gh-dash — A Beautiful Terminal Dashboard for GitHub

Introduction

gh-dash is an extension for the GitHub CLI that gives you a terminal-based dashboard for your GitHub activity. Instead of switching to a browser to check pull requests, issues, and reviews, you can see everything at a glance in your terminal with keyboard-driven navigation.

What gh-dash Does

• Displays pull requests you authored, are assigned to, or need to review in sortable columns
• Shows open issues across multiple repositories with label and assignee filters
• Lets you view PR diffs, check CI status, approve, and merge without leaving the terminal
• Supports custom sections with configurable queries to group work however you like
• Provides real-time updates with automatic refresh on a configurable interval

Architecture Overview

gh-dash is written in Go using the Bubble Tea TUI framework and the Lip Gloss styling library from Charm. It communicates with the GitHub GraphQL API through the gh CLI authentication layer, so you do not need to manage a separate API token. The layout is configured via a YAML file that defines which sections to display and what queries power each one.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Requires the GitHub CLI (gh) to be installed and authenticated
• Install with a single command: gh extension install dlvhdr/gh-dash
• Customize the dashboard layout in ~/.config/gh-dash/config.yml
• Define custom sections with GitHub search syntax (e.g., is:pr author:@me is:open)
• Set refresh intervals, theme colors, and keybindings in the config file

Key Features

• Keyboard-driven navigation with vim-style bindings
• Inline PR diff viewer and CI status checks
• Multiple configurable sections with independent search queries
• Supports light and dark terminal themes with customizable colors
• Preview pane shows PR description, labels, reviewers, and checks at a glance

Comparison with Similar Tools

• GitHub web UI — full-featured but requires a browser; gh-dash keeps you in the terminal
• gh CLI — powerful but outputs plain text lists; gh-dash adds an interactive, persistent UI
• Gitify — desktop notification app for GitHub; gh-dash is a full dashboard, not just notifications
• Octo.nvim — GitHub integration inside Neovim; gh-dash works in any terminal without an editor

FAQ

Q: Does it work with GitHub Enterprise? A: Yes, as long as your gh CLI is authenticated against your Enterprise instance.

Q: Can I merge PRs from gh-dash? A: Yes. You can approve, merge, and comment on pull requests directly from the dashboard.

Q: How do I add a section for a specific repo? A: Add a section in the config YAML with a filters field like repo:owner/name is:open is:pr.

Q: Does it support GitLab or Bitbucket? A: No. gh-dash is built specifically for GitHub using the GitHub CLI and API.

Sources

• https://github.com/dlvhdr/gh-dash
• https://dlvhdr.me/posts/gh-dash