Step by Step Guide to Building a GitHub Issues API Integration in Go

Aug 9, 2024 • 6 minute read

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to supercharge your workflow with a custom GitHub Issues API integration? You're in the right place. We'll walk through building this in Go, assuming you're already comfortable with the language. Let's dive in and create something awesome!

Prerequisites

Before we start coding, make sure you've got:

Go installed on your machine
A GitHub account and personal access token (you know the drill)

Setting up the project

Let's kick things off:

mkdir github-issues-integration
cd github-issues-integration
go mod init github.com/yourusername/github-issues-integration

Now, let's grab the GitHub API library:

go get github.com/google/go-github/v39/github

Authentication

Time to authenticate! Create a new file main.go and add this:

package main

import (
    "context"
    "github.com/google/go-github/v39/github"
    "golang.org/x/oauth2"
)

func main() {
    ctx := context.Background()
    ts := oauth2.StaticTokenSource(
        &oauth2.Token{AccessToken: "your-access-token"},
    )
    tc := oauth2.NewClient(ctx, ts)
    client := github.NewClient(tc)
    
    // We'll use this client for all our API calls
}

Fetching Issues

Let's grab some issues:

issues, _, err := client.Issues.ListByRepo(ctx, "owner", "repo", nil)
if err != nil {
    // Handle error
}
for _, issue := range issues {
    fmt.Printf("Issue: %v\n", issue.GetTitle())
}

Creating Issues

Creating an issue is a breeze:

newIssue := &github.IssueRequest{
    Title: github.String("Houston, we have a problem"),
    Body:  github.String("Just kidding, everything's fine!"),
}
issue, _, err := client.Issues.Create(ctx, "owner", "repo", newIssue)
if err != nil {
    // Handle error
}
fmt.Printf("Created issue: %v\n", issue.GetNumber())

Updating Issues

Need to update an issue? No sweat:

updateIssue := &github.IssueRequest{
    Title: github.String("Houston, we've solved the problem"),
}
issue, _, err := client.Issues.Edit(ctx, "owner", "repo", issueNumber, updateIssue)
if err != nil {
    // Handle error
}

Closing Issues

Closing time:

closeIssue := &github.IssueRequest{
    State: github.String("closed"),
}
issue, _, err := client.Issues.Edit(ctx, "owner", "repo", issueNumber, closeIssue)
if err != nil {
    // Handle error
}

Error Handling

Always be prepared:

if _, _, err := client.Issues.Create(ctx, "owner", "repo", newIssue); err != nil {
    if _, ok := err.(*github.RateLimitError); ok {
        log.Println("Hit rate limit. Wait an hour and try again.")
    } else if _, ok := err.(*github.AbuseRateLimitError); ok {
        log.Println("Triggered abuse detection mechanism. Cool down.")
    } else {
        log.Printf("Error creating issue: %v\n", err)
    }
    return
}

Testing

Test like a pro:

func TestCreateIssue(t *testing.T) {
    client, mux, _, teardown := setup()
    defer teardown()

    mux.HandleFunc("/repos/o/r/issues", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
        v := &github.IssueRequest{}
        json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(v)

        testMethod(t, r, "POST")
        want := &github.IssueRequest{Title: github.String("test")}
        if !reflect.DeepEqual(v, want) {
            t.Errorf("Request body = %+v, want %+v", v, want)
        }

        fmt.Fprint(w, `{"number":1}`)
    })

    issue, _, err := client.Issues.Create(context.Background(), "o", "r", &github.IssueRequest{Title: github.String("test")})
    if err != nil {
        t.Errorf("Issues.Create returned error: %v", err)
    }

    want := &github.Issue{Number: github.Int(1)}
    if !reflect.DeepEqual(issue, want) {
        t.Errorf("Issues.Create returned %+v, want %+v", issue, want)
    }
}

Best Practices

Remember:

Respect rate limits (60 requests per hour for unauthenticated requests, 5000 for authenticated)
Use pagination for large result sets
Cache responses when appropriate

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a solid GitHub Issues API integration in Go. From fetching and creating issues to updating and closing them, you're now equipped to automate your GitHub workflow like a boss.

Remember, this is just the beginning. Feel free to expand on this foundation and create something truly unique for your needs. Happy coding!

Resources

Now go forth and conquer those issues!