Suggest and install official extensions for unknown commands by BagToad · Pull Request #13175 · cli/cli

BagToad · 2026-04-15T23:45:38Z

Summary

When a user runs a command that matches a known official extension that is not installed (e.g. gh stack), the CLI offers to install it instead of showing the generic "unknown command" error.

Hidden stub commands are registered for each official extension in the registry. When invoked:

Interactive (TTY): prompts to install with a progress indicator
Non-interactive: prints the gh extension install command

Stubs are registered after real extensions and aliases, so installed extensions always take priority.

Motivation

Reduces friction for installing official extensions.

Design decisions

Hard-coded registry in pkg/extensions/official.go. Teams add extensions via PR. No API calls, no latency.
Stub commands in pkg/cmd/root/official_extension_stub.go. Registered as hidden Cobra commands with DisableFlagParsing so any user-provided flags do not cause validation errors.
Install only. After installation the user re-runs their command themselves. Keeps the flow simple.
Explicit github.com/ host prefix in install suggestions so GHES users install from the right place.

Current official extensions

github/gh-aw
github/gh-stack

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds a hard-coded registry of “official” GitHub-owned extensions and updates the CLI’s unknown-command handling to suggest (and optionally install) an official extension when the invoked command name matches one.

Changes:

Introduce OfficialExtension + registry and FindOfficialExtension helper.
Add tests for the official extensions registry lookup and repo construction.
Intercept unknown-command errors in gh entrypoint to suggest/prompt installing a matching official extension (TTY vs non-interactive behavior).

Show a summary per file

File	Description
`pkg/extensions/official.go`	Adds official extension registry, lookup helper, and github.com-pinned repo construction.
`pkg/extensions/official_test.go`	Tests lookup behavior and `Repository()` host/owner/name output.
`internal/ghcmd/cmd.go`	Hooks unknown-command errors to suggest/prompt install of matching official extensions.

Copilot's findings

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Files reviewed: 3/3 changed files
Comments generated: 4

When a user runs an unknown command that matches a known official extension (e.g. `gh stack` or `gh aw`), show an install suggestion. In interactive TTY sessions, prompt the user to install it on the spot. The official extension registry is hard-coded in pkg/extensions/. Current entries are github/gh-aw and github/gh-stack. Teams can add their extensions via PR. Install suggestions use an explicit github.com host prefix for GHES compatibility. Refs github/cli#220 Co-Authored-By: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Register hidden stub commands for official GitHub extensions (gh-aw, gh-stack) that offer to install the extension when invoked. This replaces the error-string-matching approach from the original PR with proper cobra commands that: - Avoid false-positive matches on flag values or post-'--' args - Eliminate conflicting cobra 'Did you mean?' suggestions - Properly propagate prompt/install errors for correct exit codes - Are hidden from help output and shell completions - Use GroupID "extension" so checkValidExtension allows installing over them - Are registered after extensions and aliases so both take priority Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

- Use cmdutil.DisableAuthCheck instead of raw annotation map - Convert tests to table-driven format - Use generic extension name in tests (gh-cool) Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Suggest first party extensions

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Removes post-install extension dispatch to keep the stub focused on installation. Also removes unused args parameter from the run function. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

