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How it works

The Github Connector picks up all of the Pull Requests and Issues in a specified repository.
  • It will index both Open and Closed PRs. This includes the Title and Summary.
  • It will index Issues and comments both Open and Closed
  • Includes certain other metadata such as the URL, creator, etc.

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Permission Sync Feature

The GitHub connector supports permission synchronization, which ensures that users can only access documents they have permissions to view in GitHub. When enabled, this feature:
  • Syncs user permissions from GitHub repositories and organizations
  • Ensures that users only see search results for repositories they have access to
  • Maintains consistent access control between GitHub and Onyx
Permission sync is available only on Cloud and the Enterprise Edition of Onyx, and it requires additional token permissions beyond those needed for basic indexing.

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⚠️ CRITICAL REQUIREMENT: Public Email Profile

VERY IMPORTANT: For permission sync to work, users must have their email address publicly visible in their GitHub profile. If a user’s email is set to private, they will not get access to any documents through Onyx.
1

Log in to GitHub

Log in to your GitHub account
2

Access profile settings

Click on your profile picture in the top-right corner and select Settings from the dropdown menu
3

Navigate to email settings

In the left sidebar, click on Emails
4

Enable public email

Scroll down to Keep my email addresses private and uncheck this option
5

Configure public profile

Now go back to the left sidebar and click on Public profile
6

Set public email

Scroll down to the Public email section and select your email address from the dropdown
7

Save changes

Click Update profile to save the changes
Why is this required? Onyx uses the public email to match GitHub users with Onyx users for permission synchronization. Without a public email, the system cannot identify which GitHub permissions apply to which Onyx user.

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Setting up

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Authorization

This Connector uses a GitHub Access Token. The required permissions depend on whether you’re using the permission sync feature.

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Basic Setup (Indexing Only)

For basic indexing without permission sync:
1

Review detailed guide

This guide shows the following steps in detail.
2

Log in to GitHub

Log in to GitHub.
3

Access settings

In the upper right corner, expand your profile and click on Settings
4

Navigate to developer settings

On the bottom, go to Developer settings -> Personal access tokens -> Tokens (classic)
5

Generate new token

Click on Generate new token
6

Grant permissions

Grant the following permissions:
  • Repository permissions:
  • repo (Full control of private repositories) - to access PRs and issues
If you’re using a fine-grain access token instead of a classic token:
1

Open repository permissions

In the token configuration page, go to Repository permissions
2

Add permissions

Click Add permission, then add the following with Read access:
  • Pull requests - to access PR data
  • Metadata - for repository metadata
  • Issues - to access issues and comments
  • Contents - to access repository contents

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Permission Sync Setup

Pick the token type you’re using:
1

Select the organization (resource owner)

When creating a fine-grained GitHub access token for permission sync, make sure you select the correct Resource owner organization (the GitHub organization that owns the repositories you want to create the connector for). Fine-grained tokens scoped to a personal user account do not allow granting Organization permissions (like Members), so permission sync requires selecting an organization as the resource owner.
2

Add required permissions

Add these in the token configuration page using Repository permissions -> Add permission and Organization permissions -> Add permission:GitHub fine-grained token permissions: Repository permissions and Organization permissions
  • Repository permissions (Read access): Administration, Issues, Metadata, Pull requests
  • Organization permissions (Read only): Administration, Members

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Token Configuration

1

Set expiration time

Set any expiration time. A new token will have to be provided to Onyx to continue updating the Onyx index once this one expires.
2

Verify permissions

Important: If you plan to use permission sync, ensure all the above permissions are granted when creating the token.

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Indexing

1

Navigate to connector

Navigate to the Admin Panel and select the GitHub Connector
2

Configure connector

For https://github.com/onyx-dot-app/onyx, it would look like:
Onyx GitHub connector credentials entry screen Onyx GitHub connector repository configuration example