REST API endpoints for watching

About watching

You can use the REST API to subscribe to notifications for activity in a repository. To bookmark a repository instead, see REST API endpoints for starring.

Watching versus starring

In August 2012, we changed the way watching works on GitHub. Some API client applications may still be using the original "watcher" endpoints for accessing this data. You should now use the "star" endpoints instead. For more information, REST API endpoints for starring and the changelog post.

In responses from the REST API, subscribers_count corresponds to the number of watchers, whereas watchers, watchers_count, and stargazers_count correspond to the number of users that have starred a repository.

List watchers

Lists the people watching the specified repository.

Fine-grained access tokens for "List watchers"

This endpoint works with the following fine-grained token types:

The fine-grained token must have the following permission set:

"Metadata" repository permissions (read)

This endpoint can be used without authentication or the aforementioned permissions if only public resources are requested.

Parameters for "List watchers"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
`accept` string Setting to `application/vnd.github+json` is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
`owner` string Required The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.
`repo` string Required The name of the repository without the `.git` extension. The name is not case sensitive.

Query parameters
Name, Type, Description
`per_page` integer The number of results per page (max 100). For more information, see "Using pagination in the REST API." Default: `30`
`page` integer The page number of the results to fetch. For more information, see "Using pagination in the REST API." Default: `1`

HTTP response status codes for "List watchers"

Status code	Description
`200`	OK

Code samples for "List watchers"

If you access GitHub at GHE.com, replace api.github.com with your enterprise's dedicated subdomain at api.SUBDOMAIN.ghe.com.

Request example

get/repos/{owner}/{repo}/subscribers

curl -L \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/subscribers

Response

Status: 200

[
  {
    "login": "octocat",
    "id": 1,
    "node_id": "MDQ6VXNlcjE=",
    "avatar_url": "https://github.com/images/error/octocat_happy.gif",
    "gravatar_id": "",
    "url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat",
    "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat",
    "followers_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/followers",
    "following_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/following{/other_user}",
    "gists_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/gists{/gist_id}",
    "starred_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/starred{/owner}{/repo}",
    "subscriptions_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/subscriptions",
    "organizations_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/orgs",
    "repos_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/repos",
    "events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/events{/privacy}",
    "received_events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/received_events",
    "type": "User",
    "site_admin": false
  }
]

Get a repository subscription

Gets information about whether the authenticated user is subscribed to the repository.

Fine-grained access tokens for "Get a repository subscription"

This endpoint does not work with GitHub App user access tokens, GitHub App installation access tokens, or fine-grained personal access tokens.

Parameters for "Get a repository subscription"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
`accept` string Setting to `application/vnd.github+json` is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
`owner` string Required The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.
`repo` string Required The name of the repository without the `.git` extension. The name is not case sensitive.

HTTP response status codes for "Get a repository subscription"

Status code	Description
`200`	if you subscribe to the repository
`403`	Forbidden
`404`	Not Found if you don't subscribe to the repository

Code samples for "Get a repository subscription"

If you access GitHub at GHE.com, replace api.github.com with your enterprise's dedicated subdomain at api.SUBDOMAIN.ghe.com.

Request example

get/repos/{owner}/{repo}/subscription

curl -L \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/subscription

if you subscribe to the repository

Status: 200

{
  "subscribed": true,
  "ignored": false,
  "reason": null,
  "created_at": "2012-10-06T21:34:12Z",
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/example/subscription",
  "repository_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/example"
}

Set a repository subscription

If you would like to watch a repository, set subscribed to true. If you would like to ignore notifications made within a repository, set ignored to true. If you would like to stop watching a repository, delete the repository's subscription completely.

Fine-grained access tokens for "Set a repository subscription"

This endpoint does not work with GitHub App user access tokens, GitHub App installation access tokens, or fine-grained personal access tokens.

Parameters for "Set a repository subscription"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
`accept` string Setting to `application/vnd.github+json` is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
`owner` string Required The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.
`repo` string Required The name of the repository without the `.git` extension. The name is not case sensitive.