This MR contains the following updates: | Package | Update | Change | |---|---|---| | [cli/cli](https://github.com/cli/cli) | minor | `v2.89.0` → `v2.90.0` | MR created with the help of [el-capitano/tools/renovate-bot](https://gitlab.com/el-capitano/tools/renovate-bot). **Proposed changes to behavior should be submitted there as MRs.** --- ### Release Notes <details> <summary>cli/cli (cli/cli)</summary> ### [`v2.90.0`](https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/tag/v2.90.0): GitHub CLI 2.90.0 [Compare Source](cli/cli@v2.89.0...v2.90.0) #### Manage agent skills with `gh skill` (Public Preview) [Agent skills](https://agentskills.io) are portable sets of instructions, scripts, and resources that teach AI coding agents how to perform specific tasks. The new `gh skill` command makes it easy to discover, install, manage, and publish agent skills from GitHub repositories - right from the CLI. ``` # Discover skills gh skill search copilot # Preview a skill without installing gh skill preview github/awesome-copilot documentation-writer # Install a skill gh skill install github/awesome-copilot documentation-writer # Pin to a specific version gh skill install github/awesome-copilot documentation-writer --pin v1.2.0 # Check installed skills for updates gh skill update --all # Validate and publish your own skills gh skill publish --dry-run ``` Skills are automatically installed to the correct directory for your agent host. `gh skill` supports GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, and Antigravity. Target a specific agent and scope with `--agent` and `--scope` flags. `gh skill publish` validates skills against the [Agent Skills specification](https://agentskills.io/specification) and checks remote settings like tag protection and immutable releases to improve supply chain security. Read the full announcement on the [GitHub Blog](https://github.blog/changelog/2026-04-16-manage-agent-skills-with-github-cli/). `gh skill` is launching in public preview and is subject to change without notice. #### Official extension suggestions When you run a command that matches a known official extension that isn't installed (e.g. `gh stack`), the CLI now offers to install it instead of showing a generic "unknown command" error. This feature is available for [github/gh-aw](https://github.com/github/gh-aw) and [github/gh-stack](https://github.com/github/gh-stack). When possible, you'll be prompted to install immediately. When prompting isn't possible, the CLI prints the `gh extension install` command to run. #### `gh extension install` no longer requires authentication `gh extension install` previously required a valid auth token even though it only needs to download a public release asset. The auth check has been removed, so you can install extensions without being logged in. #### What's Changed ##### ✨ Features - Add `gh skill` command group: install, preview, search, update, publish by [@SamMorrowDrums](https://github.com/SamMorrowDrums) in [#13165](cli/cli#13165) - Suggest and install official extensions for unknown commands by [@BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#13175](cli/cli#13175) - `gh skill publish`: auto-push unpushed commits before publish by [@SamMorrowDrums](https://github.com/SamMorrowDrums) in [#13171](cli/cli#13171) - Disable auth check for `gh extension install` by [@BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#13176](cli/cli#13176) ##### 🐛 Fixes - Fix infinite loop in `gh release list --limit 0` by [@Bahtya](https://github.com/Bahtya) in [#13097](cli/cli#13097) - Ensure `api` and `auth` commands record agentic invocations by [@williammartin](https://github.com/williammartin) in [#13046](cli/cli#13046) - Disable auth check for local-only skill flags by [@SamMorrowDrums](https://github.com/SamMorrowDrums) in [#13173](cli/cli#13173) - URL-encode parentPath in skills discovery API call by [@SamMorrowDrums](https://github.com/SamMorrowDrums) in [#13172](cli/cli#13172) - Fix: use target directory remotes in skills publish by [@SamMorrowDrums](https://github.com/SamMorrowDrums) in [#13169](cli/cli#13169) - Fix: preserve namespace in skills search deduplication by [@SamMorrowDrums](https://github.com/SamMorrowDrums) in [#13170](cli/cli#13170) ##### 📚 Docs & Chores - docs: include PGP key fingerprints by [@babakks](https://github.com/babakks) in [#13112](cli/cli#13112) - docs: add sha/md5 checksums of keyring files by [@babakks](https://github.com/babakks) in [#13150](cli/cli#13150) - docs: fix SHA512 checksum for GPG key by [@timsu92](https://github.com/timsu92) in [#13157](cli/cli#13157) - docs(skill): polish skill commandset docs by [@babakks](https://github.com/babakks) in [#13183](cli/cli#13183) - Document dependency CVE policy in SECURITY.md by [@BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#13119](cli/cli#13119) - Replace github.com/golang/snappy with klauspost/compress/snappy by [@thaJeztah](https://github.com/thaJeztah) in [#13048](cli/cli#13048) - chore: bump to go1.26.2 by [@babakks](https://github.com/babakks) in [#13116](cli/cli#13116) - chore: delete experimental script/debian-devel by [@babakks](https://github.com/babakks) in [#13127](cli/cli#13127) - Suggest first party extensions by [@williammartin](https://github.com/williammartin) in [#13182](cli/cli#13182) - Add cli/skill-reviewers as CODEOWNERS for skills packages by [@BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#13189](cli/cli#13189) - Add [@cli/code-reviewers](https://github.com/cli/code-reviewers) to all CODEOWNERS rules by [@BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#13190](cli/cli#13190) - Address post-merge review feedback for skills commands by [@SamMorrowDrums](https://github.com/SamMorrowDrums) in [#13185](cli/cli#13185) - Fix skills-publish-dry-run acceptance test error message mismatch by [@SamMorrowDrums](https://github.com/SamMorrowDrums) in [#13187](cli/cli#13187) - Skills: replace real git in publish tests with CommandStubber by [@SamMorrowDrums](https://github.com/SamMorrowDrums) in [#13188](cli/cli#13188) - Remove redundant nil-client fallback in skills publish by [@SamMorrowDrums](https://github.com/SamMorrowDrums) in [#13168](cli/cli#13168) - Publish: use shared discovery logic instead of requiring skills/ directory by [@SamMorrowDrums](https://github.com/SamMorrowDrums) in [#13167](cli/cli#13167) #####

