GitHub: Get repository content

GitHub repos.reposGetContent: arguments, response, policy and SDK examples.

Operation github.repos_get_content

Provider route: GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/contents/{path}. Alter supplies the connection’s credentials and routing.

Call through Alter

Install @alter-ai/sdk @alter-ai/github with npm, or alter-sdk-github with pip. Supply your connected customer’s grant ID and the arguments described below.

import { App } from "@alter-ai/sdk";
import { GitHubIntegration } from "@alter-ai/github";

async function execute(input: Parameters<GitHubIntegration["repos"]["reposGetContent"]>[0]) {
  const app = new App({ apiKey: process.env.ALTER_API_KEY! });
  try {
    const provider = new GitHubIntegration(app, { grantId: process.env.PROVIDER_GRANT_ID! });
    const call = await provider.repos.reposGetContent(input);
    const result = await call.wait();
    return result.bodyJson();
  } finally {
    await app.close();
  }
}

import os
from alter_sdk import App
from alter_sdk_github import GitHubIntegration

async def execute(arguments):
    async with App(api_key=os.environ["ALTER_API_KEY"]) as app:
        provider = GitHubIntegration(app, {"grant_id": os.environ["PROVIDER_GRANT_ID"]})
        call = await provider.repos.repos_get_content(arguments)
        result = await call.wait()
        return result.body_json()

Input

Field	Type	Presence	Description and constraints
`$`	object	Root	Additional keys: not allowed
`path`	object	Required within parent	Additional keys: not allowed
`path.owner`	string	Required within parent
`path.repo`	string	Required within parent
`path.path`	string	Optional
`query`	object	Optional	Additional keys: not allowed
`query.ref`	string	Optional
`body`	JSON	Optional

Response

Response media type: application/json. The table describes the pinned successful response. Referenced models link to their complete fields.

Field	Type	Presence	Description and constraints
`$`	JSON	Root	discriminator: {“mapping”: {“array”: ”#/components/schemas/content-directory”, “file”: ”#/components/schemas/content-file”, “submodule”: ”#/components/schemas/content-submodule”, “symlink”: ”#/components/schemas/content-symlink”}, “propertyName”: “type”}
`$ (anyOf 1)`	Model	Alternative	Expand Get repository content — response body — Content Directory
`$ (anyOf 2)`	Model	Alternative	Expand Get a repository README — response body
`$ (anyOf 3)`	Model	Alternative	Expand Get repository content — response body — Symlink Content
`$ (anyOf 4)`	Model	Alternative	Expand Get repository content — response body — Submodule Content

Referenced models: Get repository content — response body — Content Directory, Get a repository README — response body, Get repository content — response body — Submodule Content, Get repository content — response body — Symlink Content

Schemas

Get repository content — response body — Content Directory

Field	Type	Presence	Description and constraints
`$`	array	Root	A list of directory items
`$[]`	object	Each item
`$[]._links`	object	Required within parent
`$[]._links.git`	JSON	Required within parent
`$[]._links.git (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`$[]._links.git (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`$[]._links.html`	JSON	Required within parent
`$[]._links.html (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`$[]._links.html (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`$[]._links.self`	string	Required within parent	Format: uri
`$[].content`	string	Optional
`$[].download_url`	JSON	Required within parent
`$[].download_url (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`$[].download_url (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`$[].git_url`	JSON	Required within parent
`$[].git_url (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`$[].git_url (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`$[].html_url`	JSON	Required within parent
`$[].html_url (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`$[].html_url (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`$[].name`	string	Required within parent
`$[].path`	string	Required within parent
`$[].sha`	string	Required within parent
`$[].size`	JSON	Required within parent
`$[].size (anyOf 1)`	integer	Alternative
`$[].size (anyOf 2)`	string	Alternative	Pattern: ^-?[0-9]+(?:\.[0-9]+)?(?:[eE][+-]?[0-9]+)?$
`$[].type`	string	Required within parent	Known values: dir, file, submodule, symlink
`$[].url`	string	Required within parent	Format: uri

