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Complete guide for the GitHub plugin — REST API access for repositories, issues, pull requests, actions, releases, and search using a GitHub Personal Access Token.

stagewise-io By stagewise-io schedule Updated 3/15/2026
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name: github description: Complete guide for the GitHub plugin — REST API access for repositories, issues, pull requests, actions, releases, and search using a GitHub Personal Access Token.

GitHub Plugin

This plugin provides access to the GitHub REST API on the user's behalf, using a stored Personal Access Token.

Capabilities:

  • List, inspect, and search repositories
  • Create, read, update, and comment on issues
  • Create, list, review, and merge pull requests
  • List branches, commits, and compare refs
  • Trigger, monitor, and inspect GitHub Actions workflow runs
  • List and create releases
  • Search code, issues, and repositories

Authentication

Request the stored GitHub credential. The token field is an opaque placeholder — the sandbox fetch proxy substitutes the real value automatically. Never decode or transform it.

const cred = await API.getCredential('github-pat');
if (!cred) {
  return 'GitHub credential is not configured. Ask the user to add a GitHub Personal Access Token at github.com/settings/tokens, then store it in Settings.';
}

Making Requests

Always pass the token as a Bearer header and include the recommended API version:

async function ghGet(path) {
  const res = await fetch(`https://api.github.com${path}`, {
    headers: {
      Accept: 'application/vnd.github+json',
      Authorization: `Bearer ${cred.token}`,
      'X-GitHub-Api-Version': '2022-11-28',
    },
  });
  if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`GitHub API ${res.status}: ${await res.text()}`);
  return res.json();
}

async function ghPost(path, body) {
  const res = await fetch(`https://api.github.com${path}`, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      Accept: 'application/vnd.github+json',
      Authorization: `Bearer ${cred.token}`,
      'X-GitHub-Api-Version': '2022-11-28',
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    },
    body: JSON.stringify(body),
  });
  if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`GitHub API ${res.status}: ${await res.text()}`);
  return res.json();
}

async function ghPatch(path, body) {
  const res = await fetch(`https://api.github.com${path}`, {
    method: 'PATCH',
    headers: {
      Accept: 'application/vnd.github+json',
      Authorization: `Bearer ${cred.token}`,
      'X-GitHub-Api-Version': '2022-11-28',
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    },
    body: JSON.stringify(body),
  });
  if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`GitHub API ${res.status}: ${await res.text()}`);
  return res.json();
}

Key Endpoints

Repositories

Get a repository GET /repos/{owner}/{repo} Returns full repository metadata including default branch, visibility, and description.

List repositories for a user GET /users/{username}/repos?sort=updated&per_page=30 Use ?type=owner to list only owned repos (excludes forks/member repos).

List repositories for the authenticated user GET /user/repos?sort=updated&per_page=30 Add ?affiliation=owner to show only owned repos.

List organization repositories GET /orgs/{org}/repos?sort=updated&per_page=30

Issues

List issues for a repository GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues?state=open&per_page=30 Add &labels=bug to filter by label. Add &sort=updated to sort by update time. Note: pull requests are included in issue listings. Filter them out by checking that pull_request is absent.

Get a single issue GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{issue_number}

Create an issue POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues Body: { "title": "...", "body": "...", "labels": ["bug"], "assignees": ["username"] }

Update an issue PATCH /repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{issue_number} Body: { "state": "closed" } or { "title": "New title", "body": "Updated body" }

List issue comments GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{issue_number}/comments?per_page=100

Create an issue comment POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{issue_number}/comments Body: { "body": "Comment text" }

Pull Requests

List pull requests GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls?state=open&per_page=30 Add &sort=updated to sort by update time. Use &head=owner:branch to filter by head branch.

Get a pull request GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/{pull_number} Returns diff stats, mergeable status, head/base refs, and review state.

Create a pull request POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls Body: { "title": "...", "body": "...", "head": "feature-branch", "base": "main" }

Merge a pull request PUT /repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/{pull_number}/merge Body: { "merge_method": "squash" } — merge_method can be merge, squash, or rebase.

List pull request files GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/{pull_number}/files?per_page=100 Returns the list of changed files with patch diffs, additions, deletions, and status.

List review comments on a pull request GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/{pull_number}/comments?per_page=100

Branches and Commits

List branches GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches?per_page=100

Get a branch GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches/{branch} Returns the branch tip commit SHA and protection status.