Body parameters
Name, Type, Description
`subscribed` boolean Determines if notifications should be received from this repository.
`ignored` boolean Determines if all notifications should be blocked from this repository.

HTTP response status codes for "Set a repository subscription"

Status code	Description
`200`	OK

Code samples for "Set a repository subscription"

If you access GitHub at GHE.com, replace api.github.com with your enterprise's dedicated subdomain at api.SUBDOMAIN.ghe.com.

Request example

put/repos/{owner}/{repo}/subscription

curl -L \
  -X PUT \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/subscription \
  -d '{"subscribed":true,"ignored":false}'

Response

Status: 200

{
  "subscribed": true,
  "ignored": false,
  "reason": null,
  "created_at": "2012-10-06T21:34:12Z",
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/example/subscription",
  "repository_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/example"
}

Delete a repository subscription

This endpoint should only be used to stop watching a repository. To control whether or not you wish to receive notifications from a repository, set the repository's subscription manually.

Fine-grained access tokens for "Delete a repository subscription"

This endpoint does not work with GitHub App user access tokens, GitHub App installation access tokens, or fine-grained personal access tokens.

Parameters for "Delete a repository subscription"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
`accept` string Setting to `application/vnd.github+json` is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
`owner` string Required The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.
`repo` string Required The name of the repository without the `.git` extension. The name is not case sensitive.

HTTP response status codes for "Delete a repository subscription"

Status code	Description
`204`	No Content

Code samples for "Delete a repository subscription"

If you access GitHub at GHE.com, replace api.github.com with your enterprise's dedicated subdomain at api.SUBDOMAIN.ghe.com.

Request example

delete/repos/{owner}/{repo}/subscription

curl -L \
  -X DELETE \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/subscription

Response

Status: 204

List repositories watched by the authenticated user

Lists repositories the authenticated user is watching.

Fine-grained access tokens for "List repositories watched by the authenticated user"

This endpoint works with the following fine-grained token types:

The fine-grained token must have the following permission set:

"Watching" user permissions (read)

This endpoint can be used without authentication or the aforementioned permissions if only public resources are requested.

Parameters for "List repositories watched by the authenticated user"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
`accept` string Setting to `application/vnd.github+json` is recommended.

Query parameters
Name, Type, Description
`per_page` integer The number of results per page (max 100). For more information, see "Using pagination in the REST API." Default: `30`
`page` integer The page number of the results to fetch. For more information, see "Using pagination in the REST API." Default: `1`

HTTP response status codes for "List repositories watched by the authenticated user"

Status code	Description
`200`	OK
`304`	Not modified
`401`	Requires authentication
`403`	Forbidden

Code samples for "List repositories watched by the authenticated user"

If you access GitHub at GHE.com, replace api.github.com with your enterprise's dedicated subdomain at api.SUBDOMAIN.ghe.com.

Request example

get/user/subscriptions

curl -L \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
  https://api.github.com/user/subscriptions

