# GitHub Repo Monitor — Releases, Stars, Issues & Activity (`vertaizen/github-repo-monitor`) Actor

OSS monitoring tool tracking any GitHub repos via the open GitHub REST API — new releases, star velocity, issues, commits & contributors. No scraping, no blocking. Monitor mode returns only NEW activity for release alerts & devtools competitive intel. MCP-ready.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/vertaizen/github-repo-monitor.md
- **Developed by:** [Diego Moragues](https://apify.com/vertaizen) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, AI, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 items

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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
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.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## 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.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md):

```bash
npm install apify-client
```

In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md):

```bash
pip install apify-client
```

In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):

````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash

In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md).

If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).


# README

## GitHub Repo Monitor — Release Tracker, Star Velocity & Activity Alerts

**GitHub Repo Monitor** is a fast, reliable **GitHub release tracker** and **OSS monitoring** tool that watches any list of public GitHub repositories — **new releases, star velocity, issues, commits and contributors** — using the **open GitHub REST API**. No scraping, no browser, no proxies, nothing to get blocked. Point it at your dependency list, your competitors' repos, or a VC watchlist, and get clean, structured JSON in seconds. Turn on **monitor mode** and each scheduled run returns only what changed since the last run — perfect for **release alerts**, **star-velocity tracking**, and **competitive intelligence** on open-source projects.

If you care about **GitHub monitoring**, **devtools competitive intel**, **dependency tracking**, **release notifications**, or turning open-source activity into **buying and growth signals**, this actor is for you.

### Why this actor is reliable

It talks **only to the public GitHub REST API** (`api.github.com`) — the same API GitHub officially documents and supports. Requests are simple JSON `GET`s with proper `User-Agent` and `Accept` headers. There are **no CAPTCHAs, no WAFs, no IP blocks and no brittle HTML parsing**. The anonymous rate limit is 60 requests/hour; add an optional **GitHub token** and it jumps to **5000 requests/hour**. When the limit is reached, the actor reads GitHub's `x-ratelimit-remaining` / `x-ratelimit-reset` headers and **stops politely** — it never hammers the API and never charges you for a request that didn't return data.

| | **This GitHub Repo Monitor (REST API)** | GitHub-trending / HTML scrapers | Watching repos by hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Release tracking | ✅ Per-repo, monitor mode | Rare | Manual |
| Star velocity (`starsDelta`) | ✅ Computed each run | ❌ | ❌ |
| Issues / commits / contributors | ✅ Selectable | Limited | Manual |
| Blocking / CAPTCHAs | ❌ Official API | ✅ Possible | — |
| Only NEW activity on later runs | ✅ | ❌ | — |
| Rate-limit handling | ✅ Reads headers, stops politely | Varies | — |

### What you get for each item

A **release**:

```json
{
  "repo": "apify/crawlee",
  "type": "release",
  "id": 178654321,
  "tagName": "v3.11.0",
  "name": "Crawlee 3.11",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-20T10:00:00Z",
  "url": "https://github.com/apify/crawlee/releases/tag/v3.11.0",
  "isPrerelease": false,
  "isNew": true,
  "checkedAt": "2026-07-02T09:00:00Z"
}
````

A **repo snapshot** (stars/forks/etc., always emitted, with `starsDelta` vs. the previous run):

```json
{
  "repo": "facebook/react",
  "type": "repo-snapshot",
  "stars": 231480,
  "forks": 47200,
  "openIssues": 980,
  "watchers": 6400,
  "language": "JavaScript",
  "pushedAt": "2026-07-01T18:22:10Z",
  "description": "The library for web and native user interfaces.",
  "url": "https://github.com/facebook/react",
  "starsDelta": 152,
  "checkedAt": "2026-07-02T09:00:00Z"
}
```

An **issue**:

