gh-context

A kubectx-style context switcher for GitHub CLI - manage multiple GitHub accounts easily. This idea was based on https://github.com/automationpi/gh-context then customized a bit to my liking. Since I wanted to keep the convenient gh context subcommand, I had to name it the repo gh-context.

What It Does

When you switch contexts, gh-context:

1. Sets the active context
2. Updates ~/.ssh/config to use the correct SSH key for that account
3. Switches the gh CLI authentication to the correct user

This means both git push and gh commands will use the right credentials automatically.

Installation

gh extension install peterjmorgan/gh-context

Prerequisites: SSH Config Setup

Before using gh-context, set up your ~/.ssh/config with your different SSH keys:

Host github.com
    HostName github.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_work
    # IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_personal

Key points:

• All IdentityFile lines for github.com should be in a single Host github.com block
• Comment out the keys you're not currently using with #
• gh-context will uncomment/comment these lines when switching contexts

Quick Start

# Create a context from your current session (auto-detects active SSH key)
gh context new --from-current --name work

# Create a context with explicit SSH key
gh context new --from-current --name personal --ssh-key ~/.ssh/id_personal

# Switch contexts (updates SSH config + gh auth)
gh context use personal

# Verify everything is set up
gh context auth-status

Commands

Command	Description
list	List all contexts with active indicator
current	Show active context and repo-bound context
new	Create a new context
use <name>	Switch to a context (updates SSH config + gh auth)
delete <name>	Remove a saved context
bind <name>	Bind current repository to a context
unbind	Remove repository binding
apply	Apply the repo's bound context
shell-hook [shell]	Print shell integration code
auth-status	Show authentication status for all contexts

Creating Contexts

From Current Session

# Auto-detect user and SSH key from current state
gh context new --from-current --name work

# Override the SSH key
gh context new --from-current --name personal --ssh-key ~/.ssh/id_personal

With Explicit Parameters

gh context new \
  --hostname github.com \
  --user myusername \
  --ssh-key ~/.ssh/id_mykey \
  --name mycontext

How SSH Key Switching Works

When you run gh context use personal, the tool:

1. Finds the Host github.com block in ~/.ssh/config
2. Comments out all IdentityFile lines
3. Uncomments the IdentityFile line matching your context's SSH key
4. Creates a backup at ~/.ssh/config.bak

Before:

Host github.com
    HostName github.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_work
    # IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_personal

After gh context use personal:

Host github.com
    HostName github.com
    User git
    # IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_work
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_personal

Repository Binding

Bind repositories to contexts for automatic switching:

# In your work repo
cd ~/work/project
gh context bind work

# In your personal repo
cd ~/personal/project
gh context bind personal

Shell Integration

Add automatic context switching when entering repositories:

Bash

gh context shell-hook bash >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Zsh

gh context shell-hook zsh >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

PowerShell

gh context shell-hook powershell >> $PROFILE
. $PROFILE

Fish

gh context shell-hook fish >> ~/.config/fish/config.fish
source ~/.config/fish/config.fish

Context File Format

Contexts are stored in ~/.config/gh/contexts/ (or %APPDATA%\gh\contexts on Windows):

HOSTNAME=github.com
USER=myuser
TRANSPORT=ssh
SSH_KEY=~/.ssh/id_personal

Full Setup Example

# 1. Set up SSH keys (if not already done)
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/id_work -C "work@company.com"
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/id_personal -C "personal@gmail.com"

# 2. Add keys to GitHub accounts (via GitHub web UI)

# 3. Set up ~/.ssh/config
cat >> ~/.ssh/config << 'EOF'
Host github.com
    HostName github.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_work
    # IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_personal
EOF

# 4. Log in to both accounts with gh
gh auth login  # for work account
gh auth login  # for personal account (add second account)

# 5. Create contexts
gh context new --from-current --name work --ssh-key ~/.ssh/id_work
gh context new --hostname github.com --user personal-username --ssh-key ~/.ssh/id_personal --name personal

# 6. Switch and verify
gh context use personal
gh context auth-status
git push  # Now uses personal SSH key

Troubleshooting

"IdentityFile not found in Host block"

Make sure your ~/.ssh/config has a Host github.com block with the IdentityFile lines:

Host github.com
    HostName github.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_work
    # IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_personal

SSH key not switching

• Check ~/.ssh/config was updated: cat ~/.ssh/config
• Verify backup exists: ls -la ~/.ssh/config.bak
• Run gh context auth-status to see current state

Wrong account being used

• Run gh context auth-status to check both GH Auth and SSH Active status
• Make sure both show ✅ for the context you want to use

Building from Source

go build -o gh-context .

License

MIT