Trying to Get All PRs from "branch/*" Using REST API: A Step-by-Step Guide

Are you tired of manually searching for pull requests (PRs) from a specific branch pattern using the GitHub UI? Look no further! In this article, we’ll dive into the world of REST APIs and explore how to retrieve all PRs from a given branch pattern, such as "branch/*", using the GitHub REST API.

What You’ll Need

• A GitHub account with access to the repository you want to retrieve PRs from
• A basic understanding of REST APIs and HTTP requests
• A tool for sending HTTP requests, such as cURL or a programming language like Python or JavaScript

Understanding the GitHub REST API

The GitHub REST API provides a powerful way to interact with GitHub programmatically. It’s based on standard HTTP requests, using methods like GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE to perform actions on GitHub resources.

To retrieve PRs, we’ll focus on the GET /repos/:owner/:repo/pulls endpoint, which returns a list of pull requests for a given repository.

Authentication

To use the GitHub REST API, you’ll need to authenticate your requests. You can do this using an API token, which can be generated in your GitHub settings under Developer settings > Personal access tokens.

Note that you should keep your API token secure and never share it publicly.

Retrieving PRs from a Specific Branch Pattern

Now that we have our API token, let’s dive into the main event! To retrieve all PRs from a specific branch pattern, such as "branch/*", we’ll need to use the GET /repos/:owner/:repo/pulls endpoint with some clever filtering.

Using the `head` Parameter

The head parameter allows us to specify a filter for the pull requests based on their head branch. In our case, we want to retrieve PRs from branches that match the pattern "branch/*".

GET /repos/:owner/:repo/pulls?head=branch/*

This request will return a list of PRs that have a head branch matching the specified pattern.

Using the `state` Parameter (Optional)

If you only want to retrieve PRs in a specific state (e.g., open, closed, or merged), you can add the state parameter to your request.

GET /repos/:owner/:repo/pulls?head=branch/*&state=open

This request will return only open PRs from branches that match the specified pattern.

Example Requests

Let’s look at some concrete examples to illustrate how this works.

cURL Example

curl -X GET \
  https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/hello-world/pulls?head=branch/* \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN' \
  -H 'Accept: application/json'

Replace `octocat` with your repository owner, `hello-world` with your repository name, and `YOUR_API_TOKEN` with your actual API token.

Python Example (using `requests` library)

import requests

api_token = 'YOUR_API_TOKEN'
owner = 'octocat'
repo = 'hello-world'

headers = {
    'Authorization': f'Bearer {api_token}',
    'Accept': 'application/json'
}

response = requests.get(
    f'https://api.github.com/repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls?head=branch/*',
    headers=headers
)

if response.status_code == 200:
    prs = response.json()
    for pr in prs:
        print(pr['title'])
else:
    print('Error:', response.status_code)

Replace `octocat` with your repository owner, `hello-world` with your repository name, and `YOUR_API_TOKEN` with your actual API token.

Pagination and Rate Limiting

When retrieving a large number of PRs, you may encounter pagination and rate limiting issues.

Pagination

The GitHub REST API uses pagination to limit the number of results returned in a single response. By default, the `GET /repos/:owner/:repo/pulls` endpoint returns up to 30 results per page.

To retrieve more results, you can use the `page` parameter to specify the page number you want to retrieve.

GET /repos/:owner/:repo/pulls?head=branch/*&page=2

This request will return the second page of results.

Rate Limiting

The GitHub REST API has rate limits to prevent abuse and ensure fair usage. You can check your current rate limit status using the GET /rate_limit endpoint.

GET /rate_limit

This request will return your current rate limit status, including the number of remaining requests and the time until the rate limit resets.

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve explored how to retrieve all PRs from a specific branch pattern using the GitHub REST API. By using the `head` parameter and optional `state` parameter, you can filter PRs to match your needs.

Remember to handle pagination and rate limiting issues to ensure you retrieve all the PRs you need. With this knowledge, you’ll be able to automate PR retrieval and create powerful workflows for your development team.

Endpoint	Method	Description
GET /repos/:owner/:repo/pulls	GET	Returns a list of pull requests for a given repository.
GET /rate_limit	GET	Returns the current rate limit status.

Happy coding, and don’t forget to try out this API call in your own projects!

Frequently Asked Questions

Got stuck while trying to retrieve all Pull Requests from a specific branch using the GitHub REST API? Worry not! We’ve got you covered with these frequently asked questions.