GitHub · Guide

How to get GitHub repositories

TL;DR

To get GitHub repositories, sign up for a free Captapi key, then send one GET request to /v1/github/repositories with your input. You get clean JSON back in seconds for ~4 credits (0.4/result) per call — no OAuth, scraping or platform SDKs. List a user's repos with sort/direction/type — opaque Link cursor (~0.4/repo).

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How to get GitHub repositories (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 Repositories API
Send an authenticated GET request to /v1/github/repositories 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/repositories?username=torvalds" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer capt_live_..."
# or: -H "x-api-key: capt_live_..."

What the response looks like

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "username": "torvalds",
    "sort": "updated",
    "direction": "desc",
    "type": "owner",
    "totalReturned": 2,
    "nextCursor": null,
    "hasMore": false,
    "repositories": [
      {
        "platform": "github",
        "type": "repository",
        "name": "linux",
        "fullName": "torvalds/linux",
        "url": "https://github.com/torvalds/linux",
        "description": "Linux kernel source tree",
        "owner": "torvalds",
        "ownerUrl": "https://github.com/torvalds",
        "ownerType": "User",
        "ownerAvatar": "https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/1024025?v=4",
        "language": "C",
        "stars": 252570,
        "forks": 68425,
        "openIssuesAndPrs": 3,
        "defaultBranch": "master",
        "isFork": false,
        "isArchived": false,
        "size": 6403541,
        "visibility": "public",
        "hasIssues": false,
        "hasDiscussions": false,
        "pushedAt": "2026-10-18T23:21:18Z",
        "createdAt": "2011-09-04T22:48:12Z",
        "updatedAt": "2026-10-19T13:48:27Z",
        "homepage": null,
        "license": null,
        "licenseName": "Other"
      },
      {
        "platform": "github",
        "type": "repository",
        "name": "GuitarPedal",
        "fullName": "torvalds/GuitarPedal",
        "url": "https://github.com/torvalds/GuitarPedal",
        "description": "Linus learns analog circuits",
        "owner": "torvalds",
        "ownerUrl": "https://github.com/torvalds",
        "ownerType": "User",
        "ownerAvatar": "https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/1024025?v=4",
        "language": "C",
        "stars": 2462,
        "forks": 128,
        "openIssuesAndPrs": 15,
        "defaultBranch": "main",
        "isFork": false,
        "isArchived": false,
        "size": 19024,
        "visibility": "public",
        "hasIssues": true,
        "hasDiscussions": false,
        "pushedAt": "2026-10-15T18:30:33Z",
        "createdAt": "2025-09-17T01:01:29Z",
        "updatedAt": "2026-10-19T12:40:15Z",
        "homepage": null,
        "license": "GPL-2.0",
        "licenseName": "GNU General Public License v2.0"
      }
    ]
  }
}

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. torvalds.
sort	string	No	created \| updated \| pushed \| full_name (default updated). Not stars — GitHub's user-repos API has no stars sort. Echoed as data.sort.
direction	string	No	asc or desc (default desc). Echoed as data.direction.
type	string	No	owner (default) \| member \| all — affiliation filter. Echoed as data.type.
limit	integer	No	Max items to return (default 10, 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.

Frequently asked questions

What does the GitHub Repositories API do?

The GitHub Repositories API lets you list items in bulk with metadata from a public GitHub GitHub resource using one GET request to /v1/github/repositories. It returns clean JSON — no OAuth or infrastructure setup required.

How many credits does the GitHub Repositories API cost?

At the default limit this endpoint costs 4 credits (0.4 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. 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 access, rate limits, retries, and authentication for you.

Can I sort by stars?

No — GitHub's /users/{u}/repos only supports sort=created|updated|pushed|full_name. Use sort=pushed for recently active repos. For star ranking, call api.github.com search (user:LOGIN sort:stars) or github/repository per repo.

Why is parent missing on forks?

GitHub's list payload omits parent. isFork is still true. Call github/repository on the fork for parent (upstream fullName).

Is the GitHub Repositories 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. Selected profile endpoints also accept cacheMaxAge=1d|3d|7d|14d|30d. Use it for analytics, monitoring, and content automation.

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