diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/$default.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/$default.ts
index 8287ad7..f2ca110 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/$default.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/$default.ts
@@ -20,8 +20,10 @@ import { TokenTracker } from 'mycoder-agent/dist/core/tokens.js';
 import { SharedOptions } from '../options.js';
 import { captureException } from '../sentry/index.js';
 import { getConfigFromArgv, loadConfig } from '../settings/config.js';
+import { checkGitHubTools, getGitHubModeWarning } from '../utils/githubTools.js';
 import { nameToLogIndex } from '../utils/nameToLogIndex.js';
 import { checkForUpdates, getPackageInfo } from '../utils/versionCheck.js';
+import { checkGitCli } from '../utils/gitCliCheck.js';
 
 import type { CommandModule, Argv } from 'yargs';
 
@@ -58,6 +60,27 @@ export const command: CommandModule<SharedOptions, DefaultArgs> = {
     if (config.upgradeCheck !== false) {
       await checkForUpdates(logger);
     }
+
+    // Check for git and gh CLI tools if GitHub mode is enabled
+    if (config.githubMode) {
+      logger.debug('GitHub mode is enabled, checking for git and gh CLI tools...');
+      const gitCliCheck = await checkGitCli(logger);
+      
+      if (gitCliCheck.errors.length > 0) {
+        logger.warn('GitHub mode is enabled but there are issues with git/gh CLI tools:');
+        gitCliCheck.errors.forEach(error => logger.warn(`- ${error}`));
+        
+        if (!gitCliCheck.gitAvailable || !gitCliCheck.ghAvailable) {
+          logger.warn('GitHub mode requires git and gh CLI tools to be installed.');
+          logger.warn('Please install the missing tools or disable GitHub mode with --githubMode false');
+        } else if (!gitCliCheck.ghAuthenticated) {
+          logger.warn('GitHub CLI is not authenticated. Please run "gh auth login" to authenticate.');
+        }
+      } else {
+        logger.info('GitHub mode is enabled and all required CLI tools are available.');
+      }
+    }
+    
     const tokenTracker = new TokenTracker(
       'Root',
       undefined,
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/utils/gitCliCheck.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/utils/gitCliCheck.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fb31fad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/src/utils/gitCliCheck.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
+import { checkGitCli, GitCliCheckResult } from './gitCliCheck';
+
+// Mock the child_process module
+vi.mock('child_process', () => ({
+  exec: vi.fn(),
+}));
+
+// Mock the util module
+vi.mock('util', () => ({
+  promisify: vi.fn((fn) => {
+    return (cmd: string) => {
+      return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+        fn(cmd, (error: Error | null, result: { stdout: string }) => {
+          if (error) {
+            reject(error);
+          } else {
+            resolve(result);
+          }
+        });
+      });
+    };
+  }),
+}));
+
+// Import the mocked modules
+import { exec } from 'child_process';
+
+describe('gitCliCheck', () => {
+  const mockExec = exec as unknown as vi.Mock;
+  
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    mockExec.mockReset();
+  });
+  
+  it('should return all true when git and gh are available and authenticated', async () => {
+    // Mock successful responses
+    mockExec.mockImplementation((cmd: string, callback: Function) => {
+      if (cmd === 'git --version') {
+        callback(null, { stdout: 'git version 2.30.1' });
+      } else if (cmd === 'gh --version') {
+        callback(null, { stdout: 'gh version 2.0.0' });
+      } else if (cmd === 'gh auth status') {
+        callback(null, { stdout: 'Logged in to github.com as username' });
+      }
+    });
+    
+    const result = await checkGitCli();
+    
+    expect(result.gitAvailable).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.ghAvailable).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.ghAuthenticated).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.errors).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+  
+  it('should detect when git is not available', async () => {
+    mockExec.mockImplementation((cmd: string, callback: Function) => {
+      if (cmd === 'git --version') {
+        callback(new Error('Command not found'));
+      } else if (cmd === 'gh --version') {
+        callback(null, { stdout: 'gh version 2.0.0' });
+      } else if (cmd === 'gh auth status') {
