Commits

• List commits on a repository
• Get a single commit
• Compare two commits

The Repo Commits API supports listing, viewing, and comparing commits in a repository.

List commits on a repository

GET /repos/:owner/:repo/commits

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
sha	string	SHA or branch to start listing commits from. Default: the repository’s default branch (usually master).
path	string	Only commits containing this file path will be returned.
author	string	GitHub login or email address by which to filter by commit author.
since	string	Only commits after this date will be returned. This is a timestamp in ISO 8601 format: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ.
until	string	Only commits before this date will be returned. This is a timestamp in ISO 8601 format: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ.

Response

Status: 200 OK
Link: <https://api.github.com/resource?page=2>; rel="next"
X-RateLimit-Limit: 5000
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 4999

[
  {
    "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
    "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
    "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
    "comments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e/comments",
    "commit": {
      "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
      "author": {
        "name": "Monalisa Octocat",
        "email": "support@github.com",
        "date": "2011-04-14T16:00:49Z"
      },
      "committer": {
        "name": "Monalisa Octocat",
        "email": "support@github.com",
        "date": "2011-04-14T16:00:49Z"
      },
      "message": "Fix all the bugs",
      "tree": {
        "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/tree/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
        "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e"
      },
      "comment_count": 0
    },
    "author": {
      "login": "octocat",
      "id": 1,
      "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
    },
    "committer": {
      "login": "octocat",
      "id": 1,
      "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
    },
    "parents": [
      {
        "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
        "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e"
      }
    ]
  }
]

Get a single commit

GET /repos/:owner/:repo/commits/:sha

Response

Status: 200 OK
X-RateLimit-Limit: 5000
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 4999

{
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
  "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
  "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
  "comments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e/comments",
  "commit": {
    "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
    "author": {
      "name": "Monalisa Octocat",
      "email": "support@github.com",
      "date": "2011-04-14T16:00:49Z"
    },
    "committer": {
      "name": "Monalisa Octocat",
      "email": "support@github.com",
      "date": "2011-04-14T16:00:49Z"
    },
    "message": "Fix all the bugs",
    "tree": {
      "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/tree/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
      "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e"
    },
    "comment_count": 0
  },
  "author": {
    "login": "octocat",
    "id": 1,
    "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
  },
  "committer": {
    "login": "octocat",
    "id": 1,
    "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
  },
  "parents": [
    {
      "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
      "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e"
    }
  ],
  "stats": {
    "additions": 104,
    "deletions": 4,
    "total": 108
  },
  "files": [
    {
      "filename": "file1.txt",
      "additions": 10,
      "deletions": 2,
      "changes": 12,
      "status": "modified",
      "raw_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/raw/7ca483543807a51b6079e54ac4cc392bc29ae284/file1.txt",
      "blob_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/blob/7ca483543807a51b6079e54ac4cc392bc29ae284/file1.txt",
      "patch": "@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@\n....."
    }
  ]
}

Note: Diffs with binary data will have no ‘patch’ property. Pass the appropriate media type to fetch diff and patch formats.

Compare two commits

GET /repos/:owner/:repo/compare/:base...:head

Note: Both :base and :head can be either branch names in :repo or branch names in other repositories in the same network as :repo. For the latter case, use the format user:branch:

GET /repos/:owner/:repo/compare/user1:branchname...user2:branchname

Response

{
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/compare/master...topic",
  "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/compare/master...topic",
  "permalink_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/compare/octocat:bbcd538c8e72b8c175046e27cc8f907076331401...octocat:0328041d1152db8ae77652d1618a02e57f745f17",
  "diff_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/compare/master...topic.diff",
  "patch_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/compare/master...topic.patch",
  "base_commit": {
    "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
    "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
    "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
    "comments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e/comments",
    "commit": {
      "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
      "author": {
        "name": "Monalisa Octocat",
        "email": "support@github.com",
        "date": "2011-04-14T16:00:49Z"
      },
      "committer": {
        "name": "Monalisa Octocat",
        "email": "support@github.com",
        "date": "2011-04-14T16:00:49Z"
      },
      "message": "Fix all the bugs",
      "tree": {
        "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/tree/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
        "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e"
      },
      "comment_count": 0
    },
    "author": {
      "login": "octocat",
      "id": 1,
      "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
    },
    "committer": {
      "login": "octocat",
      "id": 1,
      "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
    },
    "parents": [
      {
        "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
        "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e"
      }
    ]
  },
  "merge_base_commit": {
    "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
    "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
    "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
    "comments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e/comments",
    "commit": {
      "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
      "author": {
        "name": "Monalisa Octocat",
        "email": "support@github.com",
        "date": "2011-04-14T16:00:49Z"
      },
      "committer": {
        "name": "Monalisa Octocat",
        "email": "support@github.com",
        "date": "2011-04-14T16:00:49Z"
      },
      "message": "Fix all the bugs",
      "tree": {
        "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/tree/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
        "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e"
      },
      "comment_count": 0
    },
    "author": {
      "login": "octocat",
      "id": 1,
      "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
    },
    "committer": {
      "login": "octocat",
      "id": 1,
      "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
    },
    "parents": [
      {
        "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
        "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e"
      }
    ]
  },
  "status": "behind",
  "ahead_by": 1,
  "behind_by": 2,
  "total_commits": 1,
  "commits": [
    {
      "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
      "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
      "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
      "comments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e/comments",
      "commit": {
        "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
        "author": {
          "name": "Monalisa Octocat",
          "email": "support@github.com",
          "date": "2011-04-14T16:00:49Z"
        },
        "committer": {
          "name": "Monalisa Octocat",
          "email": "support@github.com",
          "date": "2011-04-14T16:00:49Z"
        },
        "message": "Fix all the bugs",
        "tree": {
          "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/tree/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
          "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e"
        },
        "comment_count": 0
      },
      "author": {
        "login": "octocat",
        "id": 1,
        "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
      },
      "committer": {
        "login": "octocat",
        "id": 1,
        "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
      },
      "parents": [
        {
          "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
          "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "files": [
    {
      "sha": "bbcd538c8e72b8c175046e27cc8f907076331401",
      "filename": "file1.txt",
      "status": "added",
      "additions": 103,
      "deletions": 21,
      "changes": 124,
      "blob_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/blob/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e/file1.txt",
      "raw_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/raw/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e/file1.txt",
      "contents_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/contents/file1.txt?ref=6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
      "patch": "@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ module Test @@ -1000,7 +1000,7 @@ module Test"
    }
  ]
}

Pass the appropriate media type to fetch diff and patch formats.

Working with large comparisons

The response will include a comparison of up to 250 commits. If you are working with a larger commit range, you can use the Commit List API to enumerate all commits in the range.

For comparisons with extremely large diffs, you may receive an error response indicating that the diff took too long to generate. You can typically resolve this error by using a smaller commit range.