List commits GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/commits?sha={branch}&per_page=30 Add &since=2024-01-01T00:00:00Z to scope by date.

Compare two refs GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/compare/{base}...{head} Returns ahead/behind counts, diff stats, and the list of commits between two refs.

GitHub Actions

List workflows GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/workflows

List workflow runs GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/runs?per_page=10 Add &status=failure to filter failed runs. Add &branch=main to scope to a branch.

Get a workflow run GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/runs/{run_id} Returns status, conclusion, timing, and associated commits.

List jobs for a workflow run GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/runs/{run_id}/jobs Returns individual job names, statuses, conclusions, and step details.

Trigger a workflow dispatch POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/workflows/{workflow_id}/dispatches Body: { "ref": "main", "inputs": { "key": "value" } } The workflow_id can be the workflow file name (e.g. ci.yml) or numeric ID.

Re-run a workflow POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/runs/{run_id}/rerun

Cancel a workflow run POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/runs/{run_id}/cancel

Download workflow run logs GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/runs/{run_id}/logs Returns a 302 redirect to a zip archive of the logs.

Releases

List releases GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/releases?per_page=10

Get the latest release GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/releases/latest

Create a release POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/releases Body: { "tag_name": "v1.0.0", "name": "v1.0.0", "body": "Release notes", "draft": false, "prerelease": false }

Search

Search repositories GET /search/repositories?q={query}&sort=stars&order=desc&per_page=10

Search issues and pull requests GET /search/issues?q={query}+repo:{owner}/{repo}+is:issue&per_page=10

Search code GET /search/code?q={query}+repo:{owner}/{repo}&per_page=10 Note: code search requires authentication and has stricter rate limits.

Common Patterns

Check CI status for a branch

const cred = await API.getCredential('github-pat');
const runs = await ghGet('/repos/OWNER/REPO/actions/runs?branch=main&per_page=1');
const latest = runs.workflow_runs[0];
return {
  status: latest.status,
  conclusion: latest.conclusion,
  name: latest.name,
  url: latest.html_url,
  createdAt: latest.created_at,
};

List open PRs with their review status

const cred = await API.getCredential('github-pat');
const prs = await ghGet('/repos/OWNER/REPO/pulls?state=open&per_page=10');
return prs.map(pr => ({
  number: pr.number,
  title: pr.title,
  author: pr.user.login,
  head: pr.head.ref,
  base: pr.base.ref,
  draft: pr.draft,
  url: pr.html_url,
}));

Create an issue and add a comment

const cred = await API.getCredential('github-pat');
const issue = await ghPost('/repos/OWNER/REPO/issues', {
  title: 'Bug: login fails on mobile',
  body: 'Steps to reproduce...',
  labels: ['bug'],
});
await ghPost(`/repos/OWNER/REPO/issues/${issue.number}/comments`, {
  body: 'Investigating this now.',
});
return { issueNumber: issue.number, url: issue.html_url };

Watch a workflow run until completion

const cred = await API.getCredential('github-pat');
const runId = 12345678;
let status = 'in_progress';
let attempts = 0;
while (['queued', 'in_progress', 'waiting'].includes(status) && attempts < 30) {
  await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 5000));
  const run = await ghGet(`/repos/OWNER/REPO/actions/runs/${runId}`);
  status = run.status;
  attempts++;
  API.output(`Run status: ${status} (conclusion: ${run.conclusion ?? 'pending'})`);
}
const final = await ghGet(`/repos/OWNER/REPO/actions/runs/${runId}`);
return { status: final.status, conclusion: final.conclusion };

Extracting Owner and Repo from a GitHub URL

A GitHub URL looks like: https://github.com/{owner}/{repo}/...

The owner is the first path segment after github.com/, and the repo is the second. Strip any trailing .git if present.

Important Rules

  • Always call API.getCredential('github-pat') before any GitHub API call. If it returns null, prompt the user to configure it.
  • Always include the Accept: application/vnd.github+json and X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28 headers.
  • Pagination: most list endpoints return 30 items by default. Use ?per_page=100 (max) and ?page=N to paginate. Check the Link response header for rel="next" to detect more pages.
  • Rate limits: authenticated PATs allow 5,000 requests/hour. Check x-ratelimit-remaining in response headers. If exhausted, wait until the time in x-ratelimit-reset (UTC epoch seconds).
  • Search endpoints have a stricter rate limit of 30 requests/minute. Space out search calls accordingly.
  • Treat tokens as sensitive — never log or display them.
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