GH-REPO-SET-DEFAULT(1) GitHub CLI manual GH-REPO-SET-DEFAULT(1)

gh-repo-set-default - Configure default repository for this directory

gh repo set-default [<repository>] [flags]

This command sets the default remote repository to use when querying the GitHub API for the locally cloned repository.

gh uses the default repository for things like:

  • viewing and creating pull requests
  • viewing and creating issues
  • viewing and creating releases
  • working with GitHub Actions

Unset the current default repository
View the current default repository

0: Successful execution

1: Error

2: Command canceled

4: Authentication required

NOTE: Specific commands may have additional exit codes. Refer to the command's help for more information.

# Interactively select a default repository
$ gh repo set-default
# Set a repository explicitly
$ gh repo set-default owner/repo
# View the current default repository
$ gh repo set-default --view
# Show more repository options in the interactive picker
$ git remote add newrepo https://github.com/owner/repo
$ gh repo set-default

gh-repo(1)

Jun 2025