An end-to-end walkthrough of the gh student CLI. Install the CLI first.

For every command and flag, see the gh student reference.

The path: log in → accept an assignment → clone and work → submit.

Your teacher must have already:

1. Set up a GitHub organization for the classroom.
2. Registered the assignment.
3. Invited you to the organization (you'll get an email).

You don't need to accept the organization invite in the GitHub UI — gh student accept does it for you.

gh student login

This runs gh auth login with the scopes you need. If you skip it, the next command logs you in automatically. gh student logout mirrors gh auth logout.

gh student accept <org> <classroom> <assignment>

• <org> — your classroom's GitHub organization.
• <classroom> — the classroom your teacher set up (e.g., cs-principles).
• <assignment> — the assignment slug (e.g., hello).

This creates a private repository at <org>/<classroom>-<assignment>-<username> from the assignment's template (or an empty repo if it's template-less), then prints a git clone command.

Already accepted? The command reports Assignment already accepted and leaves your existing repo (and your work) alone.

Common errors:

Run the git clone command that gh student accept printed. Edit, commit, and push to your repository's default branch as usual.

To collaborate with a classmate or invite a TA:

gh student invite <org>/<repo> <username>

That adds them with push permission.

If your teacher registered the assignment with --mode group, teammates share one repository:

1. One teammate accepts first. They create the shared repository (named after them) and become its admin (the "founder").

2. The founder adds each teammate:

   gh student invite <org>/<classroom>-<assignment>-<founder-username> <teammate-username>

Each teammate is added with push permission and gets a GitHub invitation. Only the founder can add collaborators. When run from inside the group repo, gh student invite refuses to add past the size your teacher set, but this cap is advisory: it can be bypassed (for example, via the GitHub UI), and the authoritative crediting happens at grading time.

The whole group works in the one repository and submits from it. At grading time, everyone on the roster who is a collaborator gets the same score.

From inside the cloned repository:

gh student submit

This snapshots your current branch and pushes it as a new commit. The autograde workflow runs automatically: it tags the commit submit/<UTC-timestamp>-<short-sha>, grades it, and publishes a GitHub Release with your score a minute or two later.

When submit finishes, it prints two URLs:

• Autograde — the Actions tab, where the run appears in a few seconds.
• Releases — where the scored Release lands once grading finishes.

Good to know:

• Every push grades. Each commit on the default branch triggers a graded run with its own tag and Release — except the first commit from accepting, which has nothing to grade and is skipped. The latest Release is always your most recent submission.
• History is preserved. Submissions stack as commits; prior commits stay reachable for review.
• No git config required. Commits are authored with your GitHub login and noreply email, so a fresh shell submits cleanly.
• Build artifacts are excluded. Only tracked and untracked-not-ignored files are submitted.

• gh student reference — every command and flag.
• Troubleshooting — debug flags and common errors.