`gh pr edit` fails with Projects (classic) deprecation error even without `--add-project` flag

[ThePlenkov]

Describe the bug

gh pr edit command fails with GraphQL error about Projects (classic) deprecation, even when not using any project-related flags.

Affected version

gh version 2.45.0 (2025-07-18 Ubuntu 2.45.0-1ubuntu0.3)
https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/tag/v2.45.0

Steps to reproduce

1. Have a repository with an existing PR
2. Run: gh pr edit <pr_number> --body-file /tmp/release-pr.md
3. See error

Error output

GraphQL: Projects (classic) is being deprecated in favor of the new Projects experience, see: https://github.blog/changelog/2024-05-23-sunset-notice-projects-classic/. (repository.pullRequest.projectCards)

Expected vs actual behavior

Expected: PR body should be updated successfully

Actual: Command fails with GraphQL error about Projects (classic) deprecation

Additional context

• This appears to be a regression or incomplete fix of gh pr edit returns an error with --add-project #10681 (closed in April 2025)
• The error occurs even when NOT using --add-project flag
• The error suggests gh is querying projectCards field even when not needed
• This affects automated release workflows that update PR descriptions

Workaround

None currently available - the command completely fails.

Suggested fix

The GitHub CLI should:

1. Not query projectCards field unless explicitly needed (e.g., when using --add-project)
2. Handle the deprecation warning gracefully instead of treating it as a fatal error
3. Use the new Projects V2 API instead of Projects (classic)

[ThePlenkov]

Update: Still occurs with gh 2.82.0

Installed the latest version via Homebrew and the issue persists:

gh version 2.82.0 (2025-01-14)
https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/tag/v2.82.0

Same error:

GraphQL: Projects (classic) is being deprecated in favor of the new Projects experience, see: https://github.blog/changelog/2024-05-23-sunset-notice-projects-classic/. (repository.pullRequest.projectCards)

This confirms the issue exists in the latest release (2.82.0) as of October 2025.

[williammartin]

Hey, can you include the output with GH_DEBUG=api in the environment? Thanks for the report.

[ThePlenkov]

Workaround: Use GitHub REST API directly

While waiting for a fix, you can use gh api to bypass the GraphQL issue:

gh api \
  --method PATCH \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
  /repos/OWNER/REPO/pulls/PR_NUMBER \
  -f body="$(cat body.txt)"

This uses the REST API instead of GraphQL and successfully updates the PR body without triggering the Projects (classic) deprecation error.

Example:

gh api \
  --method PATCH \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
  /repos/genai-tools/anygpt/pulls/16 \
  -f body="Updated PR description"

This workaround is suitable for CI/CD pipelines and automation scripts until gh pr edit is fixed.

[Shuanglu]

It looks like it has nothing to do with specific version but other factors e.g. user.
When we use bot account, it got the error below but with user account, it works fine.

{
  "data": {
    "repository": {
      "pullRequest": null
    }
  },
  "errors": [
    {
      "type": "NOT_FOUND",
      "path": [
        "repository",
        "pullRequest",
        "projectCards"
      ],
      "locations": [
        {
          "line": 4,
          "column": 833
        }
      ],
      "message": "Projects (classic) is being deprecated in favor of the new Projects experience, see: https://github.blog/changelog/2024-05-23-sunset-notice-projects-classic/."
    }
  ]
}

[ThePlenkov]

I am using gh cli with my own user if that matters - other commands work nicely - this is specific to pr i think

[williammartin]

I am using gh cli with my own user if that matters - other commands work nicely - this is specific to pr i think

Sure. Can you include the output of GH_DEBUG=api in the environment please? Would just like to see the specific request being made here.

[ThePlenkov]

i just tried again and it works.. i don't know what was that.. i think we can close this one. THanks for checking

[williammartin]

Very strange. Maybe the upgrade to the most recent version didn't happen as expected? I would expect the initial version in your report to fail as you showed. Thanks anyway.

[tonglil]

I started getting this error with v2.72.0 overnight.

[babakks]

I started getting this error with v2.72.0 overnight.

Can you please upgrade to v2.82.0 and try again? Also please share the output with GH_DEBUG=api if it still fails.

[jsirianni]

I am seeing this error as well, seemingly out of nowhere.

My runner provider appears to have this version by default

Run gh --version
gh version 2.64.0 (2024-12-20)

[BagToad]

@jsirianni could you please reach out to your runner administrator and ask them to upgrade the gh version please? The projects classic API is being deprecated and old gh versions don't have support for the new API.