Add --json and --jq to gh pr create

Describe the feature or problem you’d like to solve

Add a --json response object with the ability to chain a jq query.

Proposed solution

This will avoid doing something like this to get the id or other metadata of a PR we just created:

PR_URL=$(gh pr \
  create \
  --base main \
  --head develop \
  --title "Promote dev to main" \
  --body "Automated promotion PR from dev to main" \
  --fill \
  | tail -n1)

PR_NUMBER=$(basename "$PR_URL")

And instead make it possible to do this:

PR_NUMBER=$(gh pr \
  create \
  --base main \
  --head develop \
  --title "Promote dev to main" \
  --body "Automated promotion PR from dev to main" \
  --json number,url \
  --jq '.[0].number'
)

Or this:

PR_NUMBER=$(gh pr \
  create \
  --base main \
  --head develop \
  --title "Promote dev to main" \
  --body "Automated promotion PR from dev to main" \
  --json number,url
)

PR_URL=$(echo "$PR_JSON" | jq -r '.[0].url')
PR_NUMBER=$(echo "$PR_JSON" | jq -r '.[0].number')

Additional context

Also, this would improve CLI API consistency

Fair enough. Here's the A/C for this issue.

Acceptance Criteria

Interactive flow

Given I have a branch checked out and have it pushed to the remote repo
When I run pr create --json id,url,number, follow the prompts (interactive flow)
Then A PR is created, and I see a JSON on stdout with the url, id and number fields of the created PR

Non-interactive flow

Given I have a branch checked out and have it pushed to the remote repo
When I run pr create --json id,url,number --title foo --body bar 2>/dev/null | cat (non-interactive flow)
Then I see a JSON on stdout with the url, id and number fields of the created PR

JQ support

Given I have a branch checked out and have it pushed to the remote repo
…

@dukeofgaming

Hi @dukeofgaming, and thanks for your suggestion! 🙏

IMO it would be a decent enhancement to gh pr create. However, historically, the team had reasons for dropping it (#6366, #11025). I believe there are complications around the implementation. For example, you can see the recent #11196 which is about adding the same --json option to gh issue create.

That said, I'm going to do what we did with #11196 and label this for an internal discussion. I'll keep you posted.

🤔 Seeing this pop up in #11558, I want to ask "How should the Unix principle apply to this idea?" as I'm unsure what the limit of gh pr create should be able to accomplish by itself.

@babakks

Marking this as triaged since @babakks and I think this is a good feature to investigate more deeply.

@babakks

@babakks oof good catch.

I would vote for option 1 - omit template option. I'd like to hear from people that they want the template specifically before we make a fuss over the problems that adding it would cause.

Fair enough. Here's the A/C for this issue.

Acceptance Criteria

Interactive flow

Given I have a branch checked out and have it pushed to the remote repo
When I run pr create --json id,url,number, follow the prompts (interactive flow)
Then A PR is created, and I see a JSON on stdout with the url, id and number fields of the created PR

Non-interactive flow

Given I have a branch checked out and have it pushed to the remote repo
When I run pr create --json id,url,number --title foo --body bar 2>/dev/null | cat (non-interactive flow)
Then I see a JSON on stdout with the url, id and number fields of the created PR

JQ support

Given I have a branch checked out and have it pushed to the remote repo
When I run pr create --json id,url,number --jq .number --title foo --body bar 2>/dev/null | cat
Then I see the PR number is printed on stdout

Incompatible with `--dry-run`

When I run pr create --json id --dry-run
Then I get an error message saying these options are mutually exclusive

Independent of `--template`

Given My repo has a PR template named pull_request_template.md
When I run pr create --json id,url,number --template pull_request_template.md
Then I see a JSON on stdout with the url, id and number fields of the created PR, AND the PR is created off of the given template

This is for anyone who's going to work on this. The above comment lists the acceptance criteria that the PR must satisfy.

Here are the places that we need to modify/improve. I didn't cover the test files, but any new/changed behaviour must accompany relevant tests.

1. `api/queries_pr.go`

Add the number field to the mutation in the api.CreatePullRequest function:

cli/api/queries_pr.go

Lines 531 to 539 in af4dad0

    
           	query := ` 
        
           		mutation PullRequestCreate($input: CreatePullRequestInput!) { 
        
           			createPullRequest(input: $input) { 
        
           				pullRequest { 
        
           					id 
        
           					url 
        
           				} 
        
           			} 
        
           	}`

2. `pkg/cmdutil/json_flags.go`

A new helper to add `--json` and `--jq` options

We need to create a new helper function to the cmdutil package that adds the two --json and --jq option to the given Cobra command instance. For now, it shouldn't also add the -q shorthand for --jq. This can be used as an example:

cli/pkg/cmdutil/json_flags.go

Line 35 in 150834b

    
           func AddJSONFlagsWithoutShorthand(cmd *cobra.Command, exportTarget *Exporter, fields []string) {

Make JSON flag validation aware of missing `--template`

Given a hydrated Cobra command, the checkJSONFlags function in cmdutil validates the combination of JSON-related options. Currently, it assumes the --template option is always part of the JSON options group. This needs to be changed, because in our case of pr create the --template option is not part of the JSON options. Basically, we need to modify the implementation to trickle down the exclusion/inclusion of the --template option to checkJSONFlags.

