# GitHub Public Release Monitor (`snappytools/github-release-monitor`) Actor

GitHub Public Release Monitor collects release metadata from public GitHub repositories using the official GitHub REST API releases endpoint (GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/releases).

- **URL**: https://apify.com/snappytools/github-release-monitor.md
- **Developed by:** [Snappy](https://apify.com/snappytools) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$5.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

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 Release Monitor – release data export for public repositories

Give it a list of public GitHub repositories, such as `nodejs/node` or `https://github.com/apify/crawlee`, and it returns one row per release, newest first. Each row has the tag, release name, parsed version numbers, publish date, asset counts and an excerpt of the release notes.

You can skip pre-releases, keep only releases published since a date, and cap how many releases you get per repository. Run it on a schedule with the **Published since** date set to get only recent releases.

### Why this one

- **Official API.** It reads the public GitHub REST API releases endpoint, so there is no page scraping and no login or token.
- **Version numbers already split out.** `semverMajor`, `semverMinor` and `semverPatch` are separate fields, so you can filter for major upgrades.
- **Up to 50 repositories per run.** Duplicates are removed for you, and you can paste `owner/repo` or a full GitHub URL.
- **Control over the notes.** Keep 0 to 5000 characters of release notes in `bodyExcerpt`, or leave them out.
- **Download counts included.** `assetCount` and `totalAssetDownloads` show how many files a release has and how often they were downloaded.
- **Pay per result.** $5.00 per 1,000 results, and runs with no results cost nothing.

### Quick start

```json
{
  "repositories": ["nodejs/node", "apify/crawlee"],
  "maxReleasesPerRepo": 5,
  "includePrereleases": true,
  "maxBodyChars": 5
}
```

This returns up to 5 of the newest releases for each repository. In a test run on 26 Oct 2026 it returned 10 results.

### What you can use it for

| Who | What for |
| --- | --- |
| Engineering and security teams | Watch the libraries and runtimes you depend on, and flag new major versions or patch releases. |
| Developer-tool vendors | Track release cadence of competitor and partner projects. |
| Developer relations | Build a table of releases across an ecosystem for reports. |
| IT operations | Send new release rows to a ticketing or alerting workflow. |
| Analysts | Compare asset download counts across projects. |

### How to use it

1. Click **Try for free**.
2. In **Repositories**, add public repositories as `owner/repo` or a full GitHub URL, for example `nodejs/node`. The maximum is 50.
3. Set **Max releases per repository** (1 to 100, default 10).
4. Turn **Include pre-releases** on or off. It is on by default.
5. Optionally set **Published since** to a date such as `2024-01-01`.
6. Set **Max release notes characters** (0 to 5000, default 500).
7. Click **Start**.

To get only new releases, schedule the run and move **Published since** forward.

### What data you get

Each row is one release. Fields come from the real output of the test run.

| Field | What it is | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `id` | Stable ID for the release | `github-release:nodejs/node:419432998` |
| `url` | Release page on GitHub | `https://github.com/nodejs/node/releases/tag/v26.12.1` |
| `repository` | Owner and repo | `nodejs/node` |
| `owner` | Repository owner | `nodejs` |
| `repo` | Repository name | `node` |
| `releaseId` | GitHub release ID | `419432998` |
| `tagName` | Git tag | `v26.12.1` |
| `releaseName` | Release title | `2026-10-21, Version 26.12.1 (Current), @aduh95 prepared by @RafaelGSS` |
| `isPrerelease` | Flagged as pre-release | `false` |
| `isDraft` | Flagged as draft | `false` |
| `publishedAt` | When it was published | `2026-10-21T10:38:29Z` |
| `createdAt` | When it was created | `2026-10-21T10:00:31Z` |
| `semverMajor` | Major version | `26` |
| `semverMinor` | Minor version | `12` |
| `semverPatch` | Patch version | `1` |
| `authorLogin` | Public GitHub username of the publisher | `aduh95` |
| `assetCount` | Number of release files | `0` |
| `totalAssetDownloads` | Total downloads of those files | `0` |
| `assetNames` | Names of release files (up to 20) | `[]` |
| `bodyExcerpt` | Start of the release notes | `\n\n\nTh` |
| `bodyTruncated` | Whether the notes were cut short | `true` |
| `tarballUrl` | Source tarball link | `https://api.github.com/repos/nodejs/node/tarball/v26.12.1` |
| `zipballUrl` | Source zip link | `https://api.github.com/repos/nodejs/node/zipball/v26.12.1` |
| `apiUrl` | API link for the release | `https://api.github.com/repos/nodejs/node/releases/419432998` |
| `scrapedAt` | When the row was collected | `2026-10-26T02:22:00.192Z` |

