multiple remotes: never run

push

submit

sync

rebase

, or

link

without

--remote <name>

unless

remote.pushDefault

is configured.

checkout

and

trunk

have no

--remote

flag and require the config.

Always run	Never run bare	Why
`gh stack view --json`	`gh stack view`	opens a TUI under a PTY
`gh stack submit --auto`	`gh stack submit`	prompts for a title per new PR
`gh stack merge <target> --yes`	`gh pr merge`	`gh pr merge` cannot merge a stack
`gh stack init <branch>...`	`gh stack init`	prompts for branch names
`gh stack add <branch>`	`gh stack add`	prompts for a name, and fails even when piped
`gh stack checkout <target>`	`gh stack checkout`	opens a selection menu
`gh stack up` / `down` / `top` / `bottom`	`gh stack switch`	`switch` is menu-only
—	`gh stack modify`	TUI-only, no non-interactive path

```
view --short
```
is safe in both modes, but it is formatted for humans. Use
```
--json
```
to parse.
checkout <pr>
when a different local stack already covers those branches cannot be forced. Run
```
gh stack unstack --local
```
first (this keeps the stack on GitHub), then retry.
Worktrees: local stacks share one common-directory catalog. Use
```
--print-path
```
with navigation or explicit-target
```
checkout
```
to locate a foreign-owned branch without stealing its checkout. Unoccupied targets are checked out here first. Check the exit status before changing directories; parse only successful path-mode stdout, never status messages.

Branch placement

Starting multi-part work: create the stack before writing files. Do not implement every concern on trunk and split it later. Put one dependent concern in each layer, bottom to top.
Editing an existing stack: check out the layer that owns the change before editing. Never commit a lower layer's concern on the current top branch. Run
```
gh stack view --json
```
; if ownership is unclear, inspect
```
git log --all -- <path>
```
. Then check out the owner, edit, commit, rebase upstack, and return to top.

bash

gh stack down                   # or: gh stack checkout api
git add ... && git commit -m "Add get-user endpoint"
gh stack rebase --upstack       # replay every branch above onto the change
gh stack top                    # return to where you were
gh stack push

Core loop

bash

gh stack init auth              # create the stack and check out its branch
git add ... && git commit -m "Add auth middleware"
gh stack add api                # next layer, branched from the current one
git add ... && git commit -m "Add API routes"
gh stack submit --auto          # push every branch and open draft PRs
gh stack view --json            # confirm

Add

--open

submit

to create PRs ready for review instead of drafts. Branch names are verbatim —

gh stack add refactor/foo

creates

refactor/foo

Staying in sync

bash

gh stack sync                   # fetch, reconcile with GitHub, rebase, push, refresh PR state
gh stack sync --prune           # also delete local branches for merged PRs

Pruning never happens without

--prune

when non-interactive. If the local and remote stacks have diverged,

sync

prints both chains, makes no changes, and exits 0 with

Sync aborted

— see

references/troubleshooting.md

Merging

Scope the merge with an argument:

bash

gh stack merge 42 --yes          # PR #42 plus every unmerged PR below it
gh stack merge 7 --yes           # every unmerged PR in stack #7
gh stack merge 42 --yes --squash # or --merge, --rebase, --merge-method <method>

Pass a PR number to merge that PR and every unmerged PR below it, or a stack number to merge every unmerged PR in that stack. The operation is all-or-nothing: if any PR in that set cannot merge, none do.

Without a method flag the last-used method is reused. If the base branch uses a merge queue, the stack is queued instead and the queue picks the method, ignoring any flag you passed with a warning; queued PRs may land in separate groups.

Reading state

gh stack view --json

writes JSON to stdout. Status messages go to stderr — do not parse them, branch on exit codes instead.

trunk           string
currentBranch   string
branches[]      name, head, base, isCurrent, isMerged, isQueued, needsRebase
branches[].pr   number, url, state ("OPEN" | "MERGED" | "QUEUED"); absent when no PR exists

base

is the saved SHA of the parent branch that this branch was last known to contain. It may be older than the parent's current tip.

needsRebase

is true when the current parent tip is no longer an ancestor of the branch.

Exit codes

Code	Meaning	Recovery
0	Success	—
1	Generic error	Read stderr
2	Not in a stack	`gh stack init` , or `gh stack checkout <target>`
3	Rebase conflict	Follow the Exit 3 recovery below
4	GitHub API failure	Check `gh auth status` , retry
5	Invalid arguments	Fix the invocation; see `<command> --help`
6	Disambiguation required	Branch is in several stacks; check out a non-shared branch
7	Rebase already in progress	`gh stack rebase --continue` or `--abort`
8	Stack file locked	Another `gh stack` process is writing; retry after ~5s
9	Stacked PRs unavailable	Not enabled on the repository; tell the user
10	Modify recovery required	`gh stack modify --abort`

Exit 3 recovery:

After

gh stack rebase

: resolve the files, run

git add

, then

gh stack rebase --continue

; use

gh stack rebase --abort

to restore the stack.

After
```
gh stack sync
```
: the stack has already been restored. Run
```
gh stack rebase
```
to recreate the conflict, then resolve and continue as above.

Constraints

Stacks are strictly linear: one parent, at most one child. Use separate stacks for parallel work.
```
rebase
```
and
```
sync
```
automatically update affected clean worktrees; they never auto-stash or create/remove worktrees. Mutations serialize across the clone, and paused operations require recovery in their recorded owners.
```
modify
```
supports distributed stack branches, but its editor remains TUI-only. Actions run in affected clean owners; unoccupied branches use the origin. Drop/fold source branches and worktrees are preserved. Recovery flags may run from any worktree and use recorded native operation owners; never resolve/stage in the caller's tree unless the diagnostic names it.
There is no non-interactive reorder or removal. Errors may suggest
```
gh stack modify
```
, but it is TUI-only — restructure with
```
unstack
```
then
```
init
```
instead.
PR titles and bodies are auto-generated. Use
```
gh pr edit
```
afterwards to change them.

More detail

gh stack <command> --help

is authoritative for flags and arguments. Note that

gh stack help <command>

does not work — it prints the top-level help.

Open the reference whose trigger matches the task; no need to preload all three.

```
references/stack-design.md
```
— read before creating a stack, when deciding how many layers to use, what belongs in each one, or whether work belongs in a new stack.
```
references/commands.md
```
— read when a command fails unexpectedly or you need its preconditions, side effects, atomicity, or ordering guarantees.
```
references/troubleshooting.md
```
— read on a rebase conflict, after a squash-merge, on local and remote divergence, when restructuring a stack, or when driving stacks from another tool.

gh-stack

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

gh-stack

Setup

Non-interactive use

Branch placement

Core loop

Staying in sync

Merging

Reading state

Exit codes

Constraints

More detail