Updating PR Descriptions

Overview

gh pr edit --body can fail silently on some GitHub instances or configurations, accepting the command but not persisting changes. The GitHub REST API provides a reliable fallback when standard CLI tools don't work as expected.

When to Use

• gh pr edit --body accepts command but changes don't persist (silent failure)
• Need to programmatically update PR description with multiline content
• Working with complex PR templates where edits aren't reflected
• Need guaranteed persistence before moving forward

Not needed when:

• gh pr edit --body-file successfully updates your PR
• You only need to update title or simple fields

Core Pattern