Response

Status: 200

[
  {
    "id": 1296269,
    "node_id": "MDEwOlJlcG9zaXRvcnkxMjk2MjY5",
    "name": "Hello-World",
    "full_name": "octocat/Hello-World",
    "owner": {
      "login": "octocat",
      "id": 1,
      "node_id": "MDQ6VXNlcjE=",
      "avatar_url": "https://github.com/images/error/octocat_happy.gif",
      "gravatar_id": "",
      "url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat",
      "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat",
      "followers_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/followers",
      "following_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/following{/other_user}",
      "gists_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/gists{/gist_id}",
      "starred_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/starred{/owner}{/repo}",
      "subscriptions_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/subscriptions",
      "organizations_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/orgs",
      "repos_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/repos",
      "events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/events{/privacy}",
      "received_events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/received_events",
      "type": "User",
      "site_admin": false
    },
    "private": false,
    "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World",
    "description": "This your first repo!",
    "fork": false,
    "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World",
    "archive_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/{archive_format}{/ref}",
    "assignees_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/assignees{/user}",
    "blobs_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/blobs{/sha}",
    "branches_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches{/branch}",
    "collaborators_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/collaborators{/collaborator}",
    "comments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/comments{/number}",
    "commits_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits{/sha}",
    "compare_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/compare/{base}...{head}",
    "contents_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/contents/{+path}",
    "contributors_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/contributors",
    "deployments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/deployments",
    "downloads_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/downloads",
    "events_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/events",
    "forks_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/forks",
    "git_commits_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits{/sha}",
    "git_refs_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/refs{/sha}",
    "git_tags_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/tags{/sha}",
    "git_url": "git:github.com/octocat/Hello-World.git",
    "issue_comment_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/issues/comments{/number}",
    "issue_events_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/issues/events{/number}",
    "issues_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/issues{/number}",
    "keys_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/keys{/key_id}",
    "labels_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/labels{/name}",
    "languages_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/languages",
    "merges_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/merges",
    "milestones_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/milestones{/number}",
    "notifications_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/notifications{?since,all,participating}",
    "pulls_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/pulls{/number}",
    "releases_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/releases{/id}",
    "ssh_url": "git@github.com:octocat/Hello-World.git",
    "stargazers_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/stargazers",
    "statuses_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/statuses/{sha}",
    "subscribers_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/subscribers",
    "subscription_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/subscription",
    "tags_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/tags",
    "teams_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/teams",
    "trees_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/trees{/sha}",
    "clone_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World.git",
    "mirror_url": "git:git.example.com/octocat/Hello-World",
    "hooks_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/hooks",
    "svn_url": "https://svn.github.com/octocat/Hello-World",
    "homepage": "https://github.com",
    "language": null,
    "forks_count": 9,
    "stargazers_count": 80,
    "watchers_count": 80,
    "size": 108,
    "default_branch": "master",
    "open_issues_count": 0,
    "is_template": false,
    "topics": [
      "octocat",
      "atom",
      "electron",
      "api"
    ],
    "has_issues": true,
    "has_projects": true,
    "has_wiki": true,
    "has_pages": false,
    "has_downloads": true,
    "has_discussions": false,
    "archived": false,
    "disabled": false,
    "visibility": "public",
    "pushed_at": "2011-01-26T19:06:43Z",
    "created_at": "2011-01-26T19:01:12Z",
    "updated_at": "2011-01-26T19:14:43Z",
    "permissions": {
      "admin": false,
      "push": false,
      "pull": true
    },
    "security_and_analysis": {
      "advanced_security": {
        "status": "enabled"
      },
      "secret_scanning": {
        "status": "enabled"
      },
      "secret_scanning_push_protection": {
        "status": "disabled"
      },
      "secret_scanning_validity_checks": {
        "status": "disabled"
      }
    }
  }
]

List repositories watched by a user

Lists repositories a user is watching.

Fine-grained access tokens for "List repositories watched by a user"

This endpoint works with the following fine-grained token types:

The fine-grained token must have the following permission set:

"Watching" user permissions (read)

This endpoint can be used without authentication or the aforementioned permissions if only public resources are requested.

Parameters for "List repositories watched by a user"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
`accept` string Setting to `application/vnd.github+json` is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
`username` string Required The handle for the GitHub user account.

Query parameters
Name, Type, Description
`per_page` integer The number of results per page (max 100). For more information, see "Using pagination in the REST API." Default: `30`
`page` integer The page number of the results to fetch. For more information, see "Using pagination in the REST API." Default: `1`

HTTP response status codes for "List repositories watched by a user"

Status code	Description
`200`	OK

Code samples for "List repositories watched by a user"

If you access GitHub at GHE.com, replace api.github.com with your enterprise's dedicated subdomain at api.SUBDOMAIN.ghe.com.

