Get GitHub User Profile

Retrieve detailed information about a GitHub user or organization.

Usage

npx tsx scripts/user.ts <username> [options]

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description
username	Yes	GitHub username

Options

Option	Description
--token=TOKEN	GitHub Personal Access Token (optional, overrides GITHUB_TOKEN env var)
--no-cache	Bypass cache and fetch fresh data from API

Output

torvalds (Linus Torvalds)
--------------------------
Bio: Creator of Linux
Location: Portland, OR
Company: Linux Foundation

Account:
  Type: User
  Created: 2010-08-19
  Updated: 2023-10-01
  Hireable: Yes

Statistics:
  Public repos: 12
  Public gists: 5
  Followers: 156,789
  Following: 0

Links:
  Profile: https://github.com/torvalds
  Blog: https://lkml.org/
  Avatar: https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/102402?v=4

Script Execution (Preferred)

npx tsx scripts/user.ts <username> [options]

Options:

• --token=TOKEN - GitHub Personal Access Token (optional, overrides GITHUB_TOKEN env var)
• --no-cache - Bypass cache and fetch fresh data from API

Run from the github-api plugin directory: ~/.claude/plugins/cache/github-api/

User API

GET https://api.github.com/users/{username}

Parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
username	Yes	GitHub username

Examples

Get user information:

https://api.github.com/users/torvalds

Response Format

The response contains comprehensive user profile metadata:

• login - Username
• id - User ID
• node_id - Node ID
• avatar_url - Avatar image URL
• gravatar_id - Gravatar ID
• url - API URL for the user
• html_url - GitHub profile URL
• type - User type ("User" or "Organization")
• site_admin - Whether the user is a GitHub admin
• name - Display name
• company - Company
• blog - Blog/website URL
• location - Location
• email - Email address
• hireable - Whether seeking employment
• bio - Profile bio
• public_repos - Number of public repositories
• public_gists - Number of public gists
• followers - Number of followers
• following - Number of following
• created_at - Account creation timestamp
• updated_at - Last profile update timestamp

Authentication

User profile data access:

• Public profiles: No authentication required for basic information
• Private information: Authentication may be required for email addresses and other private details
• Rate limits: Higher limits with authentication (5,000/hr vs 60/hr)

Provide a GitHub Personal Access Token:

Via environment variable:

export GITHUB_TOKEN=your_token_here
npx tsx scripts/user.ts username

Via command-line option:

npx tsx scripts/user.ts username --token=your_token_here

Caching

User profiles are cached for 1 hour. Profile information changes relatively infrequently, so this provides good freshness while improving performance.

Use the --no-cache flag to bypass the cache.

Related

• Use github-repo to get detailed repository information
• Use github-readme to fetch repository documentation
• Use github-rate-limit to check your remaining API quota

Error Handling

User not found: Verify the username is correct. Usernames are case-insensitive but must be exact otherwise.

Organization vs User: The API returns the same data structure for both users and organizations. Check the type field.

Rate limit exceeded: Use a Personal Access Token for higher rate limits, or wait for the quota to reset (hourly).

Use Cases

Developer Research

Get information about package maintainers:

npx tsx scripts/user.ts zce
npx tsx scripts/user.ts sindresorhus

Company Profiles

Check organization profiles:

npx tsx scripts/user.ts facebook
npx tsx scripts/user.ts microsoft

Follower Analysis

Check follower counts and activity:

npx tsx scripts/user.ts gaearon

Notes

• Email addresses are only returned if visible on the user's profile
• Private information requires authentication with appropriate scopes
• Organization profiles have similar structure but different data fields
• Avatar URLs can be used directly in HTML <img> tags