Fetching PR Comments
Overview
Retrieve and parse GitHub PR review comments for the current branch using gh CLI.
Quick Reference
| Task | Command | |
|---|---|---|
| Check if PR exists | gh pr view | |
| View PR with issue comments | gh pr view --comments | |
| Fetch review comments (code-level) | gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/{n}/comments | |
| Extract key fields | `--jq '.[] \ | {path, line, body}'` |
Workflow
- Get PR number for current branch:
gh pr view --json number --jq '.number' - Fetch review comments:
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/{n}/comments \ --jq '.[] | {path:.path, line:.line, body:.body}' - Full command (single step):
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/pulls/$(gh pr view --json number -q.number)/comments \ --jq '.[] | {path:.path, line:.line, body:.body}'
Important Distinctions
| Type | What it shows | How to get |
|---|---|---|
| Issue comments | PR-level discussion | gh pr view --comments |
| Review comments | Code-level feedback | gh api.../pulls/{n}/comments |
Common Patterns
Check if current branch has a PR:
gh pr view 2>/dev/null && echo "PR exists" || echo "No PR"Get PR details + comments in one view:
gh pr view --commentsFetch specific PR by number:
gh pr view 429 --repo owner/repo --commentsWhen NOT to Use
- Creating new PRs (use
gh pr create) - Reviewing diffs (use
gh pr diff) - Merging (use
gh pr merge)