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Article version: GitHub.com
GitHub.com Enterprise Server 3.0 Enterprise Server 2.22 See all Enterprise releases
Article version: GitHub.com
GitHub.com Enterprise Server 3.0 Enterprise Server 2.22 See all Enterprise releases

Code scanning

Code scanning is available for all public repositories and for private repositories owned by organizations where GitHub Advanced Security is enabled. For more information, see "About GitHub Advanced Security."

In this article

The code scanning API lets you retrieve and update code scanning alerts from a repository. You can use the endpoints to create automated reports for the code scanning alerts in an organization or upload analysis results generated using offline code scanning tools. For more information, see "Finding security vulnerabilities and errors in your code."

List code scanning alerts for a repository

Lists all open code scanning alerts for the default branch (usually main or master). You must use an access token with the security_events scope to use this endpoint. GitHub Apps must have the security_events read permission to use this endpoint.

get /repos/{owner}/{repo}/code-scanning/alerts

Parameters

Name Type In Description
accept string header

Setting to application/vnd.github.v3+json is recommended.

owner string path
repo string path
state string query

Set to open, fixed, or dismissed to list code scanning alerts in a specific state.
ref string query

Set a full Git reference to list alerts for a specific branch. The ref must be formatted as refs/heads/<branch name>.

Code samples

Shell 
curl \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/hello-world/code-scanning/alerts
JavaScript (@octokit/core.js) 
await octokit.request('GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/code-scanning/alerts', {
  owner: 'octocat',
  repo: 'hello-world'
})

Default response

Status: 200 OK
[
  {
    "number": 4,
    "created_at": "2020-02-13T12:29:18Z",
    "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/github/hello-world/code-scanning/alerts/4",
    "html_url": "https://github.com/github/hello-world/code-scanning/4",
    "state": "open",
    "dismissed_by": null,
    "dismissed_at": null,
    "dismissed_reason": null,
    "rule": {
      "id": "js/zipslip",
      "severity": "error",
      "description": "Arbitrary file write during zip extraction"
    },
    "tool": {
      "name": "CodeQL command-line toolchain",
      "version": null
    }
  },
  {
    "number": 3,
    "created_at": "2020-02-13T12:29:18Z",
    "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/github/hello-world/code-scanning/alerts/3",
    "html_url": "https://github.com/github/hello-world/code-scanning/3",
    "state": "dismissed",
    "dismissed_by": {
      "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
    },
    "dismissed_at": "2020-02-14T12:29:18Z",
    "dismissed_reason": "false positive",
    "rule": {
      "id": "js/zipslip",
      "severity": "error",
      "description": "Arbitrary file write during zip extraction"
    },
    "tool": {
      "name": "CodeQL command-line toolchain",
      "version": null
    }
  }
]

Response if github advanced security is not enabled for this repository

Status: 403 Forbidden

Response if the ref does not match an existing ref

Status: 404 Not Found

Service unavailable

Status: 503 Service Unavailable

Notes

Get a code scanning alert

Gets a single code scanning alert. You must use an access token with the security_events scope to use this endpoint. GitHub Apps must have the security_events read permission to use this endpoint.

The security alert_number is found at the end of the security alert's URL. For example, the security alert ID for https://github.com/Octo-org/octo-repo/security/code-scanning/88 is 88.

get /repos/{owner}/{repo}/code-scanning/alerts/{alert_number}

Parameters

Name Type In Description
accept string header

Setting to application/vnd.github.v3+json is recommended.

owner string path
repo string path
alert_number integer path

Code samples

Shell 
curl \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/hello-world/code-scanning/alerts/42
JavaScript (@octokit/core.js) 
await octokit.request('GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/code-scanning/alerts/{alert_number}', {
  owner: 'octocat',
  repo: 'hello-world',
  alert_number: 42
})

Default response

Status: 200 OK
{
  "number": 42,
  "created_at": "2020-06-19T11:21:34Z",
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/github/hello-world/code-scanning/alerts/42",
  "html_url": "https://github.com/github/hello-world/code-scanning/42",
  "instances": [
    {
      "ref": "refs/heads/main",
      "analysis_key": ".github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml:CodeQL-Build",
      "environment": "",
      "state": "fixed"
    },
    {
      "ref": "refs/pull/3740/head",
      "analysis_key": ".github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml:CodeQL-Build",
      "environment": "",
      "state": "dismissed"
    }
  ],
  "state": "dismissed",
  "dismissed_by": {
    "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
  },
  "dismissed_at": "2020-02-14T12:29:18Z",
  "dismissed_reason": "false positive",
  "rule": {
    "id": "js/polynomial-redos",
    "severity": "warning",
    "description": "Polynomial regular expression used on uncontrolled data"
  },
  "tool": {
    "name": "CodeQL command-line toolchain",
    "version": null
  }
}

Response if github advanced security is not enabled for this repository

Status: 403 Forbidden

Resource not found

Status: 404 Not Found

Service unavailable

Status: 503 Service Unavailable

Notes

Update a code scanning alert

Updates the status of a single code scanning alert. You must use an access token with the security_events scope to use this endpoint. GitHub Apps must have the security_events write permission to use this endpoint.

patch /repos/{owner}/{repo}/code-scanning/alerts/{alert_number}

Parameters

Name Type In Description
accept string header

Setting to application/vnd.github.v3+json is recommended.

owner string path
repo string path
alert_number integer path

The security alert number, found at the end of the security alert's URL.
state string body

Required. Sets the state of the code scanning alert. Can be one of open or dismissed. You must provide dismissed_reason when you set the state to dismissed.
dismissed_reason string or null body

Required when the state is dismissed. The reason for dismissing or closing the alert. Can be one of: false positive, won't fix, and used in tests.

