GitHub CLI macOS Setup Guide¶

This guide walks you through installing the official GitHub Command Line Interface (CLI), without using Homebrew, on macOS. You’ll download the binary directly from GitHub, install it, and authenticate it for use.

✅ Overview¶

The GitHub CLI (gh) enables you to interact with GitHub from the terminal:

Manage pull requests & issues
View workflows and runs
Create & manage repositories
And much more

This guide covers:

Downloading the official release
Installing the binary
Authenticating with GitHub
Verifying installation

1. Download the Official Binary¶

Open the GitHub CLI Releases page: https://github.com/cli/cli/releases
Download the archive for your architecture:
Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3): *_macOS_arm64.tar.gz (or .zip)
Intel x86-64: *_macOS_amd64.tar.gz (or .zip)
Extract the downloaded archive.

Example using Terminal:

cd ~/Downloads
tar -xzf gh_*_macOS_arm64.tar.gz

You will now have a folder containing the gh executable.

2. Install the Binary to Your PATH¶

Move the executable to a directory in your PATH (commonly /usr/local/bin).

cd ~/Downloads/gh_*_macOS_arm64/bin
sudo mv gh /usr/local/bin/
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/gh

If /usr/local/bin is not in your PATH, you may prefer another directory such as /opt/local/bin or ~/bin.

3. Verify Installation¶

Run:

gh --version

You should see output similar to:

gh version X.Y.Z (Intel/MacOS)

If you receive a “command not found,” ensure that the installation target is in your PATH and restart your terminal.

4. Authenticate With GitHub¶

Run:

gh auth login

You will be prompted to:

Choose GitHub.com or Enterprise
Choose an authentication method (browser recommended)

Follow the prompts. Once complete, validate authentication:

gh auth status

Expected response includes a message confirming authentication.

5. Quick Usage Examples¶

List Your Repositories¶

gh repo list

Create a Pull Request¶

gh pr create

Show Help¶

gh help

6. Updating Manually¶

Because this installation is not via Homebrew, updates are not automatic. To update:

Visit https://github.com/cli/cli/releases
Download the latest macOS archive
Replace the gh binary following the same installation steps

7. Uninstalling¶

To remove the tool:

sudo rm /usr/local/bin/gh

Optional: You may remove configuration files:

rm -rf ~/.config/gh

Troubleshooting¶

Issue	Solution
`gh: command not found`	Ensure `/usr/local/bin` is in your `PATH`
Incorrect architecture	Download the correct archive for Intel vs Apple Silicon
Auth issues	Run `gh auth logout` then `gh auth login`
Conflicting version installed via Homebrew	`brew uninstall gh`

Check PATH with:

echo $PATH

Next Steps¶

Start integrating GitHub CLI into your workflow:

Explore automation features
Manage PRs and issues from Terminal
Use gh api to interact directly with GitHub’s REST API

To get more help:

gh help

References¶

GitHub CLI: https://cli.github.com/
Source Repo: https://github.com/cli/cli

< Backend Development - Django Python Dependency Management

Next: iOS — Overview >