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Project Workflow

CLIs you set up per-project — gh for GitHub, git-secret for encrypted files, direnv for per-dir env, fnm for Node versions.

Tip 12.1: gh — GitHub CLI​

Manage repos, PRs, and issues from the terminal.

gh repo clone owner/name              # clone a repo
gh pr create                          # open PR for current branch
gh pr list                            # list PRs in current repo
gh pr checkout 123                    # check out PR #123 locally
gh issue create                       # open an issue
gh run watch                          # follow a running workflow

Docs: https://cli.github.com/manual/

Tip 12.2: git-secret — Encrypted Files in Git​

Encrypts sensitive files with GPG so they can be safely committed.

git secret init                       # one-time per repo
git secret tell you@example.com       # add a recipient (must have public GPG key)
git secret add path/to/secret.json    # mark file as a secret
git secret hide                       # encrypt all tracked secrets → .secret files
git secret reveal                     # decrypt all .secret files

Cross-link: see Tip 24.1 / 24.3 — this repo's pre-commit hook auto-syncs git secret's tracked paths into Claude Code's deny rules.

Docs: https://git-secret.io/

Tip 12.3: direnv — Per-Directory Environment​

Auto-loads environment variables when you cd into a project, unloads when you leave.

echo 'export FOO=bar' > .envrc
direnv allow                          # one-time approval per .envrc change

Now FOO is set whenever you're inside that directory tree.

For projects with only a plain .env file, use direnv's stdlib dotenv helper:

echo 'dotenv' > .envrc                # also: 'dotenv .env.local'
direnv allow

This is the preferred path over the omz dotenv plugin, which doesn't unload on cd-out (vars leak between projects).

Docs: https://direnv.net/

Tip 12.4: fnm — Fast Node Manager​

Install and switch between Node.js versions per project. Opening a shell in, or entering, a directory with a .nvmrc, .node-version or package.json engines field (here or in a parent) switches automatically. Any other directory switches back to the default, which also undoes a manual fnm use. dotfiles keeps the two latest LTS lines and the latest release installed, with the newest LTS as the default.

fnm install --lts                     # install latest LTS
fnm use 22                            # switch to Node 22 in this shell
fnm list                              # list installed versions
fnm default 22                        # version new shells start with
echo "22" > .nvmrc                    # pin Node version per project

Docs: https://github.com/Schniz/fnm