GitHub · Guide

How to get GitHub contributions

TL;DR

To get GitHub contributions, sign up for a free Captapi key, then send one GET request to /v1/github/contributions with your input. You get clean JSON back in seconds for 2 credits per call — no OAuth, scraping or platform SDKs. GitHub contribution graph — sorted days[], currentStreak (today grace), longestStreak (2 credits).

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How to get GitHub contributions (step by step)

1
Get a free API key
Create a free Captapi account (100 credits, no card) and generate an API key from the dashboard.
2
Call the GitHub Contributions API
Send an authenticated GET request to /v1/github/contributions with your input. No OAuth, no scraping setup.
3
Read the JSON response
Parse the clean JSON response. Pass cache=true for a free 24h cache hit; default is always fresh.

Code example

curl "https://api.captapi.com/v1/github/contributions?username=getify" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer capt_live_..."
# or: -H "x-api-key: capt_live_..."

What the response looks like

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "username": "getify",
    "source": "github.com/users/getify/contributions",
    "url": "https://github.com/getify",
    "totalContributions": 164,
    "from": "2025-08-03",
    "to": "2025-08-05",
    "currentStreak": 2,
    "days": [
      {
        "date": "2025-08-03",
        "count": 0,
        "level": 0
      },
      {
        "date": "2025-08-04",
        "count": 5,
        "level": 2
      }
    ]
  }
}

Billing metadata (credits charged, cache hit/miss) is returned in the X-Captapi-Credits and X-Captapi-Cache response headers.

Request parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
username	string	Yes	GitHub username or profile URL, e.g. getify or https://github.com/getify.
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.

Frequently asked questions

What does the GitHub Contributions API do?

The GitHub Contributions API lets you fetch full metadata and key stats from a public GitHub GitHub resource using one GET request to /v1/github/contributions. It returns clean JSON — no OAuth or infrastructure setup required.

How many credits does the GitHub Contributions API cost?

Each successful call costs 2 credits. 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.

Is recentPublicEvents still returned?

No. That field was a count of /users/{u}/events/public rows (hard-capped at 90) and was not a contribution metric. This endpoint returns the heatmap: totalContributions, currentStreak, longestStreak, and days[] sorted by date.

Where does the calendar come from?

The public HTML at github.com/users/{login}/contributions (same graph as the profile). source echoes that path.

Does a zero today break currentStreak?

No — today-grace: if the last day is today and count is 0, it is skipped because the day is not over. A zero on any earlier day breaks the streak. days[] is sorted ascending so days.slice(-30) is the last 30 calendar days.

Is the GitHub Contributions 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.

Ready to get GitHub contributions?

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