# GitHub Repository Change Monitor - Stars, Forks & Activity (`maydit/github-repository-change-monitor`) Actor

Monitor public GitHub repositories for changes in stars, forks and repository metadata. Keep timestamped comparisons and source links for a reusable project watchlist.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/maydit/github-repository-change-monitor.md
- **Developed by:** [Brandt May](https://apify.com/maydit) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.60 / 1,000 saved repository observations

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## GitHub Repository Change Monitor

Turn a public repository watchlist into a clear record of what changed: stars, forks, open issues plus pull requests, archive status, default branch and declared metadata.

### First useful result

1. Paste `owner/repository` names or GitHub repository URLs.
2. Start with the small default watchlist. No token, login, browser or proxy is needed.
3. Open **Repository observations** for export, or **Readable run report** for coverage and diagnostics.

```json
{"repositories":["apify/crawlee"],"maxResults":5}
```

### What makes the output useful

| Your question | Fields to use |
|---|---|
| What changed since my last saved check? | `comparisonStatus`, `changedFields`, `previousObservedAt` |
| How did visible popularity counters move? | `starsChange`, `forksChange`, `observationIntervalHours` |
| Did a project become archived or disabled? | `archived`, `disabled`, saved previous values |
| What can I verify? | Stable `repositoryId`, GitHub link, API `sourceUrl`, `observedAt` |

The first comparison run establishes a baseline. Changes are differences between **your saved observations**. They are not historical daily growth, unique developers, product adoption, revenue or a project-quality score.

### Three ready-to-run examples

**Crawlee**

```json
{"repositories":["apify/crawlee"]}
```

**Playwright**

```json
{"repositories":["https://github.com/microsoft/playwright"]}
```

**Next.js**

```json
{"repositories":["vercel/next.js"]}
```

### Scheduled monitoring

Run the same watchlist with `comparePrevious: true` and a consistent `snapshotName`. Add `onlyChanges: true` to omit unchanged rows. An unchanged run can successfully save zero rows. Schedule one writer per snapshot. Only confirmed saved records advance history; unavailable repositories are never inferred to be deleted. A smaller result cap leaves later repositories unprocessed, which is shown as partial coverage.

```json
{"repositories":["apify/crawlee"],"comparePrevious":true,"onlyChanges":true,"snapshotName":"crawlee-weekly"}
```

### Output and source meaning

One row represents one requested public repository at observation time. `stars`, `forks`, `subscribers` and `openIssuesAndPullRequests` are GitHub counters. The last field includes pull requests; it is not an unresolved-bug count. `licenseSpdx` is GitHub's detected license identifier; `NOASSERTION` or null does not establish license rights. `pushedAt` is a repository push timestamp, not a release date. Missing optional metadata remains null.

JSON, CSV and Excel exports are available through the dataset. SUMMARY and RUN_REPORT are diagnostic storage records, never fake dataset rows.

### Limits, quota and cost

- Public metadata only, at most ten unique repositories and one bounded API request per repository. No source-code download, user scraping, search or private repository access.
- GitHub's unauthenticated REST quota is normally **60 requests per IP per hour** and may be shared with other activity. A quota refusal ends further source requests and is reported honestly. No IP rotation or fallback bypass.
- Responses are capped at 1 MiB and requests at15 seconds within the remaining run budget. The default budget is60 seconds; the platform timeout can end it sooner.
- Base pricing is **$0.001 per saved repository observation** plus **$0.00005 per run start**. The Store pricing panel and your run charge limit govern actual charges.

Source reference: [GitHub repository REST API](https://docs.github.com/en/rest/repos/repos#get-a-repository) and [GitHub rate limits](https://docs.github.com/en/rest/using-the-rest-api/rate-limits-for-the-rest-api). GitHub is the data source; this independent tool is not an official GitHub product.

### Support

Open an Actor issue with the repository name, run ID and expected field. Never include credentials. Missing projects, private projects, quota limits and source outages are reported in the run report.

# Actor input Schema

## `repositories` (type: `array`):

Paste owner/repository or full https://github.com/owner/repository URLs. Public repositories only; up to10 per run. Empty input uses apify/crawlee.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many confirmed saved repository observations.

## `comparePrevious` (type: `boolean`):

First run establishes a baseline only after rows save. Reuse the same watchlist and snapshot name.

## `onlyChanges` (type: `boolean`):

Enables comparison and skips unchanged repositories. An unchanged run can legitimately save zero rows.

## `snapshotName` (type: `string`):

Separate monitoring histories. One writer per snapshot; no historical backfill.

## `maxRunSeconds` (type: `integer`):

Requests share this wall-clock budget. Stops before platform timeout.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "repositories": [
    "apify/crawlee"
  ],
  "maxResults": 10,
  "comparePrevious": false,
  "onlyChanges": false,
  "snapshotName": "default",
  "maxRunSeconds": 60
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

No description

## `summary` (type: `string`):

No description

## `report` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "repositories": [
        "apify/crawlee"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("maydit/github-repository-change-monitor").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "repositories": ["apify/crawlee"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("maydit/github-repository-change-monitor").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "repositories": [
    "apify/crawlee"
  ]
}' |
apify call maydit/github-repository-change-monitor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,maydit/github-repository-change-monitor"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/JPE36tcJ3WwK00vdi/builds/UYVQFdmcCMc431vrO/openapi.json