GitHub CLI returns 404 Not Found for private repository PR comments despite having access

[archulan]

Describe the bug

When using GitHub CLI to fetch PR comments from a private repository that the authenticated user has access to, the commands return '404 Not Found' errors even though the user can access the repository and PR through the web interface.

Steps to reproduce

1. Authenticate with a GitHub token that has access to a private repository
2. Run gh pr view --json number,headRepository (works correctly)
3. Run gh api /repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{pr_number}/comments
4. Run gh api /repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/{pr_number}/comments

Expected behavior

The commands should return the PR comments in JSON format, similar to how they work for public repositories.

Actual behavior

Both commands return:

gh: Not Found (HTTP 404)
{"message":"Not Found","documentation_url":"https://docs.github.com/rest/issues/comments#list-issue-comments","status":"404"}

Environment

• GitHub CLI version: $(gh --version | head -1)
• Operating system: macOS
• Repository type: Private
• Authentication: Personal Access Token with repo permissions

Additional context

• The same API endpoints work correctly when called directly with curl using the same authentication token
• The user has admin access to the repository
• The PR exists and has comments visible in the GitHub web interface
• Other gh commands work correctly with the same repository (e.g., gh pr list, gh pr view)

This issue affects workflows that depend on programmatically accessing PR comments for automation purposes.

[williammartin]

Very strange. Can you add a few pieces of context please:

• gh version output (looks like you intended it but it wasn't evaluated)
• One gh api command and curl command equivalent that work and don't work
• The output of the gh api command with GH_DEBUG=api turned on.
• How you are setting the token for gh? (are you using GH_TOKEN env var?)

Super strange you also see this on the MCP server.

[archulan]

Hi @williammartin, here's the requested debugging information:

Version Information

$ gh version
gh version 2.74.2 (2025-06-17)
https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/tag/v2.74.2

Authentication Method

Not using GH_TOKEN environment variable - using keyring authentication via gh auth login.

Working vs Non-Working Commands

Working command (returns expected data):

$ gh api /repos/[org]/[repo]/issues/[pr-number]/comments
# Returns comment data successfully

Non-working command (returns empty array despite visible comments in web UI):

$ gh api /repos/[org]/[repo]/pulls/[pr-number]/comments
# Returns [] but PR has visible comments in GitHub web interface

Debug Output for Non-Working Command

$ GH_DEBUG=api gh api /repos/[org]/[repo]/pulls/[pr-number]/comments
[]
* Request at 2025-07-23 21:24:29.246148 +1000 AEST m=+0.092554918
* Request to https://api.github.com/repos/[org]/[repo]/pulls/[pr-number]/comments
> GET /repos/[org]/[repo]/pulls/[pr-number]/comments HTTP/1.1
> Host: api.github.com
> Accept: */*
> Authorization: token ████████████████████
> Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
> Time-Zone: Australia/Sydney
> User-Agent: GitHub CLI 2.74.2

< HTTP/2.0 200 OK
< Content-Length: 2
< Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
< X-Oauth-Scopes: gist, read:org, repo, workflow
< X-Ratelimit-Limit: 5000
< X-Ratelimit-Remaining: 4893

[]
* Request took 486.08425ms

The API call succeeds (200 OK) but returns empty array despite the PR having visible comments in the GitHub web UI. This is on a private repository where I have collaborator access with full repo permissions.

[williammartin]

Right, that's also what I experienced, that pulls/<num>/comments didn't work but issues/<num>/comments did. In your original description under "Actual Behaviour" it seemed like you were saying both produced a 404, but neither seem to do that, so I'm not sure where you got the error from.

The [] empty array is explained because pulls/<num>/comments VERY CONFUSINGLY returns review comments (of which there are none): https://docs.github.com/en/rest/pulls/comments?apiVersion=2022-11-28#list-review-comments-in-a-repository

[archulan]

Hi @williammartin,

Thank you for your patience in helping me debug this! After diving deeper, I've discovered this isn't a CLI bug but rather highlights an area where the documentation could be clearer.

What I Learned

The GitHub CLI is working correctly. There are two different types of comments:

• Review comments (line-specific code feedback) → /pulls/{number}/comments
• General comments (PR conversation) → /issues/{number}/comments

My PR has general conversation comments but no line-specific review comments, so /pulls/{number}/comments correctly returns [].

Documentation Clarity Opportunity

As someone learning the API, I found it challenging to understand this distinction from the current documentation:

Current state:

• Pull request comments docs focus on review comments but don't mention where to find general PR comments
• Issues comments docs mention "Every pull request is an issue" but don't explicitly state "use this for general PR comments"

What would have helped:
A brief note in the pulls comments documentation like: "For general conversation comments on a pull request, use the issues comments endpoint since every pull request is also an issue."

Resolution

The CLI behavior is correct - I apologize for the initial confusion! This experience just highlighted how easy it is to misunderstand which endpoint serves which purpose.

Thanks again for your help and for maintaining such a great tool!

[williammartin]

I think you should create an issue in https://github.com/community pointing to this one. I agree that this is confusing. Cheers!

[archulan]

Perfect! I've created the GitHub Community discussion as you suggested: https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/167260

This should help bring attention to the documentation clarity issue and hopefully lead to improvements that prevent this confusion for other developers.

Thanks again for your guidance and for helping turn this into constructive feedback! 🙏