GitHub aka Gitminder

GitHub is an internet hosting service for developers, and can be used to track changes in your projects.

It's also a method you can use to log into Beeminder, if you've already set up authentication with GitHub.

What can I beemind with GitHub?

Gitminder goals are Do More goals that track either number of commits or number of issues closed. Currently, you can only choose to track commits in a specific repo, though people who created their goals previously may be tracking all their commits across any repos.

Why isn't data coming in for my old "track all commits" goal?

GitHub say there is now a delay of up to six hours on that metric. We've improved the integration so that we can still sync your commits after the deadline, once they're available via the API, but this will not prevent you derailing. In that case, just reply to the legit check to let us know what happened.

In the meantime, while we work to replace this metric (if possible), you may wish to keep 1-2 days of buffer in your goal, in order to avoid a situation where your goal derails even though you've done enough, just because GitHub aren't making the data available yet.

See also ongoing forum discussion.

Can I beemind work on a private repo?

Yes. As long as the Beeminder application has access permissions granted, that should not be a problem. You can check the permissions when signed into your GitHub account.

Why do you need both read and write access to my GitHub account?

When the GitHub integration was created, it wasn't possible to only request read privileges for private repos. As far as we know, that's still true, but if you've found evidence to the contrary or we've missed a recent change, then we'd love to take a look and hopefully tighten up our scopes so we're only requesting what we need. Contact us!

Beeminder isn't adding my recent activity to my goal.

There are a few possible reasons for this:

  • Commits were made to a different repo than the one your goal is tracking.
  • Your commits were not signed with an email address tied to your GitHub account. You can check the emails associated with your account.
  • Beeminder does not have permission to access the repo containing that activity. You can check the permissions.
  • You are only tracking a specific repo, and commits were made to a non-main/non-master branch. Beeminder only looks at activity on the main/master branch.
  • Your GitHub-Beeminder authorization has failed. You should see a blue banner across the top of the goal page if this is the case, and we'll send you an email with the same info! You can revoke and reauthorize it to get back to normal.
  • The issues weren't assigned to your GitHub account when closed.

I can't log in with GitHub, e.g. on mobile

Alas, yes! We can't allow people to log in via GitHub on iOS due to store policies, so for the moment it isn't possible. All is not lost, though! If you set up a password (or use the forgotten password form to set one up), you can then log in using your username and password. GitHub login will still work on the web version.

Sample GitHub goal setup

  1. Head to create a new goal.
  2. Click the GitHub icon to start a new goal using GitHub data.

    GitHub icon

  3. First, select the metric you want to track: commits or issues closed. Enter the amount that you want to commit to in the +/- stepper. Finally, decide whether you want to track all of your activity, or only activity on a specific repo. If you choose to track a specific repo, enter it in the text box below the radio button using the form shown below.

    If you want to delay your goal's start a few days (maybe you're traveling this weekend), be sure to tick the "Start this goal with extra leeway" box. Enter the number of days you want to delay and press Continue.

    GitHub goal setup, showing the Beeminder and Github icons at the top. The first radio buttons choose between tracking commits and issues closed, and then you have to decide how many commits/issues you have to do per day via stepper buttons. Then you need to choose via radio buttons whether to track a specific repo or across your GitHub. Finally there's a checkbox for starting the goal with extra buffer, which opens up an extra box to configure how many days you want.
  4. Give your goal a brief name. If you want, you can also write a short description with more information.

    Shows the "Give your goal a name" dialog, where you should first choose a short name for the goal that will appear in the URL, and then optionally you can write a description of the goal
  5. Finally, choose your initial pledge. This is the amount you will pay the first time you derail on the goal. After derailing, the pledge will increase by default — use the dropdown below to control how high it goes by selecting the cap. In the example below, I have chosen to start at a $5 pledge, which will increase each time I derail, until it reaches $270 — the pledge cap. (To read more about pledges and payments, check out some FAQs!)

    If you want to start out with a sort of trial period, you can choose to start the goal at $0. If you do that, the pledge will automatically increase to $5 after seven days. If you derail before that, it will also increase to $5.

    Screenshot of the "Starting Stakes" screen. The text says "Your pledge will increase each time you derail until you reach your pledge cap (which you can adjust below)", with a demonstration below showing the pledge progression: 5, 10, 30, 90... to the pledge cap, which currently shows $270. Below, a checkbox button allows you to choose to "Hold the pledge at $0 for 7 days while I get my feet wet"
  6. And that's it! If I don't add at least one commit to the repo in the next 4 days, I'll be paying Beeminder $5.

    Screenshot of an example goal with +1 due in 4 days


Keywords: autodata integrations, coding, productivity, developers, programmers, Gitminder

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