Watching

The Watching API lets users subscribe to notifications for activity in a repository.

About the Watching API

The Watching API lets users subscribe to notifications for activity in a repository. To bookmark a repository instead, see "Starring."

List watchers

Works with GitHub Apps

Lists the people watching the specified repository.

Parameters

Headers
Name, Type, Description
`accept`string Setting to `application/vnd.github.v3+json` is recommended.
Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
`owner`stringRequired The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.
`repo`stringRequired The name of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.
Query parameters
Name, Type, Description
`per_page`integer The number of results per page (max 100). Default: `30`
`page`integer Page number of the results to fetch. Default: `1`

HTTP response status codes

Status code	Description
`200`	OK

Code samples

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

curl \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \ 
  -H "Authorization: token <TOKEN>" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/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

Parameters

Headers
Name, Type, Description
`accept`string Setting to `application/vnd.github.v3+json` is recommended.
Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
`owner`stringRequired The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.
`repo`stringRequired The name of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

HTTP response status codes

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

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

curl \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \ 
  -H "Authorization: token <TOKEN>" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/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.

Parameters

Headers
Name, Type, Description
`accept`string Setting to `application/vnd.github.v3+json` is recommended.
Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
`owner`stringRequired The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.
`repo`stringRequired The name of the repository. 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

Status code	Description
`200`	OK

Code samples

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

curl \
  -X PUT \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \ 
  -H "Authorization: token <TOKEN>" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/subscription

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.

Parameters

Headers
Name, Type, Description
`accept`string Setting to `application/vnd.github.v3+json` is recommended.
Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
`owner`stringRequired The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.
`repo`stringRequired The name of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

HTTP response status codes

Status code	Description
`204`	No Content

Code samples

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

curl \
  -X DELETE \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \ 
  -H "Authorization: token <TOKEN>" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/subscription

Response

Status: 204

List repositories watched by the authenticated user

Lists repositories the authenticated user is watching.

Parameters

Headers
Name, Type, Description
`accept`string Setting to `application/vnd.github.v3+json` is recommended.
Query parameters
Name, Type, Description
`per_page`integer The number of results per page (max 100). Default: `30`
`page`integer Page number of the results to fetch. Default: `1`

HTTP response status codes

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

Code samples

get/user/subscriptions

curl \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \ 
  -H "Authorization: token <TOKEN>" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/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,
    "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
    },
    "template_repository": null
  }
]

List repositories watched by a user

Works with GitHub Apps

Lists repositories a user is watching.

Parameters

Headers
Name, Type, Description
`accept`string Setting to `application/vnd.github.v3+json` is recommended.
Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
`username`stringRequired The handle for the GitHub user account.
Query parameters
Name, Type, Description
`per_page`integer The number of results per page (max 100). Default: `30`
`page`integer Page number of the results to fetch. Default: `1`

HTTP response status codes

Status code	Description
`200`	OK

Code samples

get/users/{username}/subscriptions

curl \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \ 
  -H "Authorization: token <TOKEN>" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/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,
    "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
    },
    "template_repository": null
  }
]