```json
{
  "repo": "facebook/react",
  "type": "issue",
  "number": 31245,
  "title": "Bug: hydration mismatch with Suspense",
  "state": "open",
  "author": "octocat",
  "createdAt": "2026-06-30T14:58:31Z",
  "url": "https://github.com/facebook/react/issues/31245",
  "isNew": true,
  "checkedAt": "2026-07-02T09:00:00Z"
}
```

Commits and contributors follow the same clean, flat shape.

### How to use it

1. **Add repositories** — as `owner/repo` (e.g. `facebook/react`) or full GitHub URLs (e.g. `https://github.com/apify/crawlee`).
2. **Pick what to track** — `releases`, `stars`, `issues`, `commits`, `contributors` (default: releases + stars).
3. **(Optional) Add a GitHub token** — raises the rate limit from 60 to 5000 req/hr. It is stored as a secret.
4. **(Optional) Enable monitor mode** — and schedule the actor (e.g. hourly or daily). Each run returns only NEW activity per repo. Wire an Apify **webhook** to push new releases/issues straight to Slack, email, or your CRM.

### Use cases

Each of these is a real search buyers make:

- **"Get a Slack alert for new GitHub releases"** — schedule the actor in monitor mode with a webhook so a new release in any tracked repo lands in Slack or email the moment it ships.
- **"Track competitor OSS and star velocity"** — monitor a rival's repos for releases, issue volume, contributor growth, and daily `starsDelta` as a live competitive-intel feed.
- **"Monitor dependencies for new releases and security issues"** — watch the repos behind your critical dependencies so upgrades and security-relevant issues are never a surprise.
- **"Spot accelerating open-source projects for VC deal flow"** — track daily star velocity across a watchlist to catch projects breaking out before the market notices.
- **"Feed GitHub activity to an AI agent"** — pipe releases and issues into an LLM workflow via the Apify MCP server.

#### Track competitor OSS & star velocity

The sharpest competitive-intel use: add a competitor's repositories, track `stars` + `releases` + `issues` in monitor mode, and every run gives you their release cadence, their issue backlog trend, and — via `starsDelta` — exactly how fast their community is growing day over day. It's a public, real-time read on a rival's open-source momentum.

### Pricing

**Pay per item** delivered — no subscription, no minimum. You only pay for the releases, snapshots, issues, commits and contributors actually pushed to your dataset. Repos that 404 or fail are recorded in the run's key-value store and **never charged**.

### FAQ

#### Which GitHub data can it track?

Five signals per repository: **releases**, **stars** (a full repo snapshot: stars, forks, open issues, watchers, language, last push, description, plus `starsDelta`), **issues** (pull requests excluded), **commits**, and **contributors**. Choose any combination in the `track` input.

#### How do I get Slack or Discord alerts for new GitHub releases?

Enable `monitorMode`, track `releases`, schedule the actor (e.g. hourly), and attach an Apify [webhook or integration](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations) to the run. Each new release is pushed to Slack, Discord, email, or your CRM the moment it appears — a hosted alternative to polling the GitHub releases page yourself.

#### Do I need a GitHub token?

No. The actor works anonymously at GitHub's 60 requests/hour limit — enough to monitor a handful of repos. For larger watchlists or frequent scheduled runs, add a **read-only** personal access token to raise the limit to 5000 requests/hour. The token is stored as a secret input. See the [GitHub REST API rate-limit docs](https://docs.github.com/en/rest/using-the-rest-api/rate-limits-for-the-rest-api).

#### How does monitor mode work?

With `monitorMode` enabled, the actor keeps a per-repo record of previously seen release/issue/commit/contributor IDs in a persistent named key-value store (`GITHUB-MONITOR-STATE`). On each run it compares current activity against that record and outputs only the new items (`isNew: true`). The first run for a repo is a **baseline** (it records what already exists and pushes nothing). Repo snapshots are always emitted and carry a `starsDelta` computed against the previous run.

#### What happens when the rate limit is hit?

The actor reads GitHub's `x-ratelimit-remaining` and `x-ratelimit-reset` headers. When the limit is exhausted it **stops politely**, records a `RATE_LIMIT` note (with the reset time and a hint to add a token) in the run's key-value store, and keeps every item already delivered. It never spins on a rate-limited API.

#### What happens if a repo doesn't exist?

A repository that returns 404 (typo, private, or deleted) is recorded in the `FAILED` record of the run's key-value store and in the run log, and **you are never charged** for it. The rest of your list continues processing normally.

#### Is this legal / allowed?

Yes. The actor reads the **public, official [GitHub REST API](https://docs.github.com/en/rest)** using a proper `User-Agent` and honoring GitHub's documented rate limits. No login is required for public repositories, no private data is accessed, and no rate-limit abuse occurs.

#### Can AI agents use this actor?

Absolutely. The input schema is flat and agent-friendly, and every Apify actor is consumable via the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp), so AI agents and LLM pipelines can call this as a tool to monitor open-source repositories autonomously.

# Actor input Schema

## `repos` (type: `array`):

GitHub repositories to monitor. Use `owner/repo` (e.g. `facebook/react`) or full GitHub URLs (e.g. `https://github.com/apify/crawlee`).

## `githubToken` (type: `string`):

Optional GitHub personal access token. Raises the API rate limit from 60 to 5000 requests/hour. A read-only classic token or fine-grained token with public-repo read access is enough. Leave empty to use the anonymous 60 req/hr limit.

## `track` (type: `array`):

Which signals to collect per repository.

## `monitorMode` (type: `boolean`):

When enabled, the actor remembers previously seen releases, issues, commits and contributors per repository (in a persistent named key-value store) and only outputs items that appeared since the last run. Ideal for scheduled runs with webhook alerting (Slack, email, CRM). Repo snapshots (stars/forks) are always emitted and carry a `starsDelta` vs. the previous run.

## `maxItemsPerRepo` (type: `integer`):

Safety cap on the number of releases / issues / commits / contributors returned per repository.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "repos": [
    "apify/crawlee",
    "facebook/react"
  ],
  "track": [
    "releases",
    "stars"
  ],
  "monitorMode": false,
  "maxItemsPerRepo": 100
}
```

