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Octokit .NET (How It Works For Developers)

Kannaopat Udonpant
Kannapat Udonpant
July 1, 2024
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Getting Started with Octokit.NET

Setting Up Octokit.NET in .NET Projects

To begin using Octokit.NET in your projects, you first need to install the package. You can add it via NuGet, which is the easiest method. In Visual Studio, you can use the NuGet Package Manager. Search for Octokit and install it in your project.

A Basic Code Example: Accessing GitHub User Information

Here is a simple example of how to use Octokit.NET to retrieve information about a GitHub user. This example assumes you have already set up your project with Octokit.NET.

using Octokit;
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        // Create a new instance of the GitHubClient class
        var client = new GitHubClient(new ProductHeaderValue("YourAppName"));
        // Retrieve user information
        var user = await client.User.Get("octocat");
        // Output the user's name
        Console.WriteLine("User Name: " + user.Name);
    }
}
using Octokit;
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        // Create a new instance of the GitHubClient class
        var client = new GitHubClient(new ProductHeaderValue("YourAppName"));
        // Retrieve user information
        var user = await client.User.Get("octocat");
        // Output the user's name
        Console.WriteLine("User Name: " + user.Name);
    }
}

This code snippet creates a new GitHub client and retrieves information for a specific user, octocat, by their repository name. It then prints the user's name to the console. It demonstrates authenticated access to GitHub's API, using the user's username, and can also access public repositories without authentication.

Implement Features of Octokit.NET

Searching Repositories

You can search GitHub repositories by criteria using Octokit.NET. Here's how to perform a search:

using Octokit;
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        var client = new GitHubClient(new ProductHeaderValue("YourAppName"));
        var searchRepositoriesRequest = new SearchRepositoriesRequest("machine learning")
        {
            Language = Language.CSharp
        };
        var result = await client.Search.SearchRepo(searchRepositoriesRequest);
        foreach (var repo in result.Items)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(repo.FullName);
        }
    }
}
using Octokit;
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        var client = new GitHubClient(new ProductHeaderValue("YourAppName"));
        var searchRepositoriesRequest = new SearchRepositoriesRequest("machine learning")
        {
            Language = Language.CSharp
        };
        var result = await client.Search.SearchRepo(searchRepositoriesRequest);
        foreach (var repo in result.Items)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(repo.FullName);
        }
    }
}

This code searches for repositories related to "machine learning" written in C#. It outputs the full names of the repositories.

Managing Forked Repositories

To manage forked repositories, you can list and create forks. Here's how to list the forks of a repository:

using Octokit;
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        var client = new GitHubClient(new ProductHeaderValue("YourAppName"));
        var forks = await client.Repository.Forks.GetAll("octocat", "Hello-World");
        foreach (var fork in forks)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Fork ID: " + fork.Id + " - Owner: " + fork.Owner.Login);
        }
    }
}
using Octokit;
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        var client = new GitHubClient(new ProductHeaderValue("YourAppName"));
        var forks = await client.Repository.Forks.GetAll("octocat", "Hello-World");
        foreach (var fork in forks)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Fork ID: " + fork.Id + " - Owner: " + fork.Owner.Login);
        }
    }
}

This example lists all forks of the "Hello-World" repository owned by octocat.

Handling Rate Limits

Understanding and handling rate limits is crucial when interacting with the GitHub API. Octokit.NET provides tools to check your rate limits:

using Octokit;
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        var client = new GitHubClient(new ProductHeaderValue("YourAppName"));
        var rateLimit = await client.Miscellaneous.GetRateLimits();
        Console.WriteLine("Core Limit: " + rateLimit.Resources.Core.Limit);
    }
}
using Octokit;
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        var client = new GitHubClient(new ProductHeaderValue("YourAppName"));
        var rateLimit = await client.Miscellaneous.GetRateLimits();
        Console.WriteLine("Core Limit: " + rateLimit.Resources.Core.Limit);
    }
}

This snippet checks and displays the core limit of your GitHub API usage, helping you manage the requests without exceeding the rate limits.

Reactive Extensions Support

Octokit.NET supports Reactive Extensions (Rx) for reactive programming. Here's a basic example:

using Octokit.Reactive;
using System;

var client = new ObservableGitHubClient(new ProductHeaderValue("YourAppName"));
var subscription = client.User.Get("octocat").Subscribe(
    user => Console.WriteLine("User Name: " + user.Name),
    error => Console.WriteLine("Error: " + error.Message)
);
// Unsubscribe when done
subscription.Dispose();
using Octokit.Reactive;
using System;

var client = new ObservableGitHubClient(new ProductHeaderValue("YourAppName"));
var subscription = client.User.Get("octocat").Subscribe(
    user => Console.WriteLine("User Name: " + user.Name),
    error => Console.WriteLine("Error: " + error.Message)
);
// Unsubscribe when done
subscription.Dispose();

This example demonstrates how to asynchronously retrieve user information and handle it reactively.

