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Introduction to Github APIs

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What are APIs

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API stands for Application Program Interfaces, which developers use to access web tools or information on the cloud. It allows different cross-platform applications to talk to each other.\nOne of the common examples of it is Google Speech to Text API used when you talk to Google Assistant.

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What is Github APIs

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Github APIs( or Github ReST APIs) are the APIs that you can use to interact with GitHub. They allow you to create and manage repositories, branches, issues, pull requests, and many more.\nFor fetching publicly available information (like public repositories, user profiles, etc.), you can call the API. For other actions, you need to provide an authenticated token.

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Basic Github APIs Examples

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The base URL for GitHub APIs is:- GithubAPI

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Accessing Public Information

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Fetching user information with its username

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Request type: GET\nAPI endpoint: /users/{username}

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Example :- curl https://api.github.com/users/devkapilbansal

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\"user_details\"

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As you can see, API returns us a JSON response with info about the user, like its imageurl, name, mailaddress.

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Fetching user's followers' list

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Request type: GET\nAPI endpoint: /users/{username}/followers

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Example :- curl https://api.github.com/devkapilbansal/followers

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\"followers\"

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This URL returns info about all the users that follow a particular user.

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Check if a user follows another

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Request type: GET\nAPI endpoint: /user/{username}/following/{target_username}

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This endpoint doesn't return any content. It just returns a status code.

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A status code of 204 means the target_user is followed by the user, whereas a status code of 404 means the user does not follow a target_user.

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Example :- curl https://api.github.com/devkapilbansal/following/KapilBansal

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When a user follows another user\n\"follow\"

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When a user doesn't follow another user\n\"not_follow\"

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Performing tasks as an authenticated user

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If you provide an authenticated token, you don't need to provide a username in the endpoints mentioned above.

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By providing the token, you can create repositories/gists, comment on pull requests/issues, and all other tasks that you can perform from the Web Interface.

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Generating Token

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You can get a token by going to Personal access tokens and clicking on Generate new token. You will be asked for the permissions/scopes of that token. Choose them wisely while creating one as some of these might be destructive.

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After selecting scopes, click on generate token and save the token somewhere as you will not see that token again.

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Note:- Store your token in a secured environment while using it.

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Creating a Repository

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Request type: POST\nAPI endpoint: /user/{repos}\nRequired data: name

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Example :- curl -H \"Authorization: token ${token}\" -d '{\"name\":\"Github API Testing\"}' https://api.github.com/user/repos

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\"create

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List issues assigned to you

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Request type: GET\nAPI endpoint: /issues

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Example :- curl -H \"Authorization: token ${token}\" https://api.github.com/issues

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\"list

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Creating an issue

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Request type: POST\nAPI endpoint: /repos/{owner}/{repo_name}/issues\nRequired data: title

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Example :- curl -H \"Authorization: token ${token}\" -d '{\"title\":\"Issue_For_Test\"}' https://api.github.com/repos/devkapilbansal/Github-API-Testing/issues

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\"create_issue\"

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Commenting on issue

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Request type: POST\nAPI endpoint: /repos/{owner}/{reponame}/issues/{issueno}/comments\nRequired data: body

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Example :- curl -H \"Authorization: token ${token}\" -d '{\"body\":\"Test comment\"}' https://api.github.com/repos/devkapilbansal/Github-API-Testing/issues/1/comments

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\"comment\"

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Note - The same endpoint is used for commenting on pull requests too. Just change the issue number with the pull request number.

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Opening/Closing an issue

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Request type: PUT\nAPI endpoint: /repos/{owner}/{reponame}/issues/{issueno}

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Example :- curl -H \"Authorization: token ${token}\" -d '{\"state\":\"close\"}' https://api.github.com/repos/devkapilbansal/Github-API-Testing/issues/1

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Note - The same endpoint is valid for updating pull requests too.

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Results

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The above results can be verified on the GitHub website too.\n\"results\"

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Conclusion

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There are a lot more endpoints that you can explore at Github. Also, you can only do the work you are authorized to with that token.\nAlthough there are plenty of data fields that can be sent with these endpoints, only required ones are shown above.

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