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Emulate github

Emulated GitHub REST API for local development and testing. Use when the user needs to interact with GitHub API endpoints locally, test GitHub integrations, emulate repos/issues/PRs, set up GitHub OAuth flows, configure GitHub Apps, test webhooks, or work with actions/checks without hitting the real GitHub API. Triggers include "GitHub API", "emulate GitHub", "mock GitHub", "test GitHub OAuth", "GitHub App JWT", "local GitHub", or any task requiring a local GitHub API.

install
source · Clone the upstream repo
git clone https://github.com/vercel-labs/emulate
Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/vercel-labs/emulate "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/github" ~/.claude/skills/vercel-labs-emulate-github && rm -rf "$T"
manifest: skills/github/SKILL.md
source content

GitHub API Emulator

Fully stateful GitHub REST API emulation. Creates, updates, and deletes persist in memory and affect related entities.

Start

# GitHub only
npx emulate --service github

# Default port
# http://localhost:4001

Or programmatically:

import { createEmulator } from 'emulate'

const github = await createEmulator({ service: 'github', port: 4001 })
// github.url === 'http://localhost:4001'

Auth

Pass tokens as 

Authorization: Bearer <token>
or 
Authorization: token <token>
.

curl http://localhost:4001/user \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer test_token_admin"

Public repo endpoints work without auth. Private repos and write operations require a valid token. When no token is provided, requests fall back to the first seeded user.

GitHub App JWT

Configure apps in the seed config with a private key. Sign a JWT with 

{ iss: "<app_id>" }
using RS256. The emulator verifies the signature and resolves the app.

github:
  apps:
    - app_id: 12345
      slug: my-github-app
      name: My GitHub App
      private_key: |
        -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
        ...
        -----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
      permissions:
        contents: read
        issues: write
      events: [push, pull_request]
      webhook_url: http://localhost:8080/github/webhook
      webhook_secret: my-webhook-secret
      description: My CI/CD bot
      installations:
        - installation_id: 100
          account: my-org
          repository_selection: all
          permissions:
            contents: read
          events: [push]
          repositories: [my-org/org-repo]

Pointing Your App at the Emulator

Environment Variable

GITHUB_EMULATOR_URL=http://localhost:4001

Octokit

import { Octokit } from '@octokit/rest'

const octokit = new Octokit({
  baseUrl: process.env.GITHUB_EMULATOR_URL ?? 'https://api.github.com',
  auth: 'test_token_admin',
})

OAuth URL Mapping

Real GitHub URLEmulator URL
https://github.com/login/oauth/authorize
$GITHUB_EMULATOR_URL/login/oauth/authorize
https://github.com/login/oauth/access_token
$GITHUB_EMULATOR_URL/login/oauth/access_token
https://api.github.com/user
$GITHUB_EMULATOR_URL/user

Auth.js / NextAuth.js

import GitHub from '@auth/core/providers/github'

GitHub({
  clientId: process.env.GITHUB_CLIENT_ID,
  clientSecret: process.env.GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET,
  authorization: {
    url: `${process.env.GITHUB_EMULATOR_URL}/login/oauth/authorize`,
  },
  token: {
    url: `${process.env.GITHUB_EMULATOR_URL}/login/oauth/access_token`,
  },
  userinfo: {
    url: `${process.env.GITHUB_EMULATOR_URL}/user`,
  },
})

Seed Config

tokens:
  test_token_admin:
    login: admin
    scopes: [repo, user, admin:org, admin:repo_hook]

github:
  users:
    - login: octocat
      name: The Octocat
      email: octocat@github.com
      bio: I am the Octocat
      company: GitHub
      location: San Francisco
      blog: https://github.blog
      twitter_username: github
      site_admin: false
  orgs:
    - login: my-org
      name: My Organization
      description: A test organization
      email: org@example.com
  repos:
    - owner: octocat
      name: hello-world
      description: My first repository
      language: JavaScript
      topics: [hello, world]
      default_branch: main
      private: false
    - owner: my-org
      name: org-repo
      description: An organization repository
      language: TypeScript
  oauth_apps:
    - client_id: Iv1.abc123
      client_secret: secret_abc123
      name: My Web App
      redirect_uris:
        - http://localhost:3000/api/auth/callback/github

Repos are auto-initialized with a commit, branch, and README unless 

auto_init: false
is set.