Dependencies - chore(deps): bump github.com/klauspost/compress from 1.18.4 to 1.18.5 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#13071](cli/cli#13071) - chore(deps): bump github.com/yuin/goldmark from 1.7.16 to 1.8.2 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#13045](cli/cli#13045) - chore(deps): bump charm.land/bubbles/v2 from 2.0.0 to 2.1.0 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#13051](cli/cli#13051) - chore(deps): bump github.com/sigstore/timestamp-authority/v2 from 2.0.3 to 2.0.6 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#13152](cli/cli#13152) - chore(deps): bump github.com/google/go-containerregistry from 0.21.3 to 0.21.4 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#13129](cli/cli#13129) - chore(deps): bump github.com/sigstore/protobuf-specs from 0.5.0 to 0.5.1 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#13128](cli/cli#13128) - chore(deps): bump github.com/in-toto/attestation from 1.1.2 to 1.2.0 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#13044](cli/cli#13044) - chore(deps): bump advanced-security/filter-sarif from 1.0.1 to 1.1 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#12918](cli/cli#12918) - chore(deps): bump google.golang.org/grpc from 1.79.3 to 1.80.0 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#13076](cli/cli#13076) - chore(deps): bump github.com/hashicorp/go-version from 1.8.0 to 1.9.0 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#13065](cli/cli#13065) #### New Contributors - [@thaJeztah](https://github.com/thaJeztah) made their first contribution in [#13048](cli/cli#13048) - [@Bahtya](https://github.com/Bahtya) made their first contribution in [#13097](cli/cli#13097) - [@timsu92](https://github.com/timsu92) made their first contribution in [#13157](cli/cli#13157) - [@SamMorrowDrums](https://github.com/SamMorrowDrums) made their first contribution in [#13173](cli/cli#13173) **Full Changelog**: <cli/cli@v2.89.0...v2.90.0> </details> --- ### Configuration 📅 **Schedule**: (UTC) - Branch creation - At any time (no schedule defined) - Automerge - At any time (no schedule defined) 🚦 **Automerge**: Disabled by config. Please merge this manually once you are satisfied. ♻ **Rebasing**: Whenever MR becomes conflicted, or you tick the rebase/retry checkbox. 🔕 **Ignore**: Close this MR and you won't be reminded about this update again. --- - [ ] If you want to rebase/retry this MR, check this box --- This MR has been generated by [Renovate Bot](https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate).

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings April 15, 2026 23:45

BagToad requested a review from a team as a code owner April 15, 2026 23:45

BagToad requested a review from williammartin April 15, 2026 23:45

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of BagToad April 15, 2026 23:46 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Apr 15, 2026

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BagToad force-pushed the kw/first-party-extension-suggestions branch from 6c92d31 to 75909ed Compare April 15, 2026 23:50

babakks reviewed Apr 16, 2026

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williammartin reviewed Apr 16, 2026

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babakks reviewed Apr 16, 2026

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williammartin and others added 4 commits April 16, 2026 17:58

Add no em dash rule to AGENTS.md

9596f99

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Address PR review feedback

abc2a50

- Use cmdutil.DisableAuthCheck instead of raw annotation map - Convert tests to table-driven format - Use generic extension name in tests (gh-cool) Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Merge pull request #13182 from cli/wm/first-party-extension-suggestions

81afcd0

Suggest first party extensions

williammartin approved these changes Apr 16, 2026

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BagToad and others added 3 commits April 16, 2026 10:32

Replace em-dashes with regular dashes

1d59334

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Rename official extension files and types to stubs

b8d504c

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Remove dispatch after install, install only

32b8af1

Removes post-install extension dispatch to keep the stub focused on installation. Also removes unused args parameter from the run function. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

babakks approved these changes Apr 16, 2026

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BagToad enabled auto-merge April 16, 2026 16:46

BagToad merged commit 3265170 into trunk Apr 16, 2026
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BagToad deleted the kw/first-party-extension-suggestions branch April 16, 2026 16:48

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Suggest and install official extensions for unknown commands#13175

Suggest and install official extensions for unknown commands#13175
BagToad merged 8 commits into
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BagToad commented Apr 15, 2026 •

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Current official extensions

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BagToad commented Apr 15, 2026 •

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