GitHub Following API
Accounts a user follows — same card and ~0.1/row pricing as followers.
GET request to /v1/github/following that responds with clean JSON and costs ~3 credits (0.1/result). Pass cache=true for a free 24h cache hit; default is always fresh. Start with 100 free credits — no credit card.What is the GitHub Following API?
List accounts from /users/{login}/following as {id, login, type, url, avatar}. Same shape, opaque Link cursor, and ~0.1 credits/row (min 3) as github/followers. No sampling parameter — large following lists are expensive to exhaust via Captapi.
What you get
- Bulk list of following with metadata
- Dates, URLs, and engagement fields when available
- Configurable result limit
- Ideal for monitoring and content pipelines
Try it
Fill in the parameters below and copy a ready-to-run request, or open the live Playground to run it against your account (no API key paste).
Parameters
curl "https://api.captapi.com/v1/github/following?username=getify" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer capt_live_..."
# or: -H "x-api-key: capt_live_..."Edit the parameters and the code updates instantly. Switch languages and hit copy.
Example response
{
"success": true,
"data": {
"username": "getify",
"totalReturned": 2,
"nextCursor": "eyJ2IjoxLCJrIjoiZm9sbG93aW5nIiwicCI6Mn0",
"hasMore": true,
"following": [
{
"id": 579,
"login": "mikeal",
"type": "User",
"url": "https://github.com/mikeal",
"avatar": "https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/579?v=4"
},
{
"id": 9950313,
"login": "nodejs",
"type": "Organization",
"url": "https://github.com/nodejs",
"avatar": "https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/9950313?v=4"
}
]
}
}Billing metadata is returned in response headers: X-Captapi-Credits (credits charged), X-Captapi-Cache (hit or miss), and X-Captapi-Source. Failed requests (4xx/5xx) are never charged. See the full list of error codes in the error reference.
Response structure
A successful call returns success, cached, creditsUsed, and a data object with the following fields:
Top-level fields
usernameAccount username / handle.totalReturnedNumber of items returned in this response.nextCursorOpaque Link-header cursor (not a bare page number).hasMoreWhether more results are available beyond this page. When true, pass nextCursor to fetch the next page.
Following
Each item in following contains:
idGitHub numeric account id — stable for joins and dedup across pages.loginGitHub username.typeAccount kind: "User" or "Organization".urlProfile URL (https://github.com/{login}).avatarAvatar image URL.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| username | string | Yes | GitHub username or profile URL, e.g. getify. |
| limit | integer | No | Max items to return (default 30, max 100). Billed per result. |
| cursor | string | No | Opaque cursor from a previous nextCursor (GitHub Link page=). Not a bare page number. |
| cache | boolean | No | Set true to serve from the 24h response cache (0 credits on hit). Default false — always fetch fresh. Envelope includes cached + cachedAt on hits. |
Authentication: send your key as Authorization: Bearer capt_live_.... A typical call costs ~3 credits (0.1/result) — billed per result, so the exact amount scales with how many items you request. Pass cache=true for a free 24h cache hit; default is always fresh (metrics refresh within ~1 hour).
How it works
- 1. Sign up — get 100 free credits, no card required.
- 2. Create a key from your dashboard.
- 3. Send one request to
/v1/github/followingand parse the JSON response.
Use cases
Interest graph
See who a developer follows — same {id, login, type} cards as followers.
Dedup across pages
Use numeric id, not login alone, when merging following pages.
When to call GitHub directly
Exhaustive following dumps belong on api.github.com, not Captapi credit pages.
Frequently asked questions
What does the GitHub Following API do?+
The GitHub Following API lets you list items in bulk with metadata from a public GitHub following using one GET request to /v1/github/following. It returns clean JSON — no OAuth or infrastructure setup required.
How many credits does the GitHub Following API cost?+
At the default limit this endpoint costs 3 credits (0.1 per result). Billing scales with how many results you request. Pass cache=true to serve from the 24h cache (0 credits on hit); default is always fresh. Hits include cached + cachedAt. Selected profile endpoints also accept cacheMaxAge=1d|3d|7d|14d|30d. Failed or empty results are never charged.
Do I need a GitHub API key or OAuth?+
No. A single Captapi key works across every platform Captapi supports — YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, Reddit, Threads, Bluesky, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Rumble, Spotify, Kwai, and more. We handle proxies, rate limits, retries, and authentication for you.
Why is paging a large account expensive?+
There is no sampling/since parameter — every page costs ~0.1 credits/row. ~250k followers ≈ 25k credits. For full archives call api.github.com (free, rate-limited) directly.
What is id / type for?+
id is GitHub's numeric account id (stable for joins/dedup). type is User or Organization — both come from the upstream followers/following payload.
Is the GitHub Following API suitable for production use?+
Yes. It is a stable REST endpoint with predictable JSON and automatic retries. Pass cache=true to serve from the 24h cache (0 credits on hit); default is always fresh. Hits include cached + cachedAt. Selected profile endpoints also accept cacheMaxAge=1d|3d|7d|14d|30d. Use it for analytics, monitoring, and content automation.
More GitHub APIs
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