GitHub Documentation Link Auditor

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Audit Markdown documentation links in a GitHub repo — validates external links and reports broken or redirected URLs.

What you get

Audit Markdown documentation links in a GitHub repo — validates external links and reports broken or redirected URLs.

Why use GitHub Documentation Link Auditor

• Markdown link checking — reads your repo's .md files and validates every external link.
• Status reporting — broken, redirected, and timed-out links classified per file.
• Optional issue output — opens a single audit issue in the repo, with dry-run mode.

Quick start

{
  "markdownPaths": [
    "README.md"
  ]
}

Input parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
githubReadConnector	No	A read-only GitHub connector exposing only file reads.
githubWriteConnector	No	Required only when Dry run is off. Exposes issue search and issue write, but no repository-content mutation tools.
owner	No	GitHub organization or user that owns the authorized repository.
repo	No	Repository whose explicit Markdown paths will be audited.
ref	No	Optional branch, tag, or full ref. Leave empty for the default branch. Default: ``.
markdownPaths	Yes	Specific Markdown files to read through the connector. Missing or oversized files are reported without stopping the audit. Default: ['README.md'].
maxLinks	No	Hard cap on distinct external links checked in one paid audit. Default: 100.
requestTimeoutSecs	No	Total HTTP timeout for each public link check, from 3 to 15 seconds. Default: 12.
updateExistingIssue	No	Update the open Actor-owned issue for this repository/ref/path scope instead of creating another one. Default: True.
issueLabels	No	Optional labels that must already exist in the repository. Default: [].
dryRun	No	Read files and validate links without writing a GitHub issue. Default: True.
confirmWriteTarget	No	Required when Dry run is off. Enter the exact owner/repo and write only to a repository you own or are explicitly authorized to modify. Default: ``.

Output fields

• repository
• ref
• ref_is_immutable
• audit_status
• files_requested
• files_read
• files_failed
• file_errors
• links_discovered
• links_discovered_is_lower_bound
• links_checked
• links_omitted
• truncated
• source_matches_truncated
• reachable
• observed_not_found
• needs_review
• unsafe_targets
• decision
• setup_required
• message
• github_issue_url
• issue_action
• issue_error
• results
• scanned_at

Example result

{
  "repository": "not configured",
  "ref": "default",
  "ref_is_immutable": false,
  "audit_status": "SETUP_REQUIRED",
  "files_requested": 1,
  "files_read": [],
  "files_failed": 0,
  "file_errors": {},
  "links_discovered": 0,
  "links_discovered_is_lower_bound": false,
  "links_checked": 0,
  "links_omitted": 0,
  "truncated": false,
  "source_matches_truncated": false,
  "reachable": 0,
  "observed_not_found": 0,
  "needs_review": 0,
  "unsafe_targets": 0,
  "decision": "SETUP_REQUIRED",
  "setup_required": [
    "githubReadConnector",
    "owner",
    "repo"
  ],
  "message": "Select a GitHub read connector and enter a repository owner and name, then run again.",
  "github_issue_url": null,
  "issue_action": "not_written",
  "issue_error": null,
  "results": [],
  "scanned_at": "2026-08-30T20:29:01.743102+00:00"
}

Common use cases

• Keep docs free of dead links
• Catch link rot before users do
• Audit README and docs quality in one run

Compared to alternatives

• vs other GitHub Documentation Link Auditor scrapers on the Store — pay-per-result billing means empty or failed searches cost nothing; you are not charged for a run that returns zero rows.
• vs building your own — no proxy management, markup-change maintenance, or infrastructure to run; paste inputs and consume the dataset.

Limitations

• Requires an authorized GitHub connector for repo access.

• Audits explicit Markdown paths you provide.

• Links behind login or heavy rate limits report as unreachable.

• Use public data lawfully and respect applicable privacy and platform rules.

FAQ

Do I need an account or cookies?

No — the Actor reads public data only. There is no login to configure and no account to risk.

What happens when a search returns nothing?

The run completes with zero (or an explicit error) rows. Per-result billing means you are not charged for empty output.

Can I run it on a schedule?

Yes — attach an Apify schedule or use the saved tasks to re-run the same inputs daily or weekly.

Related guides and Actors

• Compare Github Doc Link Technical Side By Side
• Export Github Doc Link Technical To Csv
• Extract Github Doc Link Technical At Scale
• GitHub Dependency Risk Triage
• Status Code Checker

Last verified: 2026-09

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