Code samples

Shell 
curl \
  -X PATCH \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/hello-world/code-scanning/alerts/42 \
  -d '{"state":"state"}'
JavaScript (@octokit/core.js) 
await octokit.request('PATCH /repos/{owner}/{repo}/code-scanning/alerts/{alert_number}', {
  owner: 'octocat',
  repo: 'hello-world',
  alert_number: 42,
  state: 'state'
})

Default response

Status: 200 OK
{
  "number": 42,
  "created_at": "2020-08-25T21:28:36Z",
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/github/hello-world/code-scanning/alerts/42",
  "html_url": "https://github.com/github/hello-world/code-scanning/42",
  "instances": [
    {
      "ref": "refs/heads/codeql-analysis-yml",
      "analysis_key": ".github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml:CodeQL-Build",
      "environment": "",
      "state": "dismissed"
    },
    {
      "ref": "refs/pull/3740/head",
      "analysis_key": ".github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml:CodeQL-Build",
      "environment": "",
      "state": "dismissed"
    }
  ],
  "state": "dismissed",
  "dismissed_by": {
    "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
  },
  "dismissed_at": "2020-09-02T22:34:56Z",
  "dismissed_reason": "false positive",
  "rule": {
    "id": "js/polynomial-redos",
    "severity": "warning",
    "description": "Polynomial regular expression used on uncontrolled data"
  },
  "tool": {
    "name": "CodeQL command-line toolchain",
    "version": null
  }
}

Response if the repository is archived or if github advanced security is not enabled for this repository

Status: 403 Forbidden

Response when code scanning is not available and you should try again at a later time

Status: 503 Service Unavailable

Notes

List recent code scanning analyses for a repository

List the details of recent code scanning analyses for a repository. You must use an access token with the security_events scope to use this endpoint. GitHub Apps must have the security_events read permission to use this endpoint.

get /repos/{owner}/{repo}/code-scanning/analyses

Parameters

Name Type In Description
accept string header

Setting to application/vnd.github.v3+json is recommended.

owner string path
repo string path
ref string query

Set a full Git reference to list alerts for a specific branch. The ref must be formatted as refs/heads/<branch name>.
tool_name string query

Set a single code scanning tool name to filter alerts by tool.

Code samples

Shell 
curl \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/hello-world/code-scanning/analyses
JavaScript (@octokit/core.js) 
await octokit.request('GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/code-scanning/analyses', {
  owner: 'octocat',
  repo: 'hello-world'
})

Default response

Status: 200 OK
[
  {
    "ref": "refs/heads/master",
    "commit_sha": "d99612c3e1f2970085cfbaeadf8f010ef69bad83",
    "analysis_key": ".github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml:analyze",
    "tool_name": "CodeQL command-line toolchain",
    "environment": "{}",
    "error": "",
    "created_at": "2020-08-27T15:05:21Z"
  },
  {
    "ref": "refs/heads/my-branch",
    "commit_sha": "c8cff6510d4d084fb1b4aa13b64b97ca12b07321",
    "analysis_key": ".github/workflows/shiftleft.yml:build",
    "tool_name": "Python Security Analysis",
    "environment": "{}",
    "error": "",
    "created_at": "2020-08-31T22:46:44Z"
  }
]

Response if github advanced security is not enabled for this repository

Status: 403 Forbidden

Notes

Upload a SARIF file

Upload a SARIF file containing the results of a code scanning analysis to make the results available in a repository. You must use an access token with the security_events scope to use this endpoint. GitHub Apps must have the security_events write permission to use this endpoint.

post /repos/{owner}/{repo}/code-scanning/sarifs

Parameters

Name Type In Description
accept string header

Setting to application/vnd.github.v3+json is recommended.

owner string path
repo string path
commit_sha string body

Required. The commit SHA of the code scanning analysis file.
ref string body

Required. The full Git reference of the code scanning analysis file, formatted as refs/heads/<branch name>.
sarif string body

Required. A Base64 string representing the SARIF file to upload. You must first compress your SARIF file using gzip and then translate the contents of the file into a Base64 encoding string.
checkout_uri string body

The base directory used in the analysis, as it appears in the SARIF file. This property is used to convert file paths from absolute to relative, so that alerts can be mapped to their correct location in the repository.
started_at string body

The time that the analysis run began. This is a timestamp in ISO 8601 format: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ.
tool_name string body

Required. The name of the tool used to generate the code scanning analysis alert.

Code samples

Shell 
curl \
  -X POST \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/hello-world/code-scanning/sarifs \
  -d '{"commit_sha":"commit_sha","ref":"ref","sarif":"sarif","tool_name":"tool_name"}'
JavaScript (@octokit/core.js) 
await octokit.request('POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/code-scanning/sarifs', {
  owner: 'octocat',
  repo: 'hello-world',
  commit_sha: 'commit_sha',
  ref: 'ref',
  sarif: 'sarif',
  tool_name: 'tool_name'
})

Response

Status: 202 Accepted

Response if the sarif field is invalid

Status: 400 Bad Request

Response if the repository is archived or if github advanced security is not enabled for this repository

Status: 403 Forbidden

Response if commit sha or ref cannot be found

Status: 404 Not Found

Response if the sarif field is too large

Status: 413 Payload Too Large

Notes

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