Instantly Push a New GitHub Repo Using One .bat File

Creating a new GitHub repository manually each time?
Let’s automate the entire process — from folder creation to the first commit — using a single reusable .bat file.

This guide explains the how and why in a simple Q\&A format, and gives you the full working script.

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What does firstrepo.bat do?

It automates:

1. Creating a local folder if needed
2. Initializing a Git repo with master branch
3. Adding _venv to .gitignore
4. Creating a GitHub repo using the gh CLI
5. Making the first commit
6. Setting remote and pushing to GitHub

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How do I use it?

Just run it like this:

firstrepo.bat myname

It’ll set everything up and open your GitHub repo instantly.

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What does it prevent?

• Double nesting like desoise-images/desoise-images/
• Missing GitHub credentials
• Forgetting to switch from main to master
• Missing .gitignore for _venv

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What if I’m already inside the repo folder?

No problem. The script checks the folder name and skips mkdir and cd if you’re already there.

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What if gh CLI is not installed or not authenticated?

You’ll get this clear message:

GitHub CLI (gh) is not installed. → Download: https://cli.github.com/

 

Or, if not authenticated:

Please run 'gh auth login' to authenticate with GitHub.

 

Then the script exits safely.

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Behind the Scenes

It uses:

git init -b master 
gh repo create ... 
git push -u origin master

 

…and adds _venv to .gitignore automatically.

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Full Script: firstrepo.bat

@echo off
setlocal

:: Check if repo name is passed
if "%~1"=="" (
    echo Usage: firstrepo.bat YourNewRepoName
    exit /b
)

set "REPO_NAME=%~1"
set "GITHUB_USER=vikaskbh"
set "VISIBILITY=private"

:: Check if GitHub CLI is installed
where gh >nul 2>&1
if errorlevel 1 (
    echo GitHub CLI (gh) is not installed.
    echo → Download: https://cli.github.com/
    exit /b
)

:: Check if gh is authenticated
gh auth status >nul 2>&1
if errorlevel 1 (
    echo Please run 'gh auth login' to authenticate with GitHub.
    exit /b
)

echo.
echo  Requested repo: %REPO_NAME%

:: Get current folder name
for %%I in ("%CD%") do set "CURRENT_FOLDER=%%~nxI"

if /I "%CURRENT_FOLDER%"=="%REPO_NAME%" (
    echo Already in %REPO_NAME% folder, skipping mkdir and cd
) else (
    if not exist "%REPO_NAME%" (
        echo  Creating folder: %REPO_NAME%
        mkdir "%REPO_NAME%"
    )
    cd "%REPO_NAME%"
)

echo.
echo  Initializing Git...
git init -b master

echo _venv> .gitignore

echo.
echo First commit
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"

echo.
echo  Creating GitHub repo: %REPO_NAME% (%VISIBILITY%)
gh repo create %GITHUB_USER%/%REPO_NAME% --%VISIBILITY% --source=. --remote=origin --push

:: Fallback remote add in case gh fails
git remote add origin https://github.com/%GITHUB_USER%/%REPO_NAME%.git 2>nul

echo.
echo  Pushing to GitHub...
git push -u origin master

echo.
echo Repo created and pushed: https://github.com/%GITHUB_USER%/%REPO_NAME%

endlocal

 

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Where should I keep it?

You can put it inside:

C:\Windows\

 

…so you can run firstrepo.bat my-project from any folder.