REST API endpoints for followers

About follower administration

If a request URL does not include a {username} parameter then the response will be for the signed-in user (and you must pass authentication information with your request). Additional private information, such as whether a user has two-factor authentication enabled, is included when authenticated through Basic Authentication or OAuth with the user scope.

List followers of the authenticated user

Lists the people following the authenticated user.

Parameters for "List followers of 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 followers of the authenticated user"

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

Code samples for "List followers of the authenticated user"

Request example

get/user/followers

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

Response

Status: 200

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

List the people the authenticated user follows

Lists the people who the authenticated user follows.

Parameters for "List the people the authenticated user follows"

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 the people the authenticated user follows"

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

Code samples for "List the people the authenticated user follows"

Request example

get/user/following

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

Response

Status: 200

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

Check if a person is followed by the authenticated user

Parameters for "Check if a person is followed by the authenticated 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.

HTTP response status codes for "Check if a person is followed by the authenticated user"

Status code	Description
`204`	if the person is followed by the authenticated user
`304`	Not modified
`401`	Requires authentication
`403`	Forbidden
`404`	if the person is not followed by the authenticated user

Code samples for "Check if a person is followed by the authenticated user"

Request example

get/user/following/{username}

curl -L \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/user/following/USERNAME

if the person is followed by the authenticated user

Status: 204

Follow a user

Note that you'll need to set Content-Length to zero when calling out to this endpoint. For more information, see "HTTP verbs."

OAuth app tokens and personal access tokens (classic) need the user:follow scope to use this endpoint.

Parameters for "Follow 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.

HTTP response status codes for "Follow a user"

Status code	Description
`204`	No Content
`304`	Not modified
`401`	Requires authentication
`403`	Forbidden
`404`	Resource not found

Code samples for "Follow a user"

Request example

put/user/following/{username}

curl -L \
  -X PUT \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/user/following/USERNAME

Response

Status: 204

Unfollow a user

OAuth app tokens and personal access tokens (classic) need the user:follow scope to use this endpoint.

Parameters for "Unfollow 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.

HTTP response status codes for "Unfollow a user"

Status code	Description
`204`	No Content
`304`	Not modified
`401`	Requires authentication
`403`	Forbidden
`404`	Resource not found

Code samples for "Unfollow a user"

Request example

delete/user/following/{username}

curl -L \
  -X DELETE \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/user/following/USERNAME

Response

Status: 204

List followers of a user

Lists the people following the specified user.

Parameters for "List followers of 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 followers of a user"

Status code	Description
`200`	OK

Code samples for "List followers of a user"

Request example

get/users/{username}/followers

curl -L \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/users/USERNAME/followers

Response

Status: 200

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

List the people a user follows

Lists the people who the specified user follows.

Parameters for "List the people a user follows"

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 the people a user follows"

Status code	Description
`200`	OK

Code samples for "List the people a user follows"

Request example

get/users/{username}/following

curl -L \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/users/USERNAME/following

Response

Status: 200

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

Check if a user follows another user

Parameters for "Check if a user follows another 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.
`target_user` string Required

HTTP response status codes for "Check if a user follows another user"

Status code	Description
`204`	if the user follows the target user
`404`	if the user does not follow the target user

Code samples for "Check if a user follows another user"

Request example

get/users/{username}/following/{target_user}

curl -L \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/users/USERNAME/following/TARGET_USER

if the user follows the target user

Status: 204