Working with Tags

To work with Git tags through Octokit.NET, you can retrieve tags from a repository:

using Octokit;
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        var client = new GitHubClient(new ProductHeaderValue("YourAppName"));
        var tags = await client.Repository.GetAllTags("octocat", "Hello-World");
        foreach (var tag in tags)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Tag Name: " + tag.Name);
        }
    }
}
using Octokit;
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        var client = new GitHubClient(new ProductHeaderValue("YourAppName"));
        var tags = await client.Repository.GetAllTags("octocat", "Hello-World");
        foreach (var tag in tags)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Tag Name: " + tag.Name);
        }
    }
}

This code lists all tags for the "Hello-World" repository owned by octocat.

Integrating Octokit.NET with IronPDF

Octokit .NET (How It Works For Developers): Figure 1 - IronPDF

IronPDF is a popular .NET library that allows developers to create, manipulate, and render PDFs directly within C# and .NET applications. It's a powerful tool for generating PDF reports from HTML, invoices, or any document that needs a fixed layout format. When combined with Octokit.NET, which interacts with GitHub's API, the potential for automating documentation processes, especially involving code repositories, increases significantly.

Explore IronPDF Library

To learn more about IronPDF and its functionalities, please visit the IronPDF Official Website. Their site provides comprehensive resources and documentation to support your development process.

Use Case of Merging IronPDF with Octokit.NET

One practical use case for integrating IronPDF with Octokit.NET is automatically generating a PDF report of a project's documentation stored in a GitHub repository. For instance, you could fetch all markdown files from a specific repository, convert them into a PDF document, and then distribute this document among stakeholders or customers who might prefer a compiled version of documentation or release notes.

Code Example of Use Case

Let's create a simple application that demonstrates this integration. The application will perform the following tasks:

  1. Authenticate and connect to GitHub using Octokit.NET.
  2. Fetch files from a specified repository.
  3. Convert these files from Markdown to PDF using IronPDF.
  4. Save the PDF to the local machine.

Here's how you might write this in C#:

using Octokit;
using IronPdf;
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Linq;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        // GitHub client setup
        var client = new GitHubClient(new ProductHeaderValue("YourAppName"));
        var tokenAuth = new Credentials("your_github_token"); // Replace with your GitHub token
        client.Credentials = tokenAuth;
        // Repository details
        var owner = "repository_owner";
        var repo = "repository_name";
        // Fetch repository content
        var contents = await client.Repository.Content.GetAllContents(owner, repo);
        // Initialize the PDF builder
        var pdf = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        // Convert each markdown file to PDF
        foreach (var content in contents.Where(c => c.Name.EndsWith(".md")))
        {
            pdf.RenderHtmlAsPdf(content.Content).SaveAs($"{content.Name}.pdf");
            Console.WriteLine($"Created PDF for: {content.Name}");
        }
    }
}
using Octokit;
using IronPdf;
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Linq;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        // GitHub client setup
        var client = new GitHubClient(new ProductHeaderValue("YourAppName"));
        var tokenAuth = new Credentials("your_github_token"); // Replace with your GitHub token
        client.Credentials = tokenAuth;
        // Repository details
        var owner = "repository_owner";
        var repo = "repository_name";
        // Fetch repository content
        var contents = await client.Repository.Content.GetAllContents(owner, repo);
        // Initialize the PDF builder
        var pdf = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        // Convert each markdown file to PDF
        foreach (var content in contents.Where(c => c.Name.EndsWith(".md")))
        {
            pdf.RenderHtmlAsPdf(content.Content).SaveAs($"{content.Name}.pdf");
            Console.WriteLine($"Created PDF for: {content.Name}");
        }
    }
}

In this example, after setting up the GitHub client and specifying your credentials, you fetch content from a repository. For each markdown file in the repository, IronPDF converts the content to a PDF file, which is then saved locally. This simple yet effective workflow can be expanded to include more complex filtering, formatting, or even batch processing of files for larger repositories.

Conclusion

Octokit .NET (How It Works For Developers): Figure 2 - Licensing

Integrating Octokit.NET with IronPDF offers a seamless approach to automating and streamlining document workflows within your GitHub projects. By leveraging these tools, you can enhance the efficiency of handling documentation, making it easily accessible in formats that meet various professional needs. IronPDF, in particular, provides a robust platform for PDF manipulation, and it's worth noting that they offer free trials to get you started. Should you decide to implement it in your project, licensing starts from $749.

For more information about Iron Software's product offerings, including IronPDF and other libraries like IronBarcode, IronOCR, IronWebScraper, and more, visit the Iron Software Product Libraries.

Kannaopat Udonpant
Software Engineer
Before becoming a Software Engineer, Kannapat completed a Environmental Resources PhD from Hokkaido University in Japan. While pursuing his degree, Kannapat also became a member of the Vehicle Robotics Laboratory, which is part of the Department of Bioproduction Engineering. In 2022, he leveraged his C# skills to join Iron Software's engineering team, where he focuses on IronPDF. Kannapat values his job because he learns directly from the developer who writes most of the code used in IronPDF. In addition to peer learning, Kannapat enjoys the social aspect of working at Iron Software. When he's not writing code or documentation, Kannapat can usually be found gaming on his PS5 or rewatching The Last of Us.
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