Request example

get/users/{username}/subscriptions

curl -L \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
  https://api.github.com/users/USERNAME/subscriptions

Response

Status: 200

[
  {
    "id": 1296269,
    "node_id": "MDEwOlJlcG9zaXRvcnkxMjk2MjY5",
    "name": "Hello-World",
    "full_name": "octocat/Hello-World",
    "owner": {
      "login": "octocat",
      "id": 1,
      "node_id": "MDQ6VXNlcjE=",
      "avatar_url": "https://github.com/images/error/octocat_happy.gif",
      "gravatar_id": "",
      "url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat",
      "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat",
      "followers_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/followers",
      "following_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/following{/other_user}",
      "gists_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/gists{/gist_id}",
      "starred_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/starred{/owner}{/repo}",
      "subscriptions_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/subscriptions",
      "organizations_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/orgs",
      "repos_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/repos",
      "events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/events{/privacy}",
      "received_events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/received_events",
      "type": "User",
      "site_admin": false
    },
    "private": false,
    "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World",
    "description": "This your first repo!",
    "fork": false,
    "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World",
    "archive_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/{archive_format}{/ref}",
    "assignees_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/assignees{/user}",
    "blobs_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/blobs{/sha}",
    "branches_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches{/branch}",
    "collaborators_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/collaborators{/collaborator}",
    "comments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/comments{/number}",
    "commits_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits{/sha}",
    "compare_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/compare/{base}...{head}",
    "contents_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/contents/{+path}",
    "contributors_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/contributors",
    "deployments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/deployments",
    "downloads_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/downloads",
    "events_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/events",
    "forks_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/forks",
    "git_commits_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits{/sha}",
    "git_refs_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/refs{/sha}",
    "git_tags_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/tags{/sha}",
    "git_url": "git:github.com/octocat/Hello-World.git",
    "issue_comment_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/issues/comments{/number}",
    "issue_events_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/issues/events{/number}",
    "issues_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/issues{/number}",
    "keys_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/keys{/key_id}",
    "labels_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/labels{/name}",
    "languages_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/languages",
    "merges_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/merges",
    "milestones_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/milestones{/number}",
    "notifications_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/notifications{?since,all,participating}",
    "pulls_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/pulls{/number}",
    "releases_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/releases{/id}",
    "ssh_url": "git@github.com:octocat/Hello-World.git",
    "stargazers_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/stargazers",
    "statuses_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/statuses/{sha}",
    "subscribers_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/subscribers",
    "subscription_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/subscription",
    "tags_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/tags",
    "teams_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/teams",
    "trees_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/trees{/sha}",
    "clone_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World.git",
    "mirror_url": "git:git.example.com/octocat/Hello-World",
    "hooks_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/hooks",
    "svn_url": "https://svn.github.com/octocat/Hello-World",
    "homepage": "https://github.com",
    "language": null,
    "forks_count": 9,
    "stargazers_count": 80,
    "watchers_count": 80,
    "size": 108,
    "default_branch": "master",
    "open_issues_count": 0,
    "is_template": false,
    "topics": [
      "octocat",
      "atom",
      "electron",
      "api"
    ],
    "has_issues": true,
    "has_projects": true,
    "has_wiki": true,
    "has_pages": false,
    "has_downloads": true,
    "has_discussions": false,
    "archived": false,
    "disabled": false,
    "visibility": "public",
    "pushed_at": "2011-01-26T19:06:43Z",
    "created_at": "2011-01-26T19:01:12Z",
    "updated_at": "2011-01-26T19:14:43Z",
    "permissions": {
      "admin": false,
      "push": false,
      "pull": true
    },
    "security_and_analysis": {
      "advanced_security": {
        "status": "enabled"
      },
      "secret_scanning": {
        "status": "enabled"
      },
      "secret_scanning_push_protection": {
        "status": "disabled"
      },
      "secret_scanning_validity_checks": {
        "status": "disabled"
      }
    }
  }
]