CLI Commands

Installation

gh extension install github/gh-stack

Requires the GitHub CLI (gh) v2.0+.

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Stack Management

gh stack init

Initialize a new stack in the current repository.

gh stack init [flags] [branches...]

Creates an entry in .git/gh-stack to track stack state. In interactive mode (no arguments), prompts you to name branches and offers to use the current branch as the first layer. You’ll also be prompted to set an optional branch prefix. When a prefix is set, branch names you enter are automatically prefixed.

When explicit branch names are given, creates any that don’t already exist (branching from the trunk). The trunk defaults to the repository’s default branch unless overridden with --base.

Use --numbered with --prefix to enable auto-incrementing branch names (prefix/01, prefix/02, …).

Enables git rerere automatically so that conflict resolutions are remembered across rebases.

Flag	Description
-b, --base <branch>	Trunk branch for the stack (defaults to the repository’s default branch)
-a, --adopt	Adopt existing branches into a stack instead of creating new ones
-p, --prefix <string>	Set a branch name prefix for the stack
-n, --numbered	Use auto-incrementing numbered branch names (requires --prefix)

Examples:

# Interactive — prompts for branch names
gh stack init

# Non-interactive — specify branches upfront
gh stack init feature-auth feature-api feature-ui

# Use a different trunk branch
gh stack init --base develop feature-auth

# Adopt existing branches into a stack
gh stack init --adopt feature-auth feature-api

# Set a prefix — prompts for a branch name suffix
gh stack init -p feat
#    → type "auth" → creates feat/auth

# Use numbered auto-incrementing branch names
gh stack init -p feat --numbered
#    → creates feat/01 automatically

gh stack add

Add a new branch on top of the current stack.

gh stack add [flags] [branch]

Creates a new branch at the current HEAD, adds it to the top of the stack, and checks it out. Must be run while on the topmost branch of a stack. If no branch name is given, prompts for one.

You can optionally stage changes and create a commit as part of the add flow. When -m is provided without an explicit branch name, the branch name is auto-generated. If the stack was created with --numbered, auto-generated names use numbered format (prefix/01, prefix/02); otherwise, date+slug format is used.

Flag	Description
-A, --all	Stage all changes (including untracked files); requires -m
-u, --update	Stage changes to tracked files only; requires -m
-m, --message <string>	Create a commit with this message before creating the branch

Note: -A and -u are mutually exclusive.

Examples:

# Create a branch by name
gh stack add api-routes

# Prompt for a branch name interactively
gh stack add

# Stage all changes, commit, and auto-generate the branch name
gh stack add -Am "Add login endpoint"

# Stage only tracked files, commit, and auto-generate the branch name
gh stack add -um "Fix auth bug"

# Commit already-staged changes and auto-generate the branch name
gh stack add -m "Add user model"

# Stage all changes, commit, and use an explicit branch name
gh stack add -Am "Add tests" test-layer

# Stage only tracked files, commit, and use an explicit branch name
gh stack add -um "Update docs" docs-layer

gh stack view

View the current stack.

gh stack view [flags]

Shows all branches in the stack, their ordering, PR links, and the most recent commit with a relative timestamp. Output is piped through a pager (respects GIT_PAGER, PAGER, or defaults to less -R).

Flag	Description
-s, --short	Compact output (branch names only)
--json	Output stack data as JSON

Examples:

gh stack view
gh stack view --short
gh stack view --json

gh stack checkout

Check out a stack from a pull request number or branch name.

gh stack checkout [<pr-number> | <branch>]

When a PR number is provided (e.g., 123), the command fetches the stack on GitHub, pulls the branches, and sets up the stack locally. If the stack already exists locally and matches, it switches to the branch. If the local and remote stacks have different compositions, you’ll be prompted to resolve the conflict.

When a branch name is provided, the command resolves it against locally tracked stacks only.

When run without arguments in an interactive terminal, shows a menu of all locally available stacks to choose from.

Examples:

# Check out a stack by PR number
gh stack checkout 42

# Check out a stack by branch name (local only)
gh stack checkout feature-auth

# Interactive — select from locally tracked stacks
gh stack checkout

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Remote Operations

gh stack submit

Push all branches and create/update PRs and the stack on GitHub.

gh stack submit [flags]

Creates a Stacked PR for every branch in the stack, pushing branches to the remote. After creating PRs, submit automatically creates a Stack on GitHub to link the PRs together. If the stack already exists on GitHub (e.g., from a previous submit), new PRs are added to the existing stack.

When creating new PRs, you will be prompted to enter a title for each one. Press Enter to accept the default (branch name), or use --auto to skip prompting entirely.

Flag	Description
--auto	Use auto-generated PR titles without prompting
--draft	Create new PRs as drafts
--remote <name>	Remote to push to (defaults to auto-detected remote)

Examples:

gh stack submit
gh stack submit --auto
gh stack submit --draft

gh stack sync

Fetch, rebase, push, and sync PR state in a single command.

gh stack sync [flags]

Performs a safe, non-interactive synchronization of the entire stack:

1. Fetch — fetches the latest changes from origin.
2. Fast-forward trunk — fast-forwards the trunk branch to match the remote (skips if diverged).
3. Cascade rebase — rebases all stack branches onto their updated parents (only if trunk moved). If a conflict is detected, all branches are restored to their original state, and you are advised to run gh stack rebase to resolve conflicts interactively.
4. Push — pushes all branches (uses --force-with-lease if a rebase occurred).
5. Sync PRs — syncs PR state from GitHub and reports the status of each PR.

