Anonymous Issues

Overview

Create GitHub issues without revealing your identity. The issue is posted by the @gitgost-anonymous bot account, protecting your privacy while enabling you to report bugs, request features, or start discussions.

Endpoint

POST /v1/gh/:owner/:repo/issues/anonymous

Path Parameters

owner

string

required

GitHub repository owner (user or organization)

repo

string

required

Repository name

Authentication

No authentication required. Anonymous issue creation requires no API keys, tokens, or GitHub accounts.

Request Body

title

string

required

Issue title (must not be empty after trimming whitespace)

body

string

required

Issue description in Markdown format (must not be empty after trimming whitespace)

labels

array

default:"[]"

Array of label names to apply to the issue. Labels must already exist in the repository.

Show Example

["bug", "documentation", "help wanted"]

Response

issue_url

string

required

Full GitHub URL of the created issueExample: https://github.com/owner/repo/issues/42

number

required

Issue number in the repository

hash

string

required

8-character identity hash for this issue author (consistent across comments)

karma

number

required

Initial karma score (always 0 for new issues)

user_token

string

required

Unique token for this author identity. Save this token to post follow-up comments as the same anonymous user.

issue_reply_token

string

required

Alias for user_token (same value). Used for posting replies to this issue.

Examples

curl -X POST https://gitgost.leapcell.app/v1/gh/owner/repo/issues/anonymous \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": "Memory leak in worker pool",
    "body": "## Description\n\nThe worker pool doesn\'t properly clean up goroutines when closed, leading to memory leaks over time.\n\n## Steps to Reproduce\n\n1. Create worker pool with 100 workers\n2. Process 10,000 tasks\n3. Close the pool\n4. Observe goroutine count (doesn\'t decrease)\n\n## Expected Behavior\n\nGoroutines should be cleaned up when pool is closed.",
    "labels": ["bug", "performance"]
  }'

Response Examples

Success (200 OK)

{
  "issue_url": "https://github.com/owner/repo/issues/42",
  "number": 42,
  "hash": "a1b2c3d4",
  "karma": 0,
  "user_token": "XYZABC123456789",
  "issue_reply_token": "XYZABC123456789"
}

Validation Error (400 Bad Request)

{
  "error": "title and body are required"
}

{
  "error": "invalid payload"
}

Repository Not Found (400 Bad Request)

{
  "error": "failed to create issue: 404 Not Found"
}

Issue Format

Created issues include a footer disclaimer: Your Body:

## Description

The worker pool doesn't properly clean up goroutines when closed...

Actual Posted Body:

## Description

The worker pool doesn't properly clean up goroutines when closed...

---

*This is an anonymous contribution made via [gitGost](https://gitgost.leapcell.app).*

*The original author's identity has been anonymized to protect their privacy.*

Identity Management

User Token

The user_token is your anonymous identity for this issue:

Save the token

Store the user_token securely. You’ll need it to post follow-up comments as the same anonymous author.

# Example: save to a file
echo "XYZABC123456789" > .gitgost-token

Maintain consistent identity

Use the same token in subsequent comment requests to appear as the same anonymous user.

# Later, when commenting
curl -X POST ".../comments/anonymous" \
  -d '{"user_token": "XYZABC123456789", "body": "..."}'  

Token security

Tokens are randomly generated (10 bytes, base32-encoded)
No expiration
Not recoverable if lost
Not linked to any personal information

Hash System

The hash is a deterministic identifier derived from:

Repository (owner/repo)
Issue number
Your user token

Properties:

8-character hex string
Consistent across your comments on this issue
Enables karma tracking and moderation
Different hash per issue/PR

Implementation:

input := fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s#%d|%s", owner, repo, number, userToken)
h := hmac.New(sha256.New, secretKey)
h.Write([]byte(input))
hash := hex.EncodeToString(h.Sum(nil))[:8]

Source Reference: internal/http/handlers.go:1359-1364

Karma System

Karma tracks your reputation as an anonymous contributor on a per-issue/PR basis.

Karma Mechanics

initial_karma

number

default:"0"

New issues start with 0 karma

comment_increment

number

default:"+1"

Each comment you post increases karma by 1

report_reset

string

Karma resets to 0 if you receive 3+ reports

Karma Display

Karma is not displayed in issues, only in comments. When you comment on this issue, your comment footer will show:

---
goster-a1b2c3d4 · karma (1) · [report](https://gitgost.leapcell.app/v1/moderation/report?hash=a1b2c3d4)

Moderation

Issues and comments can be reported if they violate community guidelines.