+        callback(null, { stdout: 'Logged in to github.com as username' });
+      }
+    });
+    
+    const result = await checkGitCli();
+    
+    expect(result.gitAvailable).toBe(false);
+    expect(result.ghAvailable).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.ghAuthenticated).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.errors).toContain('Git CLI is not available. Please install git.');
+  });
+  
+  it('should detect when gh is not available', async () => {
+    mockExec.mockImplementation((cmd: string, callback: Function) => {
+      if (cmd === 'git --version') {
+        callback(null, { stdout: 'git version 2.30.1' });
+      } else if (cmd === 'gh --version') {
+        callback(new Error('Command not found'));
+      }
+    });
+    
+    const result = await checkGitCli();
+    
+    expect(result.gitAvailable).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.ghAvailable).toBe(false);
+    expect(result.ghAuthenticated).toBe(false);
+    expect(result.errors).toContain('GitHub CLI is not available. Please install gh CLI.');
+  });
+  
+  it('should detect when gh is not authenticated', async () => {
+    mockExec.mockImplementation((cmd: string, callback: Function) => {
+      if (cmd === 'git --version') {
+        callback(null, { stdout: 'git version 2.30.1' });
+      } else if (cmd === 'gh --version') {
+        callback(null, { stdout: 'gh version 2.0.0' });
+      } else if (cmd === 'gh auth status') {
+        callback(new Error('You are not logged into any GitHub hosts'));
+      }
+    });
+    
+    const result = await checkGitCli();
+    
+    expect(result.gitAvailable).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.ghAvailable).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.ghAuthenticated).toBe(false);
+    expect(result.errors).toContain('GitHub CLI is not authenticated. Please run "gh auth login".');
+  });
+});
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/utils/gitCliCheck.ts b/packages/cli/src/utils/gitCliCheck.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..163ca6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/src/utils/gitCliCheck.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+import { exec } from 'child_process';
+import { promisify } from 'util';
+import { Logger } from 'mycoder-agent';
+
+const execAsync = promisify(exec);
+
+/**
+ * Result of CLI tool checks
+ */
+export interface GitCliCheckResult {
+  gitAvailable: boolean;
+  ghAvailable: boolean;
+  ghAuthenticated: boolean;
+  errors: string[];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Checks if git command is available
+ */
+async function checkGitAvailable(): Promise<boolean> {
+  try {
+    await execAsync('git --version');
+    return true;
+  } catch (error) {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Checks if gh command is available
+ */
+async function checkGhAvailable(): Promise<boolean> {
+  try {
+    await execAsync('gh --version');
+    return true;
+  } catch (error) {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Checks if gh is authenticated
+ */
+async function checkGhAuthenticated(): Promise<boolean> {
+  try {
+    const { stdout } = await execAsync('gh auth status');
+    return stdout.includes('Logged in to');
+  } catch (error) {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Checks if git and gh CLI tools are available and if gh is authenticated
+ * @param logger Optional logger for debug output
+ * @returns Object with check results
+ */
+export async function checkGitCli(logger?: Logger): Promise<GitCliCheckResult> {
+  const result: GitCliCheckResult = {
+    gitAvailable: false,
+    ghAvailable: false,
+    ghAuthenticated: false,
+    errors: [],
+  };
+
+  logger?.debug('Checking for git CLI availability...');
+  result.gitAvailable = await checkGitAvailable();
+
+  logger?.debug('Checking for gh CLI availability...');
+  result.ghAvailable = await checkGhAvailable();
+
+  if (result.ghAvailable) {
+    logger?.debug('Checking for gh CLI authentication...');
+    result.ghAuthenticated = await checkGhAuthenticated();
+  }
+
+  // Collect any errors
+  if (!result.gitAvailable) {
+    result.errors.push('Git CLI is not available. Please install git.');
+  }
+  
+  if (!result.ghAvailable) {
+    result.errors.push('GitHub CLI is not available. Please install gh CLI.');
+  } else if (!result.ghAuthenticated) {
+    result.errors.push('GitHub CLI is not authenticated. Please run "gh auth login".');
+  }
+
+  return result;
+}
\ No newline at end of file