Flag	Description
--remote <name>	Remote to fetch from and push to (defaults to auto-detected remote)

Examples:

gh stack sync

gh stack rebase

Pull from remote and do a cascading rebase across the stack.

gh stack rebase [flags] [branch]

Fetches the latest changes from origin, then ensures each branch in the stack has the tip of the previous layer in its commit history. Rebases branches in order from trunk upward.

If a branch’s PR has been squash-merged, the rebase automatically switches to --onto mode to correctly replay commits on top of the merge target.

If a rebase conflict occurs, the operation pauses and prints the conflicted files with line numbers. Resolve the conflicts, stage with git add, and continue with --continue. To undo the entire rebase, use --abort to restore all branches to their pre-rebase state.

Flag	Description
--downstack	Only rebase branches from trunk to the current branch
--upstack	Only rebase branches from the current branch to the top
--continue	Continue the rebase after resolving conflicts
--abort	Abort the rebase and restore all branches to their pre-rebase state
--remote <name>	Remote to fetch from (defaults to auto-detected remote)

Argument	Description
[branch]	Target branch (defaults to the current branch)

Examples:

# Rebase the entire stack
gh stack rebase

# Only rebase branches below the current one
gh stack rebase --downstack

# Only rebase branches above the current one
gh stack rebase --upstack

# After resolving a conflict
gh stack rebase --continue

# Abort rebase and restore everything
gh stack rebase --abort

gh stack push

Push all branches in the current stack to the remote.

gh stack push [flags]

Pushes every branch to the remote using --force-with-lease --atomic. This is a lightweight wrapper around git push that knows about all branches in the stack. It does not create or update pull requests — use gh stack submit for that.

Flag	Description
--remote <name>	Remote to push to (defaults to auto-detected remote)

Examples:

gh stack push
gh stack push --remote upstream

gh stack unstack

Remove a stack from local tracking and delete it on GitHub. Also available as gh stack delete.

gh stack unstack [flags] [branch]

Deletes the stack on GitHub first, then removes it from local tracking. If the remote deletion fails, the local state is left untouched so you can retry. Use --local to skip the remote deletion and only remove local tracking.

This is useful when you need to restructure a stack — remove a branch, reorder branches, rename branches, or make other large changes. After unstacking, use gh stack init --adopt to re-create the stack with the desired structure.

Flag	Description
--local	Only delete the stack locally (keep it on GitHub)

Argument	Description
[branch]	A branch in the stack to identify which stack to delete (defaults to the current branch)

Examples:

# Delete the stack on GitHub and remove local tracking
gh stack unstack

# Only remove local tracking
gh stack unstack --local

# Specify a branch to identify which stack
gh stack unstack feature-auth

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Navigation

Move between branches in the current stack without having to remember branch names. The bottom of the stack is the branch closest to the trunk, and the top is furthest from it. up moves away from trunk; down moves toward it.

All navigation commands clamp to the bounds of the stack — moving up from the top or down from the bottom is a no-op with a message.

gh stack up

Move up toward the top of the stack (away from trunk).

gh stack up [n]

Moves up n branches (default 1). If you’re on the trunk branch, up moves to the first stack branch.

Examples:

gh stack up          # move up one layer
gh stack up 3        # move up three layers

gh stack down

Move down toward the bottom of the stack (toward trunk).

gh stack down [n]

Moves down n branches (default 1).

Examples:

gh stack down        # move down one layer
gh stack down 2      # move down two layers

gh stack top

Jump to the top of the stack.

gh stack top

Checks out the branch furthest from the trunk.

gh stack bottom

Jump to the bottom of the stack.

gh stack bottom

Checks out the branch closest to the trunk.

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Utilities

gh stack alias

Create a short command alias so you can type less.

gh stack alias [flags] [name]

Installs a small wrapper script into ~/.local/bin/ that forwards all arguments to gh stack. The default alias name is gs, but you can choose any name by passing it as an argument. After setup, you can run gs push instead of gh stack push.

On Windows, automatic alias creation is not supported — the command prints manual instructions for creating a batch file or PowerShell function.

Flag	Description
--remove	Remove a previously created alias

Examples:

# Create the default alias (gs)
gh stack alias
#    → now "gs push", "gs view", etc. all work

# Create a custom alias
gh stack alias gst

# Remove an alias
gh stack alias --remove
gh stack alias --remove gst

gh stack feedback

Share feedback about gh-stack.

gh stack feedback [title]

Opens a GitHub Discussion in the gh-stack repository to submit feedback. Optionally provide a title for the discussion post.

Examples:

gh stack feedback
gh stack feedback "Support for reordering branches"

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Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
1	Generic error
2	Not in a stack / stack not found
3	Rebase conflict
4	GitHub API failure
5	Invalid arguments or flags
6	Disambiguation required (branch belongs to multiple stacks)
7	Rebase already in progress
8	Stack is locked by another process