GitHits CLI command reference: all commands and flags

Complete reference for every GitHits CLI command, organized by category: setup, authentication, MCP server, code examples, navigation, package inspection, and feedback.

The GitHits CLI exposes commands for tool setup, code example search, source navigation, package inspection, and feedback. Run commands through npx githits@latest unless you are inside an MCP config that already uses the JSON command form.

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Setup and configuration

npx githits@latest init

Authenticate and configure detected AI coding tools in the current directory.

Authenticate and configure all detected AI coding tools with the GitHits MCP server. init runs the browser login flow first, then auto-detects which supported tools are installed and writes MCP configuration for each one.

npx githits@latest init

Automatic install support: Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code / Copilot, Cline, Claude Desktop, Codex CLI, Pi, Gemini CLI, Google Antigravity, and OpenCode.

After init completes, each detected tool is configured to start the GitHits MCP server automatically. No further manual configuration is needed.

Flags

-y, --yes · flag

Skip interactive prompts and configure all detected tools automatically.

--skip-login · flag

Skip the authentication step. Useful if you are already authenticated and only want to reconfigure tool integrations.

init is the default way to get started. It configures supported tools and handles authentication for common local setup.

npx githits@latest init uninstall

Remove GitHits MCP configuration from detected coding tools.

Remove GitHits MCP configuration from all detected coding tools. Stored credentials are preserved — only the MCP config entries are removed.

npx githits@latest init uninstall

To also remove stored credentials, run npx githits@latest logout separately after uninstalling.

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Authentication

npx githits@latest login

Log in to your GitHits account with browser OAuth.

Authenticate with your GitHits account via browser OAuth. Opens your default browser to complete the login flow. Tokens are stored in the system keychain by default and refreshed automatically on next use.

npx githits@latest login

Flags

--no-browser · flag

Print the authorization URL instead of opening the browser. Use this in SSH sessions, CI environments, or containers where a browser isn’t available.

--force · flag

Re-authenticate even if a valid token already exists.

--port · number

Use a specific port for the local OAuth callback server. Defaults to a random port in the 8000–9999 range.

Standard login

npx githits@latest login

If authentication times out (after 5 minutes), the browser link expires. Run the command again to get a fresh link.

npx githits@latest logout

Remove stored OAuth credentials from this machine.

Remove stored OAuth credentials. After logging out, tool calls that require authentication will fail until you log in again.

npx githits@latest logout

npx githits@latest auth status

Check the current authentication status and credential source.

Show current authentication status, including the credential source, storage location, and token expiry.

npx githits@latest auth status

If GITHITS_API_TOKEN is set in your environment, the command reports that source without reading local OAuth storage. If the stored token is expired, GitHits attempts to refresh it before reporting.

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MCP server

npx githits@latest mcp

Show manual MCP setup instructions or start stdio mode in non-TTY contexts.

Show MCP setup instructions when run interactively in a terminal. When piped or run in a non-TTY context, starts the MCP server over stdio instead.

npx githits@latest mcp

Use this command to see the JSON snippet you need to add to your tool’s MCP configuration manually.

npx githits@latest mcp start

Start the GitHits MCP server over stdio for coding tool configs.

Always start the MCP server over stdio, regardless of whether the output is a TTY. Use this command in MCP configuration files so your coding tool can launch the server reliably.

npx githits@latest mcp start

A typical MCP config entry looks like this:

MCP config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "githits": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "githits@latest", "mcp", "start"]
    }
  }
}

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Code examples

npx githits@latest example

Find source-linked code examples from real open-source usage.

Search for canonical code examples from global open-source repositories using a natural-language query.

npx githits@latest example "<query>"

Flags

--language · string

Force a specific programming language. Omit to let GitHits infer the language from your query. If you’re unsure of the exact language name, run npx githits@latest languages first.

--license-mode · string · default: "strict"

Control license filtering for Code Examples. Options: strict (default), yolo, or custom.

--explain · flag

Include an AI-generated explanation alongside the code example.

--json · flag

Output the result as JSON for piping or scripting. The envelope includes result and, when available, solution_id.

Basic example search

npx githits@latest example "connect to postgres with connection pooling"

npx githits@latest languages

List or filter supported programming language names.

List all supported programming language names. Optionally filter by a substring.

npx githits@latest languages [filter]

# List all supported languages
npx githits@latest languages

# Filter by substring
npx githits@latest languages type

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Search and package navigation

npx githits@latest search

Search indexed package or repository code, docs, and symbols.

Run a unified indexed search across dependency and repository code, documentation, and symbols.

npx githits@latest search "<query>"

Results include a searchRef you can pass to npx githits@latest search-status to poll for additional results from an async index scan.

npx githits@latest search-status

Poll a prior async indexed search by its searchRef.

