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wtf is github-prometheus-exporter?

predatorray/github-prometheus-exporter — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-25 · repo last pushed 2021-06-05

2ShellAudience · ops devopsComplexity · 2/5DormantSetup · easy

TL;DR

A lightweight Docker tool that exposes GitHub repo stats like star count and release downloads to Prometheus, so you can track project activity in your existing monitoring dashboard.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Tracks GitHub stats
      Exposes to Prometheus
      Reports API timing
    Metrics
      Star count
      Release download counts
      Asset file sizes
    How it works
      Docker container
      Polls GitHub API
      Shell scripts only
    Use cases
      Track release downloads
      Monitor star growth
      Correlate with releases
    Setup
      Pass repo name
      Optional GitHub auth
      Wiki for auth details

Code map

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Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Track your open-source project's download counts and star growth over time in a Prometheus dashboard.

REASON 2

Set up alerts for unusual changes like stalled star growth or unexpectedly large release assets.

REASON 3

Correlate release download numbers with release dates or marketing pushes to measure their impact.

What's in the stack?

ShellDockerPrometheus

How it stacks up

predatorray/github-prometheus-exporteraizhigitovamir-code/n8n-automation-suiteayush-sk-pathak/claude-code-starter-pack
Stars222
LanguageShellShellShell
Last pushed2021-06-05
MaintenanceDormant
Setup difficultyeasymoderateeasy
Complexity2/53/52/5
Audienceops devopspm founderdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Runs as a Docker container, optionally provide GitHub credentials for higher API rate limits or private repo access.

Wtf does this do

github-prometheus-exporter is a tool that lets you track basic stats about your GitHub repository, like star count and release download numbers, in a monitoring dashboard. It works with Prometheus, a popular system for collecting and displaying metrics, so you can keep an eye on how your project is doing over time alongside your other infrastructure data. At a high level, the tool runs as a lightweight web server (packaged as a Docker container). You point it at a specific GitHub repository, and it periodically fetches data from GitHub's API. When your monitoring system checks in, the server hands back the latest numbers in a format Prometheus can understand. The metrics it exposes include your repository's star count, the number of downloads for each release asset, the file size of those assets, and how many assets each release has. It also reports how long its own requests to GitHub take, so you can spot if the GitHub API is responding slowly. This would be useful for teams or individuals who already run a Prometheus monitoring setup and want to track GitHub repository activity in the same place they track server health, deployment stats, or other project metrics. For example, if you publish downloadable releases of an open-source tool, you could watch download counts tick up over time and correlate them with release dates or marketing pushes. You could also set up alerts, say, if star growth suddenly stalls or if an release asset is unexpectedly large. Setting it up is straightforward: you run the container, pass in your repository name, and optionally provide GitHub credentials if you need higher API rate limits or access to a private repository. The README doesn't go into much detail beyond that, but it links to a wiki page covering authentication. Notably, the whole thing is built with shell scripts and a lightweight web server, which keeps the image small and simple rather than requiring a full application runtime.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Set up a Docker container that exposes my GitHub repo metrics to Prometheus. I want to track star count and release download numbers. How do I configure github-prometheus-exporter with my repository name?
Prompt 2
I have an existing Prometheus monitoring setup. Add this GitHub exporter so I can track my repo's release download counts alongside my other infrastructure metrics. Walk me through the Prometheus scrape config and the Docker run command.
Prompt 3
I need higher GitHub API rate limits for github-prometheus-exporter. How do I configure GitHub authentication, and do I need a personal access token for private repositories?

Frequently asked questions

wtf is github-prometheus-exporter?

A lightweight Docker tool that exposes GitHub repo stats like star count and release downloads to Prometheus, so you can track project activity in your existing monitoring dashboard.

What language is github-prometheus-exporter written in?

Mainly Shell. The stack also includes Shell, Docker, Prometheus.

Is github-prometheus-exporter actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2021-06-05).

How hard is github-prometheus-exporter to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is github-prometheus-exporter for?

Mainly ops devops.

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