Pagination

All list endpoints support 

page
and 
per_page
query params with 
Link
headers:

curl "http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/issues?page=1&per_page=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

API Endpoints

Users

# Authenticated user
curl http://localhost:4001/user -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

# Update profile
curl -X PATCH http://localhost:4001/user \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"bio": "Hello!"}'

# Get user by username
curl http://localhost:4001/users/octocat

# List users
curl http://localhost:4001/users

# User repos / orgs / followers / following
curl http://localhost:4001/users/octocat/repos
curl http://localhost:4001/users/octocat/orgs
curl http://localhost:4001/users/octocat/followers
curl http://localhost:4001/users/octocat/following

# User hovercard
curl http://localhost:4001/users/octocat/hovercard

# User emails
curl http://localhost:4001/user/emails -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

Repositories

# Get repo
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world

# Create user repo
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/user/repos \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "new-repo", "private": false}'

# Create org repo
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/repos \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "org-project"}'

# Update repo
curl -X PATCH http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"description": "Updated description"}'

# Delete repo (cascades issues, PRs, etc.)
curl -X DELETE http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

# Topics, languages, contributors, forks, collaborators, tags, transfer

Issues

# List issues (filter by state, labels, assignee, milestone, creator, since)
curl "http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/issues?state=open&labels=bug"

# Create issue
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/issues \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title": "Bug report", "body": "Details here", "labels": ["bug"]}'

# Get / update / lock / unlock / timeline / events / assignees

Pull Requests

# List PRs
curl "http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/pulls?state=open"

# Create PR
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/pulls \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title": "Feature", "head": "feature-branch", "base": "main"}'

# Merge PR (enforces branch protection)
curl -X PUT http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/pulls/1/merge \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"merge_method": "squash"}'

# Commits, files, requested reviewers, update branch

Comments

# Issue comments: full CRUD
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/issues/1/comments
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/issues/1/comments \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"body": "Looks good!"}'

# Comment by ID (cross-resource)
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/issues/comments/1

# PR review comments
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/pulls/1/comments

# Commit comments
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/commits/abc123/comments

# Repo-wide comment listings
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/issues/comments
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/pulls/comments
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/comments

Reviews

# List / create / get / update / submit / dismiss reviews
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/pulls/1/reviews
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/pulls/1/reviews \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"event": "APPROVE", "body": "LGTM"}'

Labels & Milestones

Full CRUD for labels and milestones. Add/remove labels from issues, replace all labels. List labels for a milestone.

Branches & Git Data

# List branches
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches

# Branch protection CRUD (status checks, PR reviews, enforce admins)
curl -X PUT http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches/main/protection \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"required_status_checks": {"strict": true, "contexts": ["ci"]}}'

# Refs, commits, trees (recursive), blobs, tags, matching-refs

Organizations & Teams

# List all orgs / user's orgs / get org / update org
curl http://localhost:4001/organizations
curl http://localhost:4001/user/orgs -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"
curl http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org
curl -X PATCH http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"description": "Updated org"}'

# Org members: list, get, remove
curl http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/members
curl http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/members/octocat
curl -X DELETE http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/members/octocat \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

# Org memberships: get, set (invite/update role)
curl http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/memberships/octocat -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"
curl -X PUT http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/memberships/octocat \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"role": "admin"}'

# Teams: CRUD
curl http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/teams
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/teams \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "engineering", "privacy": "closed"}'

# Team members and memberships
curl http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/teams/engineering/members
curl -X PUT http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/teams/engineering/memberships/octocat \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"role": "maintainer"}'

# Team repos: list, add, remove
curl http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/teams/engineering/repos
curl -X PUT http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/teams/engineering/repos/my-org/org-repo \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

# Legacy team endpoints by ID
curl http://localhost:4001/teams/1
curl http://localhost:4001/teams/1/members

GitHub Apps

# Get authenticated app (requires JWT auth)
curl http://localhost:4001/app \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <jwt>"

# List app installations
curl http://localhost:4001/app/installations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <jwt>"

# Get installation
curl http://localhost:4001/app/installations/100 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <jwt>"

# Create installation access token (mints ghs_... token)
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/app/installations/100/access_tokens \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <jwt>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"permissions": {"contents": "read"}}'

# Find installation for repo / org / user
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/my-org/org-repo/installation
curl http://localhost:4001/orgs/my-org/installation
curl http://localhost:4001/users/octocat/installation

App webhook delivery: when events occur, the emulator POSTs 

event_callback
payloads to configured 
webhook_url
with 
X-GitHub-Event
and 
X-Hub-Signature-256
headers.

