GitHub Secrets: Features 90% of Devs Don't Know Exist

GitHub has way more than repos and pull requests. Here's the stuff hiding in plain sight.

1. Press . to Open VS Code (In Your Browser)

On any repo, just press the period key (.).

Boom - full VS Code editor in your browser. No local clone needed.

URL hack: Change github.com to github.dev - same thing.

2. Codespaces = Cloud Development Environment

Navigate to a repo → Click "Code" → "Codespaces" → "Create codespace"

You get:

  • Full Linux VM with 4 cores
  • VS Code in browser
  • 60 hours FREE per month
  • Pre-configured dev environment

Use case: Contributing to open source without polluting your local machine.

3. GitHub CLI (gh) - Manage Everything from Terminal

# Create PR without leaving terminal
gh pr create --title "Fix bug" --body "Description here"

# View PRs
gh pr list

# Checkout PR locally
gh pr checkout 42

# Create issue
gh issue create

# View repo in browser
gh browse

Install: brew install gh or winget install GitHub.cli

4. Search Code Across ALL of GitHub

Press / on github.com → Type your search → Select "Code"

Example: language:rust "async fn" finds all Rust async functions.

Filters:

  • language:python
  • user:torvalds
  • org:microsoft
  • path:src/
  • filename:Dockerfile

5. Keyboard Shortcuts (Yes, GitHub Has Them)

Press ? on any GitHub page to see shortcuts.

Most useful:

  • t - File finder
  • w - Branch switcher
  • l - Jump to line
  • b - Open blame view
  • . - Open in VS Code (mentioned above)

6. Compare Any Two Commits

URL structure: github.com/user/repo/compare/COMMIT1...COMMIT2

Example:

github.com/microsoft/vscode/compare/1.80.0...1.81.0

See exactly what changed between versions.

Trick: Works with branches too: main...feature-branch

7. Shields/Badges (Free, Auto-Updating)

Add to your README:

![GitHub stars](https://img.shields.io/github/stars/user/repo)
![Build Status](https://github.com/user/repo/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)

Source: shields.io - generates badges for everything.

8. GitHub Actions Minutes = Free CI/CD

2,000 minutes/month FREE for private repos. Unlimited for public.

That's 33 hours of CI/CD runtime. Most teams use <500 minutes.

Example workflow (5 lines):

name: Test
on: [push]
jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - run: npm test

9. Gists = Quick Code Sharing

Go to gist.github.com

  • Paste code
  • Add description
  • Public or secret
  • Get shareable URL

Bonus: Gists are git repos! Clone them: git clone https://gist.github.com/[id]

10. GitHub Discussions > Issues for Q&A

Repo → "Discussions" tab

Like StackOverflow but for your project:

  • Questions
  • Ideas
  • Show and tell
  • Polls

Enable: Settings → Features → Check "Discussions"

The One You Definitely Didn't Know

GitHub Mobile App (iOS/Android):

  • Review PRs from your phone
  • Merge with thumbs
  • Get notified of issues
  • Read code with syntax highlighting

Wait, what? Yeah, code review from the couch.

Stop Paying for Features You Already Have

GitHub includes:

  • ✅ Code editor (VS Code in browser)
  • ✅ CI/CD (Actions - 2,000 free minutes)
  • ✅ Project management (Projects, Issues)
  • ✅ Documentation (Wiki, Pages)
  • ✅ Code search (better than Sourcegraph free tier)

You're literally sitting on $100/month of tools you're not using.

Go explore. Your productivity awaits.