GitHub Labels

Reference for discovering and applying labels to GitHub PRs and issues.

Discovering Available Labels

List all labels with details

gh label list --json name,description,color --limit 50

Search for specific labels

gh label list --search "bug"

Output as simple list

gh label list --json name -q '.[].name'

Adding Labels to PRs

Single label

gh pr create --label "bug"

Multiple labels (repeat flag)

gh pr create --label "bug" --label "priority:high"

Comma-separated

gh pr create --label "bug,priority:high"

Add to existing PR

gh pr edit 123 --add-label "ready-for-review"

Adding Labels to Issues

Create with labels

gh issue create --label "bug,needs-triage"

Add to existing issue

gh issue edit 123 --add-label "in-progress"

Remove label

gh issue edit 123 --remove-label "needs-triage"

Common Label Categories

Category Examples

Type bug , feature , enhancement , documentation , chore

Priority priority:critical , priority:high , priority:medium , priority:low

Status needs-triage , in-progress , blocked , ready-for-review

Area frontend , backend , infrastructure , testing , ci-cd

Label Inheritance Pattern

When creating a PR from an issue:

• Read issue labels via gh issue view N --json labels

• Apply same labels to PR: gh pr create --label "label1,label2"

This maintains traceability and consistent categorization.