3. `pkg/cmd/pr/create/create.go`

Add the JSON-related options

We should use the newly created function to add --json and --jq options to pr create. As an example, look at the pr view command's way of doing this (below). However, since we're not going to support all api.PullRequest fields, the fields argument should be replaced with a local slice, including id, url, and number.

cli/pkg/cmd/pr/view/view.go

Lines 79 to 80 in af4dad0

	cmdutil.AddJSONFlags(cmd, &opts.Exporter, api.PullRequestFields)

The final JSON export should happen at the end of the submitPR function:

cli/pkg/cmd/pr/create/create.go

Line 1001 in af4dad0

    
           func submitPR(opts CreateOptions, ctx CreateContext, state shared.IssueMetadataState, projectV1Support gh.ProjectsV1Support) error {

Note

The api.PullRequest type already implements everything needed to export a nice JSON. So, you wouldn't need to reimplement the JSON marshalling override.

Bail out if `--json` is used with `--dry-run`

These options cannot be used together, so we should add a validation check in the cmd.RunE assignment, around here:

cli/pkg/cmd/pr/create/create.go

Lines 328 to 330 in af4dad0

    
           if opts.DryRun && opts.WebMode { 
        
           	return cmdutil.FlagErrorf("`--dry-run` is not supported when using `--web`") 
        
           }

@yuvrajangadsingh

@yuvrajangadsingh, thanks for your interest, but there's already a PR for this waiting for review (See #12622).

@babakks

@babakks Ah, didn't notice #12622 — thanks for the heads up! I'll back off on this one.

feat(pr create): add --json and --jq flags for structured output

feat(pr-create): add --json and --jq flags for structured output

Hi! I noticed #12622 was closed. I’d like to pick this up and open a fresh PR for #11247, following the acceptance criteria above. Is that still welcome?

feat(pr create): add --json and --jq flags for machine-readable output

Hi! I'd like to work on this issue. Please let me know if I can be assigned. Thanks!

Hi! I'd like to add --json and --jq to gh pr create. Plan: implement the flags, add tests. May I be assigned?

Sunbelt Computer Software

PL/B Language Development and Support

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Add `--json` and `--jq` to `gh pr create` #11247

Describe the feature or problem you’d like to solve

Proposed solution

Additional context

Acceptance Criteria

Interactive flow

Non-interactive flow

JQ support

1 remaining item

Acceptance Criteria

Interactive flow

Non-interactive flow

JQ support

Incompatible with `--dry-run`

Independent of `--template`

1. `api/queries_pr.go`

2. `pkg/cmdutil/json_flags.go`

A new helper to add `--json` and `--jq` options

Make JSON flag validation aware of missing `--template`

3. `pkg/cmd/pr/create/create.go`

Add the JSON-related options

Bail out if `--json` is used with `--dry-run`

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	query := `
	mutation PullRequestCreate($input: CreatePullRequestInput!) {
	createPullRequest(input: $input) {
	pullRequest {
	id
	url
	}
	}
	}`

	if opts.DryRun && opts.WebMode {
	return cmdutil.FlagErrorf("`--dry-run` is not supported when using `--web`")
	}

Sunbelt Computer Software

PL/B Language Development and Support

Add --json and --jq to gh pr create #11247

Description

Describe the feature or problem you’d like to solve

Proposed solution

Additional context

Acceptance Criteria

Interactive flow

Non-interactive flow

JQ support

Activity

babakks commented on Jul 9, 2025

andyfeller commented on Oct 8, 2025

BagToad commented on Nov 10, 2025

1 remaining item

BagToad commented on Jan 30, 2026

babakks commented on Feb 4, 2026

Acceptance Criteria

Interactive flow

Non-interactive flow

JQ support

Incompatible with --dry-run

Independent of --template

babakks commented on Feb 4, 2026

1. api/queries_pr.go

2. pkg/cmdutil/json_flags.go

A new helper to add --json and --jq options

Make JSON flag validation aware of missing --template

3. pkg/cmd/pr/create/create.go

Add the JSON-related options

Bail out if --json is used with --dry-run

babakks commented on Feb 10, 2026

yuvrajangadsingh commented on Feb 10, 2026

natsu0529 commented on Jul 6, 2026

LeonxLJX commented on Aug 27, 2026

LeonxLJX commented on Sep 1, 2026

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Issue actions

Add `--json` and `--jq` to `gh pr create` #11247

Incompatible with `--dry-run`

Independent of `--template`

1. `api/queries_pr.go`

2. `pkg/cmdutil/json_flags.go`

A new helper to add `--json` and `--jq` options

Make JSON flag validation aware of missing `--template`

3. `pkg/cmd/pr/create/create.go`

Bail out if `--json` is used with `--dry-run`