Overview
The "GitHub Issues" node allows users to interact with GitHub's issue tracking system via the GitHub API. Specifically, the "Get Many" operation under the "Issue" resource fetches multiple issues from a specified GitHub repository. This is useful for scenarios such as monitoring open or closed issues, generating reports on issue activity, or integrating issue data into other workflows.
Practical examples include:
- Retrieving all open issues in a project to display in a dashboard.
- Fetching recently updated issues since a certain date to trigger notifications.
- Collecting closed issues for archival or analysis purposes.
Properties
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Authentication | Method of authenticating with GitHub API: either using an Access Token or OAuth2. |
| Repository Owner | The owner of the GitHub repository. Can be selected from a list of users, provided as a GitHub URL (e.g., https://github.com/n8n-io), or entered by name directly. |
| Repository Name | The name of the GitHub repository. Can be selected from a list, provided as a GitHub repository URL (e.g., https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n), or entered by name directly. |
| Return All | Boolean flag indicating whether to return all matching issues or limit the number of results. |
| Limit | When not returning all, this sets the maximum number of issues to retrieve (between 1 and 100). |
| Filters | Collection of filters to narrow down the issues returned: |
| - Updated Since | Only return issues updated at or after this date/time. |
| - State | Filter issues by state: "All", "Closed", or "Open". Defaults to "Open". |
Output
The node outputs JSON data representing the retrieved GitHub issues. Each item corresponds to one issue object as returned by the GitHub API, containing fields such as issue title, body, state, labels, assignees, creation and update timestamps, and more.
No binary data output is produced by this operation.
Dependencies
- Requires a valid GitHub API authentication credential, either an access token or OAuth2 credentials.
- The node uses GitHub's REST API endpoint
https://api.github.comto fetch issues. - For repository owner and repository selection, it supports dynamic searching via internal methods that query GitHub users and repositories.
Troubleshooting
- Authentication errors: Ensure the provided access token or OAuth2 credentials have sufficient permissions to read repository issues.
- Invalid repository or owner: Verify that the repository owner and name are correct and accessible with the given credentials.
- Rate limiting: GitHub API enforces rate limits; if exceeded, requests will fail until reset. Consider using authenticated requests to increase limits.
- Pagination issues: When retrieving many issues, ensure "Return All" is enabled or set an appropriate limit to avoid incomplete data.
- Filter format errors: Date/time filters must be valid ISO 8601 strings; invalid formats may cause request failures.