Report System

Anyone can report a hash via:

https://gitgost.leapcell.app/v1/moderation/report?hash=a1b2c3d4

Moderation Policy

0-2 reports

Internal log only, no action taken

3-5 reports

Hash flagged
6-hour cooldown applied
Karma reset to 0
All existing comments updated to show karma=0

6+ reports

Hash permanently blocked
All comments by this hash deleted
Cannot post new content

Source Reference: internal/http/handlers.go:610-615

Rate Limiting

While not explicitly rate-limited per-endpoint, global service rate limits apply to prevent abuse.

The service monitors for:

Rapid successive requests from single IPs
Coordinated abuse across multiple IPs
Spam patterns

Abusive behavior may trigger:

Temporary IP-based blocks
Service-wide panic mode suspension
Automatic issue/comment deletion

Best Practices

Be Descriptive

Provide detailed issue descriptions with:

Clear title
Steps to reproduce
Expected vs actual behavior
Environment details

Save Your Token

Store your user_token immediately:

Enables follow-up comments
Maintains consistent identity
Cannot be recovered if lost

Use Labels Wisely

Only use labels that:

Exist in the target repo
Accurately describe the issue
Follow project conventions

Respect Guidelines

Follow the project’s:

Code of conduct
Contributing guidelines
Issue templates
Community standards

Implementation Details

Token Generation

func generateUserToken() string {
    buf := make([]byte, 10)
    _, err := rand.Read(buf)
    if err != nil {
        return fmt.Sprintf("tok-%d", time.Now().UnixNano())
    }
    return strings.ToUpper(
        base32.StdEncoding.WithPadding(base32.NoPadding).EncodeToString(buf)
    )
}

10 random bytes (80 bits of entropy)
Base32-encoded (uppercase, no padding)
Example: XYZABC123456789

Source Reference: internal/http/handlers.go:1366-1373

Request Validation

The endpoint validates:

JSON Parsing: Request body must be valid JSON
Required Fields: title and body must be non-empty after trimming
Repository Existence: Target repo must exist and bot must have access
Labels: Labels must already exist in the repository (invalid labels are silently ignored by GitHub)

Source Reference: internal/http/handlers.go:986-1024

Limitations

Cannot edit or delete issues

Once created, anonymous issues cannot be edited or deleted via the API. You must contact the repository maintainers directly.

Labels must pre-exist

You cannot create new labels. Only existing repository labels can be applied.

No rich media uploads

Images, files, and attachments are not supported. Use external hosting and Markdown links.

Token recovery impossible

Lost tokens cannot be recovered. Save them immediately after receiving them.

No notification system

Unlike anonymous PRs, issues don’t have ntfy notification support. Check GitHub directly for updates.

Anonymous Comments

Post follow-up comments using your user token

Anonymous PRs

Create anonymous pull requests via Git push

Troubleshooting

”title and body are required”

Ensure both fields are provided and contain non-whitespace content:

// ❌ Invalid
{
  "title": "",
  "body": "   "
}

// ✅ Valid
{
  "title": "Bug report",
  "body": "Description of the bug"
}

“failed to create issue: 404 Not Found”

The repository doesn’t exist or the bot lacks access:

Verify the owner and repo names
Check that the repository is public
Ensure the repository hasn’t been deleted or renamed

Labels not applied

GitHub silently ignores invalid labels:

Verify labels exist in the target repository
Check label names for typos
Labels are case-sensitive

Token not working for comments

Ensure you’re using the token correctly:

Use the exact token string received
Send it in the user_token field of comment requests
Don’t modify or format the token

Git Protocol

Anonymous Operations

Public Endpoints

Admin

​Overview

​Endpoint

​Path Parameters

​Authentication

​Request Body

​Response

​Examples

​Response Examples

​Success (200 OK)

​Validation Error (400 Bad Request)

​Repository Not Found (400 Bad Request)

​Issue Format

​Identity Management

​User Token

​Hash System

​Karma System

​Karma Mechanics

​Karma Display

​Moderation

​Report System

​Moderation Policy

​Rate Limiting

​Best Practices

Be Descriptive

Save Your Token

Use Labels Wisely

Respect Guidelines

​Implementation Details

​Token Generation

​Request Validation

​Limitations

​Related Endpoints

Anonymous Comments

Anonymous PRs

​Troubleshooting

​”title and body are required”

​“failed to create issue: 404 Not Found”

​Labels not applied

​Token not working for comments

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Endpoint

Path Parameters

Authentication

Request Body

Response

Examples

Response Examples

Success (200 OK)

Validation Error (400 Bad Request)

Repository Not Found (400 Bad Request)

Issue Format

Identity Management

User Token

Hash System

Karma System

Karma Mechanics

Karma Display

Moderation

Report System

Moderation Policy

Rate Limiting

Best Practices

Implementation Details

Token Generation

Request Validation

Limitations

Related Endpoints

Troubleshooting

”title and body are required”

“failed to create issue: 404 Not Found”

Labels not applied

Token not working for comments