Follow up on a prior npx githits@latest search using the searchRef returned in the initial response.

npx githits@latest search-status <searchRef>

npx githits@latest pkg info

Inspect package metadata, popularity, downloads, and vulnerability status.

Show a package overview including version, license, repository popularity, download counts, and vulnerability summary.

npx githits@latest pkg info <registry>:<package>
npx githits@latest pkg info npm:express
npx githits@latest pkg info pypi:requests --verbose

See Package Inspection for the full parameter reference.

npx githits@latest pkg vulns

List known CVE and OSV advisories for a package or version.

List CVE and OSV vulnerability advisories for a package or a specific version.

npx githits@latest pkg vulns <registry>:<package>
npx githits@latest pkg vulns npm:lodash
npx githits@latest pkg vulns npm:lodash@4.17.20 --severity high

npx githits@latest pkg deps

Show direct dependencies and optional transitive dependency details.

Show direct dependencies, dependency groups, and optionally the full transitive dependency graph.

npx githits@latest pkg deps <registry>:<package>
npx githits@latest pkg deps npm:express
npx githits@latest pkg deps npm:webpack --include-transitive

npx githits@latest pkg changelog

Retrieve release notes or changelog entries for packages and repos.

Retrieve release notes and changelog entries for a package or GitHub repository, newest-first.

npx githits@latest pkg changelog <registry>:<package>
npx githits@latest pkg changelog npm:express --limit 5
npx githits@latest pkg changelog --repo-url https://github.com/expressjs/express

npx githits@latest pkg upgrade-review

Compare package versions with security, changelog, and dependency evidence.

Report evidence for a package upgrade by comparing the current version with a target version. The command checks vulnerabilities, changelog range evidence, target deprecation metadata, peer dependency changes, dependency changes, and optional transitive evidence.

npx githits@latest pkg upgrade-review <registry>:<package>@<current> --to <target>
npx githits@latest pkg upgrade-review npm:zod@4.3.6 --to 4.4.3
npx githits@latest pkg upgrade-review --package npm:zod@4.3.6..4.4.3 --package npm:lint-staged@16.2.7..16.4.0

Flags

--to · string

Target version for single-package mode.

--package · string

Batch package spec in <registry>:<name>@<current>..<target> format. Repeat the flag for multiple packages.

--no-transitive-security · flag

Skip the transitive vulnerability summary diff.

--dependency-issues · flag

Include deprecated, outdated, duplicate, and conflict summary diffs.

--min-severity · string

Minimum direct-advisory severity: low, medium, high, or critical.

-v, --verbose · flag

Include dependency change examples in text output.

See Package Inspection for the full parameter reference.

npx githits@latest docs list

List hosted and repo-backed documentation pages for a package.

List documentation pages available for a package.

npx githits@latest docs list <spec>
npx githits@latest docs list npm:express
npx githits@latest docs list pypi:requests --limit 20

npx githits@latest docs read

Read a documentation page by page ID, optionally by line range.

Read a specific documentation page by its page ID.

npx githits@latest docs read <pageId>
npx githits@latest docs read <pageId> --start-line 50 --end-line 150

npx githits@latest code files

List files in an indexed package or repository.

List the files included in an indexed package or repository.

npx githits@latest code files <spec>
npx githits@latest code files npm:express
npx githits@latest code files npm:express --path-prefix src/ --extensions ts js

npx githits@latest code read

Read a specific indexed source file by path.

Read a specific file from an indexed package or repository by path.

npx githits@latest code read <spec> <path>
npx githits@latest code read npm:express src/application.js
npx githits@latest code read npm:express src/application.js --start-line 120 --end-line 200

npx githits@latest code grep

Search indexed source files with literal text or regex.

Search for a text pattern across the indexed files of a package or repository.

npx githits@latest code grep <spec> <pattern>
npx githits@latest code grep npm:express "Router"
npx githits@latest code grep npm:express "use\(.*middleware" --regex

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Feedback

npx githits@latest feedback

Rate a specific result or submit generic session feedback.

Submit feedback on a specific result or on your overall session. Use --accept for positive feedback and --reject for negative. A --message is recommended, especially for generic session feedback.

npx githits@latest feedback [solution_id] --accept | --reject [options]

Arguments

solution_id · string

Optional. The solution ID from a prior get_example result. When provided, feedback is anchored to that specific result. Omit to submit generic session feedback.

Flags

--accept · flag

Mark the result as helpful.

--reject · flag

Mark the result as unhelpful.

--message, -m · string

An explanation to accompany the feedback rating.

--tool · string

The command or MCP tool name being rated (e.g. code_grep, search).

--json · flag

Output the result as JSON for scripting or piping.

Accept a specific result

npx githits@latest feedback abc123 --accept