Get a repository README — response body

Field	Type	Presence	Description and constraints
`$`	object	Root	Content File
`_links`	object	Required within parent
`_links.git`	JSON	Required within parent
`_links.git (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`_links.git (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`_links.html`	JSON	Required within parent
`_links.html (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`_links.html (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`_links.self`	string	Required within parent	Format: uri
`content`	string	Required within parent
`download_url`	JSON	Required within parent
`download_url (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`download_url (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`encoding`	string	Required within parent
`git_url`	JSON	Required within parent
`git_url (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`git_url (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`html_url`	JSON	Required within parent
`html_url (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`html_url (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`name`	string	Required within parent
`path`	string	Required within parent
`sha`	string	Required within parent
`size`	JSON	Required within parent
`size (anyOf 1)`	integer	Alternative
`size (anyOf 2)`	string	Alternative	Pattern: ^-?[0-9]+(?:\.[0-9]+)?(?:[eE][+-]?[0-9]+)?$
`submodule_git_url`	string	Optional
`target`	string	Optional
`type`	string	Required within parent	Known values: file
`url`	string	Required within parent	Format: uri

Get repository content — response body — Submodule Content

Field	Type	Presence	Description and constraints
`$`	object	Root	An object describing a submodule
`_links`	object	Required within parent
`_links.git`	JSON	Required within parent
`_links.git (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`_links.git (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`_links.html`	JSON	Required within parent
`_links.html (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`_links.html (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`_links.self`	string	Required within parent	Format: uri
`download_url`	JSON	Required within parent
`download_url (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`download_url (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`git_url`	JSON	Required within parent
`git_url (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`git_url (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`html_url`	JSON	Required within parent
`html_url (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`html_url (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`name`	string	Required within parent
`path`	string	Required within parent
`sha`	string	Required within parent
`size`	JSON	Required within parent
`size (anyOf 1)`	integer	Alternative
`size (anyOf 2)`	string	Alternative	Pattern: ^-?[0-9]+(?:\.[0-9]+)?(?:[eE][+-]?[0-9]+)?$
`submodule_git_url`	string	Required within parent	Format: uri
`type`	string	Required within parent	Known values: submodule
`url`	string	Required within parent	Format: uri

Get repository content — response body — Symlink Content

Field	Type	Presence	Description and constraints
`$`	object	Root	An object describing a symlink
`_links`	object	Required within parent
`_links.git`	JSON	Required within parent
`_links.git (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`_links.git (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`_links.html`	JSON	Required within parent
`_links.html (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`_links.html (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`_links.self`	string	Required within parent	Format: uri
`download_url`	JSON	Required within parent
`download_url (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`download_url (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`git_url`	JSON	Required within parent
`git_url (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`git_url (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`html_url`	JSON	Required within parent
`html_url (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: uri
`html_url (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`name`	string	Required within parent
`path`	string	Required within parent
`sha`	string	Required within parent
`size`	JSON	Required within parent
`size (anyOf 1)`	integer	Alternative
`size (anyOf 2)`	string	Alternative	Pattern: ^-?[0-9]+(?:\.[0-9]+)?(?:[eE][+-]?[0-9]+)?$
`target`	string	Required within parent
`type`	string	Required within parent	Known values: symlink
`url`	string	Required within parent	Format: uri

Policy, approvals and errors

SDK function policy ID: github.repos_get_content. Catalog operation: repos/get-content. Rules can name either ID; function rules distinguish managed calls and conservatively cover raw calls sharing the route. Existing grant permissions and policy rules apply. wait() returns an immediate result or waits for a required approval; it never approves the request itself. Persist the approval ID to resume after a restart.

Provider errors retain their response; JSON decoding raises ProviderAPIError for provider failures. ManagedOperationError identifies contract/input/retention errors. See error handling and provider-specific behavior. Sensitive input may be refused before approval storage. A decoding error never resubmits a write.

Pinned headers: {"X-GitHub-Api-Version": "2026-03-10", "User-Agent": "Alter", "Accept": "application/vnd.github+json"}

Official provider source

Report an issue with this page