Developer ToolsDifficulty: Easy

GitHub Data Extraction

Extract publicly available data from GitHub at scale using AlterLab's API — JavaScript rendering, structured extraction, and automatic retries in one request.

Automatic renderingJavaScript supportStructured data extractionChallenge resolution

Website Compatibility Notes

GitHub has light protections for public pages. Most repository and profile pages render without advanced challenge resolution.

Quick Start — Extract from GitHub

cURL
curl -X POST https://alterlab.io/api/v1/scrape \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://github.com/trending",
    "advanced": { "render_js": true }
  }'

Need an API key? Sign up free — no credit card required.

Python Example

Python
import requests

response = requests.post(
    "https://alterlab.io/api/v1/scrape",
    headers={
        "X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    json={
        "url": "https://github.com/trending",
        "advanced": {"render_js": True},
    },
)

data = response.json()
print(data["content"][:500])  # First 500 chars of extracted content

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I extract GitHub repository data?

Send GitHub repository URLs to AlterLab. You'll receive repository names, descriptions, star counts, fork counts, language breakdowns, and README content from public repositories.

Can I extract GitHub trending repositories?

Yes. AlterLab renders the GitHub trending page and returns repository names, descriptions, stars gained, language, and contributor information for trending projects.

Does AlterLab work better than the GitHub API for public data?

GitHub's REST and GraphQL APIs are excellent for structured data. AlterLab is useful when you need rendered page layouts, contribution graphs, or data not available via the API.

Responsible Use

AlterLab is designed for extracting publicly available data. Always review the terms of service for any website you access, respect robots.txt directives, and ensure your use case complies with applicable laws in your jurisdiction. Do not use this service to access non-public, authenticated, or personally identifiable data without appropriate authorization.

Your first scrape.
Sixty seconds.

$1 free balance. No credit card. No SDK.Just a POST request.

terminal
curl -X POST https://api.alterlab.io/v1/scrape \
-H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"url": "https://example.com", "formats": ["markdown"]}'

No credit card required · Up to 5,000 free scrapes · Balance never expire