# 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 = {
    "repos": [
        "apify/crawlee",
        "facebook/react"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("vertaizen/github-repo-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 = { "repos": [
        "apify/crawlee",
        "facebook/react",
    ] }

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

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

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

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "repos": [
    "apify/crawlee",
    "facebook/react"
  ]
}' |
apify call vertaizen/github-repo-monitor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=vertaizen/github-repo-monitor",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "GitHub Repo Monitor — Releases, Stars, Issues & Activity",
        "description": "OSS monitoring tool tracking any GitHub repos via the open GitHub REST API — new releases, star velocity, issues, commits & contributors. No scraping, no blocking. Monitor mode returns only NEW activity for release alerts & devtools competitive intel. MCP-ready.",
        "version": "1.0",
        "x-build-id": "1T7Ig6deQLAUOjDxn"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/vertaizen~github-repo-monitor/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-vertaizen-github-repo-monitor",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/vertaizen~github-repo-monitor/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-vertaizen-github-repo-monitor",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK",
                        "content": {
                            "application/json": {
                                "schema": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/vertaizen~github-repo-monitor/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-vertaizen-github-repo-monitor",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    },
    "components": {
        "schemas": {
            "inputSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "required": [
                    "repos"
                ],
                "properties": {
                    "repos": {
                        "title": "Repositories",
                        "type": "array",
                        "description": "GitHub repositories to monitor. Use `owner/repo` (e.g. `facebook/react`) or full GitHub URLs (e.g. `https://github.com/apify/crawlee`).",
                        "items": {
                            "type": "string"
                        }
                    },
                    "githubToken": {
                        "title": "GitHub token (optional)",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Optional GitHub personal access token. Raises the API rate limit from 60 to 5000 requests/hour. A read-only classic token or fine-grained token with public-repo read access is enough. Leave empty to use the anonymous 60 req/hr limit."
                    },
                    "track": {
                        "title": "What to track",
                        "type": "array",
                        "description": "Which signals to collect per repository.",
                        "items": {
                            "type": "string",
                            "enum": [
                                "releases",
                                "stars",
                                "issues",
                                "commits",
                                "contributors"
                            ],
                            "enumTitles": [
                                "Releases",
                                "Stars / repo snapshot",
                                "Issues",
                                "Commits",
                                "Contributors"
                            ]
                        },
                        "default": [
                            "releases",
                            "stars"
                        ]
                    },
                    "monitorMode": {
                        "title": "Monitor mode — only NEW activity",
                        "type": "boolean",
                        "description": "When enabled, the actor remembers previously seen releases, issues, commits and contributors per repository (in a persistent named key-value store) and only outputs items that appeared since the last run. Ideal for scheduled runs with webhook alerting (Slack, email, CRM). Repo snapshots (stars/forks) are always emitted and carry a `starsDelta` vs. the previous run.",
                        "default": false
                    },
                    "maxItemsPerRepo": {
                        "title": "Max items per repo per type",
                        "minimum": 1,
                        "maximum": 500,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Safety cap on the number of releases / issues / commits / contributors returned per repository.",
                        "default": 100
                    }
                }
            },
            "runsResponseSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "data": {
                        "type": "object",
                        "properties": {
                            "id": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "actId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "userId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "startedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "finishedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "status": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "READY"
                            },
                            "meta": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "origin": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "API"
                                    },
                                    "userAgent": {
                                        "type": "string"
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "stats": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "inputBodyLen": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2000
                                    },
                                    "rebootCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "restartCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "resurrectCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "computeUnits": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "options": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "build": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "latest"
                                    },
                                    "timeoutSecs": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 300
                                    },
                                    "memoryMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1024
                                    },
                                    "diskMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2048
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "buildId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultDatasetId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultRequestQueueId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "buildNumber": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "1.0.0"
                            },
                            "containerUrl": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "usage": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "usageTotalUsd": {
                                "type": "number",
                                "example": 0.00005
                            },
                            "usageUsd": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "number",
                                        "example": 0.00005
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```