Releases

# Create release
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/releases \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"tag_name": "v1.0.0", "name": "v1.0.0"}'

# List, get, latest, by tag, generate notes

# Release assets: list, upload
curl http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/releases/1/assets
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/releases/1/assets \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
  -H "name: binary.zip" \
  --data-binary @binary.zip

Webhooks

# Create webhook (real HTTP delivery on state changes)
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/hooks \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"config": {"url": "http://localhost:8080/webhook"}, "events": ["push", "pull_request"]}'

# Full CRUD, ping, test, deliveries
# Org webhooks also supported

Search

# Search repositories
curl "http://localhost:4001/search/repositories?q=language:JavaScript+user:octocat"

# Search issues and PRs
curl "http://localhost:4001/search/issues?q=repo:octocat/hello-world+is:open"

# Search users, code, commits, topics, labels

Actions

# Workflows: list, get, enable/disable, dispatch
# Workflow runs: list, get, cancel, rerun, delete, logs
# Jobs: list, get, logs
# Artifacts: list, get, delete
# Secrets: repo + org CRUD

Checks

# Create check run
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/repos/octocat/hello-world/check-runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "CI", "head_sha": "abc123", "status": "completed", "conclusion": "success"}'

# Check suites: create, get, rerequest, preferences, list by ref
# Check runs: list for suite, annotations
# Automatic suite status rollup from check run results

OAuth

# Authorize (browser flow, shows user picker)
# GET /login/oauth/authorize?client_id=...&redirect_uri=...&scope=...&state=...

# Token exchange
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/login/oauth/access_token \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -d '{"client_id": "Iv1.abc123", "client_secret": "secret_abc123", "code": "<code>"}'

# User emails
curl http://localhost:4001/user/emails -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

# OAuth app management (settings)
curl http://localhost:4001/settings/applications -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"
curl http://localhost:4001/settings/connections/applications/Iv1.abc123 -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

# Revoke OAuth app
curl -X POST http://localhost:4001/settings/connections/applications/Iv1.abc123/revoke \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

Misc

curl http://localhost:4001/rate_limit
curl http://localhost:4001/meta
curl http://localhost:4001/emojis
curl http://localhost:4001/versions
curl http://localhost:4001/octocat
curl http://localhost:4001/zen

Common Patterns

Create Repo, Issue, and PR

TOKEN="test_token_admin"
BASE="http://localhost:4001"

# Create repo
curl -X POST $BASE/user/repos \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "my-project"}'

# Create issue
curl -X POST $BASE/repos/admin/my-project/issues \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title": "First issue"}'

# Create PR
curl -X POST $BASE/repos/admin/my-project/pulls \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title": "First PR", "head": "feature", "base": "main"}'

GitHub App Installation Token Flow

# 1. Sign a JWT with { iss: "12345" } using the app's private key (RS256)
# 2. Create an installation access token
curl -X POST $BASE/app/installations/100/access_tokens \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <jwt>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"permissions": {"contents": "read", "issues": "write"}}'
# Returns { "token": "ghs_...", ... }

# 3. Use the installation token to call API endpoints
curl $BASE/repos/my-org/org-repo \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ghs_..."

OAuth Flow

  1. Redirect user to 
    $GITHUB_EMULATOR_URL/login/oauth/authorize?client_id=...&redirect_uri=...&scope=user+repo&state=...
  2. User picks a seeded user on the emulator's UI
  3. Emulator redirects back with 
    ?code=...&state=...
  4. Exchange code for token via 
    POST /login/oauth/access_token
  5. Use token to call API endpoints