Commit, push and watch the deployment in one command

What you need

A repository with a deploy workflow

A GitHub Actions workflow in .github/workflows/ that runs on push to your branch.

The GitHub CLI, logged in

Install it with Homebrew, brew install gh, then run gh auth login once with the account that owns the repository.

zsh

The default shell on macOS. The function also works as is in bash: put it in ~/.bashrc instead.

Add gpush to your shell

1. 1

   Open your shell profile

   In Terminal, open -e ~/.zshrc opens it in TextEdit. If the file doesn't exist yet, create it first with touch ~/.zshrc.

2. 2

   Paste the function

   Add it at the end of the file and save.

   ~/.zshrc Copy function

   # Commit tracked files, push, then follow the GitHub Actions run
   gpush() {
     if [ -z "$1" ]; then echo "usage: gpush 'commit message'"; return 1; fi
     git commit -am "$1" && git push || return
     echo "Waiting for the GitHub Actions workflow…"
     sleep 5
     local run
     run="$(gh run list --branch "$(git branch --show-current)" --limit 1 --json databaseId -q '.[0].databaseId')"
     if [ -z "$run" ]; then echo "No workflow found for this branch."; return 0; fi
     gh run watch "$run" --exit-status
   }

3. 3

   Load it

   Open a new Terminal tab, or run source ~/.zshrc in the current one. type gpush should answer gpush is a shell function.

4. 4

   Push a change

   In your project folder, give it a commit message:

   Terminal Copy command

   gpush 'Home: new opening hours'

What the function does

Refuses to run without a message

With no argument it prints the usage and commits nothing.

Commits and pushes

git commit -am then git push. If either fails (nothing to commit, push rejected), the function stops there with git's own message.

Gives GitHub five seconds

The run doesn't exist the instant the push lands. Five seconds is enough for GitHub to create it.

Finds the run of this branch

gh run list asks for the latest run on the current branch and keeps only its id. A branch without a workflow simply ends with a message.

Watches it to the end

gh run watch --exit-status shows each step as it runs and makes the command fail if the deployment fails, so a red run is a failed gpush, not a quiet success.

Good to know

git add -A && gpush 'message'

git status before a gpush shows what will be committed, and the untracked files, marked ??. Use git add -A some/folder to add only part of the project.

From a Claude Code session, commands typed after the ! prefix run in a shell that doesn't load ~/.zshrc. Load it in the same line:

! source ~/.zshrc && gpush 'message'

Useful commands

For the days a run goes wrong, or you want to look back.

git status

Before a gpush: what will be committed, and the untracked files.

gh run list --limit 5

The latest runs: status, duration, commit.

gh run watch

Pick a run in progress and follow it live.

gh run view --log-failed

Only the logs of the failed step of the last run.

gh run rerun <id>

Run it again after a network glitch or a server that was down.

If something doesn't work