GitHub data API: the official API or an Apify Actor?

GitHub has a public official API. 4 Apify Actors in this catalogue return GitHub data over HTTP too: send the input to Apify's run-sync endpoint with your token and get the records back as JSON, from $0.40 a run plus $0.99 per 1,000 results at Store prices (plus platform usage).

Side by side

	GitHub REST API	Apify Actors (4)
Access	Public, self-serve	Apify API token (any account)
What you get	The GitHub REST API exposes repositories, issues, releases, users, organisations and more. A token raises rate limits.	Rows defined by each Actor's published schema; up to 19 fields per record
Price	No per-call fee for standard REST API use.	From $0.40 a run plus $0.99 per 1,000 results (Store price, Free plan), plus platform usage
Limits	Unauthenticated requests have a lower hourly limit; authenticated requests have a higher one.	Synchronous calls wait up to 300 s; longer runs go asynchronous
Docs	GitHub REST API	Apify API: run-sync

Official API facts checked 2026-11-09. Public repository data only; respect licences and rate limits; not legal advice.

Which Actor for which job

All of them list $0.99 per 1,000 results on the Store, plus a start fee per run.

Actor	Returns	Fields include	Call it
GitHub Marketplace App & Action Listings by Category	GitHub Marketplace listings - apps, integrations and Actions with install counts, pricing plans, verified-creator status…	name, listingType, slug	run-sync · Apify
GitHub Repository Language Breakdown Analyzer	Repository records with language byte counts and percentage shares, owner and repository metadata, optional contributors and…	fullName, language, languagesBreakdown	run-sync · Apify
GitHub Repository Metadata & README Extractor	One record per GitHub repository with metadata, real watcher counts, topics, license, language bytes, README text, and optional…	fullName, htmlUrl, description	run-sync · Apify
GitHub Weekly Trending Repos & Org Repo Finder	GitHub repository and developer records — names, owners, stars, forks, star growth, languages, topics, licenses, dates, URLs…	trendingRank, fullName, description	run-sync · Apify

Call GitHub Weekly Trending Repos & Org Repo Finder

The call waits for the run and returns the records as JSON. Swap the Actor ID for any Actor in the table. Set APIFY_TOKEN first; runs bill to that account.

curl

Actor on Apify

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/dataspryva~github-weekly-trending-repos-and-org-repo-finder/run-sync-get-dataset-items" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"mode":"trending","maxItems":3}'

Install: pip install "apify-client>=3"

Python

Actor on Apify

import os
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient(os.environ["APIFY_TOKEN"])
run_input = {
    "mode": "trending",
    "maxItems": 3,
}

run = client.actor("dataspryva/github-weekly-trending-repos-and-org-repo-finder").call(run_input=run_input)
if run is None:
    raise RuntimeError("The Actor run could not be started")
print(run.status, "dataset", run.default_dataset_id)
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

Install: npm install apify-client

JavaScript

Actor on Apify

import { ApifyClient } from "apify-client";

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const input = {
  "mode": "trending",
  "maxItems": 3
};

const run = await client.actor("dataspryva/github-weekly-trending-repos-and-org-repo-finder").call(input);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items.length, items[0]);

Generated from the Actor's published schema and checked, not executed.

Same data, other routes

GitHub MCP server: these Actors as tools in Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, VS Code and Codex.
GitHub trending repos to Discord: an n8n workflow you can import.
Every Actor with a one-request API

When a call fails

Why does the workflow or script stop with HTTP 408?

The synchronous endpoint waits at most 300 seconds. After that it answers 408 while the run keeps going in Apify. Lower the result limit, or start the run asynchronously, wait for it to finish and then read its dataset.

Source: Apify API: run Actor synchronously and get dataset items

What do 400, 401, 402 and 403 from the Apify API mean?

Read error.type in the response body. 400 is invalid Actor input. 401 (user-or-token-not-found) means a token reached Apify but it is wrong or revoked. 402 with x402-payment-required means no token reached Apify at all: the n8n credential or the Authorization: Bearer header is missing, and Apify is offering its pay-per-run x402 route for agents instead; any other 402 is an exhausted usage limit on the account that pays for the run. 403 is a token without permission for that Actor or storage.

Source: Apify API: authentication; Apify documentation: agentic payments with x402; Apify API: run Actor synchronously and get dataset items

Why does starting an Actor through the API return run information instead of scraped results?

The Run Actor endpoint starts the Actor and immediately returns a Run object without waiting for completion. For results stored in the default dataset, pass the response's defaultDatasetId to Get dataset items; to wait and receive output directly, use the synchronous endpoint for dataset items or a key-value store record.

Source: Apify Run Actor API

Why are rows and hidden fields missing from my Apify dataset export?

The clean parameter enables both skipEmpty and skipHidden, removing empty items and fields whose names begin with #. This can produce fewer items than the requested limit; to retain those rows and fields, disable clean and ensure skipEmpty and skipHidden are also disabled.

Source: Apify Get dataset items API

Every fix in one place

Questions

Is there an official GitHub API?

The GitHub REST API exposes repositories, issues, releases, users, organisations and more. A token raises rate limits. No per-call fee for standard REST API use.

How much does GitHub data cost through an Apify Actor?

The Actors listed here charge from $0.40 a run plus $0.99 per 1,000 results on the Apify Store (Free plan), checked 2026-11-12, billed to the Apify account whose token makes the call. Actor start events and platform usage can add to that.

Can I get GitHub data as JSON in one HTTP request?

Yes, through Apify's run-sync-get-dataset-items endpoint: POST the Actor input with your token and the response is the dataset as JSON. It waits up to 300 seconds; longer runs need the asynchronous run endpoint.

Can an AI agent use the same GitHub data?

Yes. The GitHub MCP page bundles these Actors into one Apify MCP URL for Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, VS Code and Codex.

Is it allowed to collect GitHub data?

Public repository data only; respect licences and rate limits; not legal advice. Read GitHub's terms before you build on the data.

Sources

GitHub REST API documentation, checked 2026-11-09
Apify API: run Actor synchronously, checked 2026-11-11
GitHub terms