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GitHub Desktop provides deep integration with GitHub.com and GitHub Enterprise Server through OAuth authentication and the GitHub REST API.

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OAuth Authentication

GitHub Desktop uses the OAuth web application flow to authenticate users and perform actions on their behalf.

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OAuth Scopes

The application requests the following OAuth scopes:
  • repo - Full control of private repositories
  • user - Read/write access to profile info
  • workflow - Update GitHub Action workflows
app/src/lib/api.ts
const oauthScopes = ['repo', 'user', 'workflow']

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Client Credentials

For development and testing, GitHub Desktop includes bundled OAuth credentials. In production, you can provide your own: 
export DESKTOP_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID="your_client_id"
export DESKTOP_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET="your_client_secret"
The bundled developer OAuth application will not work with GitHub Enterprise. You must provide your own credentials for Enterprise instances.

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API Client

The API class provides methods for interacting with GitHub’s REST API:
app/src/lib/api.ts
export class API {
  private endpoint: string
  private token: string
  private copilotEndpoint?: string

  public constructor(
    endpoint: string,
    token: string,
    copilotEndpoint?: string
  ) {
    this.endpoint = endpoint
    this.token = token
    this.copilotEndpoint = copilotEndpoint
  }

  /** Create a new API client from the given account. */
  public static fromAccount(account: Account): API {
    return new API(account.endpoint, account.token, account.copilotEndpoint)
  }
}

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Authentication Keys

Account authentication keys are stored securely using the operating system’s credential manager:
app/src/lib/auth.ts
export function getKeyForAccount(account: Account): string {
  return getKeyForEndpoint(account.endpoint)
}

export function getKeyForEndpoint(endpoint: string): string {
  const appName = __DEV__ ? 'GitHub Desktop Dev' : 'GitHub'
  return `${appName} - ${endpoint}`
}

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Repository Operations

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Fetching Repository Information

1

Fetch repository details

Use the fetchRepository method to get repository metadata:
const api = API.fromAccount(account)
const repo = await api.fetchRepository('owner', 'repo-name')
2

Access repository properties

The response includes:
  • Clone URLs (HTTPS and SSH)
  • Default branch
  • Fork status
  • Permissions
  • Archive status
export interface IAPIFullRepository extends IAPIRepository {
  readonly parent: IAPIRepository | undefined
  readonly permissions?: IAPIRepositoryPermissions
}
3

Clone with preferred protocol

const cloneInfo = await api.fetchRepositoryCloneInfo(
  'owner',
  'repo-name',
  'ssh' // or 'https'
)

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Creating Repositories

app/src/lib/api.ts
public async createRepository(
  org: IAPIOrganization | null,
  name: string,
  description: string,
  private_: boolean
): Promise<IAPIFullRepository> {
  const apiPath = org ? `orgs/${org.login}/repos` : 'user/repos'
  const response = await this.ghRequest('POST', apiPath, {
    body: {
      name,
      description,
      private: private_,
    },
  })

  return await parsedResponse<IAPIFullRepository>(response)
}

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Pull Request Integration

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Fetching Pull Requests

GitHub Desktop efficiently fetches pull requests using pagination:
app/src/lib/api.ts
public async fetchAllOpenPullRequests(owner: string, name: string) {
  const url = urlWithQueryString(`repos/${owner}/${name}/pulls`, {
    state: 'open',
  })
  return await this.fetchAll<IAPIPullRequest>(url)
}

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Incremental Updates

For repositories with many PRs, GitHub Desktop uses an intelligent pagination strategy that ramps up page size:
The pagination algorithm starts with a page size of 10 and doubles it when appropriate, up to the maximum of 100 items per page. This optimizes for both small updates (fewer changed PRs) and large updates (many changed PRs).
app/src/lib/api.ts
public async fetchUpdatedPullRequests(
  owner: string,
  name: string,
  since: Date,
  maxResults = 320
) {
  const url = urlWithQueryString(`repos/${owner}/${name}/pulls`, {
    state: 'all',
    sort: 'updated',
    direction: 'desc',
  })

  const prs = await this.fetchAll<IAPIPullRequest>(url, {
    perPage: 10,
    getNextPagePath: getNextPagePathWithIncreasingPageSize,
    continue(results) {
      const last = results.at(-1)
      return last !== undefined && Date.parse(last.updated_at) > sinceTime
    },
  })
}

