diff --git a/src/github_client.py b/src/github_client.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fbf1dd3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/github_client.py
@@ -0,0 +1,238 @@
+"""GitHub API client for Code Pattern Search CLI."""
+
+import time
+from datetime import datetime
+from typing import Any, Optional
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+
+import requests
+from ghapi.core import GhApi
+
+
+@dataclass
+class RateLimitExceededError(Exception):
+    """Raised when GitHub API rate limit is exceeded."""
+
+    reset_time: datetime
+    message: str = "GitHub API rate limit exceeded"
+
+
+class GitHubClient:
+    """Client for interacting with GitHub API."""
+
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        token: Optional[str] = None,
+        verbose: bool = False,
+        timeout: int = 30,
+    ) -> None:
+        """Initialize the GitHub client."""
+        self.token = token
+        self.verbose = verbose
+        self.timeout = timeout
+        self._api: Optional[GhApi] = None
+        self._rate_limit_remaining: int = 60
+
+    @property
+    def api(self) -> GhApi:
+        """Get or create the GhApi instance."""
+        if self._api is None:
+            headers = {}
+            if self.token:
+                headers["Authorization"] = f"token {self.token}"
+
+            self._api = GhApi(
+                headers=headers,
+                timeout=self.timeout,
+            )
+        return self._api
+
+    def _handle_rate_limit(self, response: requests.Response) -> None:
+        """Handle rate limit headers from response."""
+        remaining = response.headers.get("X-RateLimit-Remaining")
+        reset = response.headers.get("X-RateLimit-Reset")
+
+        if remaining:
+            self._rate_limit_remaining = int(remaining)
+
+        if reset:
+            reset_time = datetime.fromtimestamp(int(reset))
+            if self._rate_limit_remaining <= 0:
+                raise RateLimitExceededError(
+                    reset_time=reset_time,
+                    message="GitHub API rate limit exceeded. Please wait or provide a token.",
+                )
+
+    def _retry_with_backoff(
+        self,
+        func,
+        *args,
+        max_retries: int = 3,
+        backoff_factor: float = 0.5,
+        **kwargs,
+    ) -> Any:
+        """Execute function with exponential backoff on failure."""
+        last_exception = None
+
+        for attempt in range(max_retries):
+            try:
+                result = func(*args, **kwargs)
+                return result
+            except RateLimitExceededError:
+                raise
+            except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
+                last_exception = e
+
+                if attempt < max_retries - 1:
+                    sleep_time = backoff_factor * (2 ** attempt)
+                    if self.verbose:
+                        print(f"Retry {attempt + 1}/{max_retries} after {sleep_time}s: {e}")
+                    time.sleep(sleep_time)
+                else:
+                    if last_exception:
+                        raise last_exception
+                    raise requests.exceptions.RequestException("Unknown error occurred") from e
+
+        if last_exception:
+            raise last_exception
+        raise requests.exceptions.RequestException("Unknown error occurred")
+
+    def search_repositories(
+        self,
+        query: Optional[str] = None,
+        language: Optional[str] = None,
+        stars_min: Optional[int] = None,
+        stars_max: Optional[int] = None,
+        per_page: int = 10,
+    ) -> list[Any]:
+        """Search for repositories matching criteria."""
+        search_query = []
+
+        if query:
+            search_query.append(query)
+
+        if language:
+            search_query.append(f"language:{language}")
+
+        if stars_min is not None:
+            search_query.append(f"stars:>={stars_min}")
+
+        if stars_max is not None:
+            search_query.append(f"stars:<={stars_max}")
+
+        search_query.append("sort:stars")
+        search_query.append("order:desc")
+
+        full_query = " ".join(search_query)
+
+        if self.verbose:
+            print(f"Search query: {full_query}")
+
+        def _do_search() -> list[Any]:
+            response = self.api.search.repos(
+                q=full_query,
+                per_page=per_page,
+                page=1,
+            )
+
+            if hasattr(response, 'headers'):
+                self._handle_rate_limit(response)
+
+            return response.get("items", [])
+
+        return self._retry_with_backoff(_do_search)
+
+    def get_file_tree(
+        self,
+        owner: str,
+        repo: str,
+        recursive: bool = True,
+    ) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
+        """Get file tree for a repository."""
+        def _do_fetch() -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
+            try:
+                response = self.api.git_trees.get(
+                    owner=owner,
+                    repo=repo,
+                    recursive=1 if recursive else 0,
+                )
+
+                if hasattr(response, 'headers'):
+                    self._handle_rate_limit(response)
+
+                if response.truncated:
+                    if self.verbose:
+                        print(f"Warning: File tree truncated for {owner}/{repo}")
+
+                return response.tree
+
+            except Exception as e:
+                if self.verbose:
+                    print(f"Error fetching file tree for {owner}/{repo}: {e}")
+                return []
+
+        return self._retry_with_backoff(_do_fetch)
+
+    def get_file_content(
+        self,
+        owner: str,
+        repo: str,
+        path: str,
+    ) -> Optional[str]:
+        """Get the content of a file."""
+        def _do_fetch() -> Optional[str]:
+            try:
+                response = self.api.repos.get_content(
+                    owner=owner,
+                    repo=repo,
+                    path=path,
+                )
+
+                if hasattr(response, 'headers'):
+                    self._handle_rate_limit(response)
+
+                if isinstance(response, dict):
+                    if response.get("encoding") == "base64":
+                        import base64
+                        return base64.b64decode(response["content"]).decode("utf-8")
+
+                return None
+
+            except Exception as e:
+                if self.verbose:
+                    print(f"Error fetching {path} from {owner}/{repo}: {e}")
+                return None
+
+        return self._retry_with_backoff(_do_fetch)
+
+    def get_repo_info(
+        self,
+        owner: str,
+        repo: str,
+    ) -> Optional[dict[str, Any]]:
+        """Get repository information."""
+        def _do_fetch() -> Optional[dict[str, Any]]:
+            try:
+                response = self.api.repos.get(
+                    owner=owner,
+                    repo=repo,
+                )
+                return response
+            except Exception as e:
+                if self.verbose:
+                    print(f"Error fetching repo info for {owner}/{repo}: {e}")
+                return None
+
+        return self._retry_with_backoff(_do_fetch)
+
+    def get_rate_limit_status(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        """Get current rate limit status."""
+        try:
+            response = self.api.rate_limit.get()
+            return {
+                "remaining": self._rate_limit_remaining,
+                "limit": response.get("resources", {}).get("core", {}).get("limit"),
+                "reset": response.get("resources", {}).get("core", {}).get("reset"),
+            }
+        except Exception as e:
+            return {"error": str(e)}