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Alex Spinov
Alex Spinov

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7 GitHub API Endpoints You Probably Never Knew Existed

#github #api #beginners #discuss

GitHub has a massive API. Most developers know about repos and issues. But there are hidden endpoints that can save you hours.

Here are 7 that surprised me.

1. Get Any User's Public Activity 

curl -s https://api.github.com/users/torvalds/events | jq '.[0:3] | .[] | {type: .type, repo: .repo.name, created_at: .created_at}'
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This shows what any GitHub user has been doing — pushes, stars, issue comments. No authentication needed.

Use case: Monitor what your favorite developers are working on. I use this to discover trending repos before they blow up.

2. Search Code Across All of GitHub 

curl -s "https://api.github.com/search/code?q=fastapi+rate+limit+language:python" | jq '.items[:3] | .[] | {repo: .repository.full_name, path: .path}'
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Forget Google for code search. GitHub's code search API finds exact patterns across millions of repos.

Pro tip: Add language:python or filename:.env to narrow results.

3. Get Traffic Data for Your Repos 

curl -s -H "Authorization: token YOUR_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/USERNAME/REPO/traffic/views | jq '{views: .count, uniques: .uniques}'
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See who is visiting your repos — total views, unique visitors, and referral sources. Requires a token (your own repos only).

I discovered that Hacker News was my #1 referrer — which completely changed my distribution strategy.

4. List All Repos by Topic 

curl -s "https://api.github.com/search/repositories?q=topic:web-scraping+stars:>100&sort=stars" | jq '.items[:5] | .[] | {name: .full_name, stars: .stargazers_count, description: .description}'
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Find the most popular repos in any niche. Sort by stars, forks, or recently updated.

5. Get the README of Any Repo (Rendered as HTML) 

curl -s -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.html" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/facebook/react/readme
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Returns the README already rendered as HTML. Perfect for embedding in your own site or tool.

6. Check Rate Limit Status 

curl -s https://api.github.com/rate_limit | jq '.resources.core | {limit: .limit, remaining: .remaining, reset: (.reset | todate)}'
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The API rate limits you at 60 requests/hour (unauthenticated) or 5,000/hour (with token). This endpoint tells you exactly where you stand.

7. Get Commit Activity for Any Repo 

curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/torvalds/linux/stats/commit_activity | jq '.[-4:] | .[] | {week: .week, total_commits: .total}'
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Returns weekly commit counts for the past year. Great for seeing if a project is actively maintained.

Use case: Before depending on a library, I check if it has had commits in the last month.

Bonus: No Auth Required

All of these (except #3) work without any authentication:

# No token needed:
curl https://api.github.com/users/torvalds
curl https://api.github.com/repos/facebook/react
curl https://api.github.com/search/repositories?q=stars:>10000
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You get 60 requests per hour. For most exploration, that is plenty.

What GitHub API trick do you use?

I bet power users have discovered endpoints I missed. What is your favorite GitHub API hack?

I write about APIs, developer tools, and web scraping. Follow for weekly practical tips.

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