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Pull Request Details

The API provides comprehensive PR information:
app/src/lib/api.ts
export interface IAPIPullRequest {
  readonly number: number
  readonly title: string
  readonly created_at: string
  readonly updated_at: string
  readonly user: IAPIIdentity
  readonly head: IAPIPullRequestRef
  readonly base: IAPIPullRequestRef
  readonly body: string
  readonly state: 'open' | 'closed'
  readonly draft?: boolean
}

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Issue Management

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Fetching Issues

Retrieve issues with filtering by state and date:
app/src/lib/api.ts
public async fetchIssues(
  owner: string,
  name: string,
  state: 'open' | 'closed' | 'all',
  since: Date | null
): Promise<ReadonlyArray<IAPIIssue>> {
  const params: { [key: string]: string } = { state }
  if (since && !isNaN(since.getTime())) {
    params.since = toGitHubIsoDateString(since)
  }

  const url = urlWithQueryString(`repos/${owner}/${name}/issues`, params)
  const issues = await this.fetchAll<IAPIIssue>(url)

  // PRs are issues! But we only want Real Issues.
  return issues.filter((i: any) => !i.pullRequest)
}

​
Fetching Comments

const comments = await api.fetchIssueComments(
  'owner',
  'repo-name',
  'issue-number'
)

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Check Runs and Status

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Combined Status

Fetch the combined status for a commit reference:
app/src/lib/api.ts
public async fetchCombinedRefStatus(
  owner: string,
  name: string,
  ref: string,
  reloadCache: boolean = false
): Promise<IAPIRefStatus | null> {
  const safeRef = encodeURIComponent(ref)
  const path = `repos/${owner}/${name}/commits/${safeRef}/status?per_page=100`
  const response = await this.ghRequest('GET', path, { reloadCache })
  return await parsedResponse<IAPIRefStatus>(response)
}

​
Check Runs

Retrieve GitHub Actions check runs:
app/src/lib/api.ts
public async fetchRefCheckRuns(
  owner: string,
  name: string,
  ref: string,
  reloadCache: boolean = false
): Promise<IAPIRefCheckRuns | null> {
  const safeRef = encodeURIComponent(ref)
  const path = `repos/${owner}/${name}/commits/${safeRef}/check-runs?per_page=100`
  const headers = {
    Accept: 'application/vnd.github.antiope-preview+json',
  }

  const response = await this.ghRequest('GET', path, {
    customHeaders: headers,
    reloadCache,
  })
  return await parsedResponse<IAPIRefCheckRuns>(response)
}

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Branch Protection

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Push Control

Check if a user can push to a protected branch:
app/src/lib/api.ts
export interface IAPIPushControl {
  required_status_checks: Array<string>
  required_approving_review_count: number
  allow_actor: boolean
  pattern: string | null
  required_signatures: boolean
  required_linear_history: boolean
  allow_deletions: boolean
  allow_force_pushes: boolean
}
allow_actor is always true for repository admins, even if push restrictions are enabled.

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Repository Rules

Fetch repository rules that apply to a specific branch: 
const rules = await api.fetchRepoRulesForBranch(
  'owner',
  'repo-name',
  'branch-name'
)
Supported rule types include:
  • creation - Branch creation rules
  • update - Update restrictions
  • required_status_checks - Required CI checks
  • pull_request - PR requirements
  • commit_message_pattern - Commit message validation
  • required_signatures - Signed commit requirements

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Error Handling

The API includes comprehensive error handling and token invalidation callbacks:
app/src/lib/api.ts
export class API {
  private static readonly tokenInvalidatedListeners =
    new Set<TokenInvalidatedCallback>()

  public static onTokenInvalidated(callback: TokenInvalidatedCallback) {
    this.tokenInvalidatedListeners.add(callback)
  }

  private static emitTokenInvalidated(endpoint: string, token: string) {
    this.tokenInvalidatedListeners.forEach(callback =>
      callback(endpoint, token)
    )
  }
}

Related Documentation

Learn more about GitHub’s API in the GitHub REST API documentation.

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