### Pricing

| Event | Price |
| --- | --- |
| Result (one release row) | $0.005 |

There is no start fee. Runs with no results cost nothing.

| Run | Cost |
| --- | --- |
| 100 results | $0.50 |
| 1,000 results | $5.00 |
| 10,000 results | $50.00 |

### Good to know

- **Public repositories only.** Private repositories come back as not found and are listed in the run summary.
- **Rate limits.** GitHub limits unauthenticated requests, typically 60 per hour per IP address. If the limit is hit, the run stops with an error that says when it resets. Rows already collected stay in the dataset.
- **Per-run limits.** 50 repositories, 100 releases per repository, 5 API pages per repository and 5000 characters of notes per row.
- **Drafts.** Draft releases are not visible without logging in, so `isDraft` is normally `false`.
- **Order and coverage.** Releases come newest first by creation date. Tags with no GitHub release are not included.
- **Personal data.** Only the public GitHub username of the publisher is collected.
- **Run summary.** A `RUN_SUMMARY` record in the key-value store lists counts and any failures per repository.
- **Not affiliated.** This tool isn't affiliated with or endorsed by GitHub.

### FAQ

**Do I need a GitHub token?** No. It reads public data without credentials.

**Can I paste full URLs?** Yes. Both `owner/repo` and `https://github.com/owner/repo` work.

**How do I leave out release notes?** Set **Max release notes characters** to 0.

### Getting the data out

Download the results as Excel, CSV or JSON from the Output tab. Send them to Google Sheets, Slack, Zapier, Make or webhooks from the **Integrations** tab. Every run is also available through the Apify API, and you can schedule runs from **Schedules**.

### Questions or problems

Open an issue on the **Issues** tab and include the run link. I reply within one business day.

### Related tools

- [GitHub Public Issue Monitor](https://apify.com/snappytools/github-issue-monitor): track issues on public repositories
- [NPM Package Version Monitor](https://apify.com/snappytools/npm-package-version-monitor): watch new versions of npm packages
- [PyPI Package Release Monitor](https://apify.com/snappytools/pypi-release-monitor): watch new releases of PyPI packages

# Actor input Schema

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

Public GitHub repositories to monitor, as owner/repo (e.g. nodejs/node) or full https://github.com/owner/repo URLs. Maximum 50 repositories per run; duplicates are removed.

## `maxReleasesPerRepo` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of matching releases to output for each repository, newest first. Must be between 1 and 100.

## `includePrereleases` (type: `boolean`):

When enabled, releases flagged as pre-release on GitHub (betas, release candidates) are included in the output.

## `sinceDate` (type: `string`):

Optional ISO 8601 date (e.g. 2024-01-01). Only releases published on or after this date are returned. Leave empty for no date filter.

## `maxBodyChars` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of release-notes characters stored in bodyExcerpt for each record. Use 0 to omit release notes. Range 0 to 5000.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "repositories": [
    "nodejs/node",
    "apify/crawlee"
  ],
  "maxReleasesPerRepo": 5,
  "includePrereleases": true,
  "maxBodyChars": 500
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (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": [
        "nodejs/node",
        "apify/crawlee"
    ],
    "maxReleasesPerRepo": 5
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("snappytools/github-release-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": [
        "nodejs/node",
        "apify/crawlee",
    ],
    "maxReleasesPerRepo": 5,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("snappytools/github-release-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": [
    "nodejs/node",
    "apify/crawlee"
  ],
  "maxReleasesPerRepo": 5
}' |
apify call snappytools/github-release-monitor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,snappytools/github-release-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/jYz4HrR3tMuSUEnyR/builds/892Ol6YbdUg8p5ryc/openapi.json