Star repositories on GitHub

Star GitHub repositories from every selected profile, over the REST API.

Star one or more GitHub repositories from every selected profile. blowhorn star is a public endorsement by the acting account, so every repository in a run is named by the operator on the command line, never derived from a list the tool already holds. No browser opens. GitHub runs over the REST API end to end.

Before the first run

Store a token as the profile's GH_TOKEN:

$ blowhorn profile set personal GH_TOKEN=<redacted>

The token lands in the profile's GitHub credential in your account. A classic token needs the repo scope, which covers both public and private repositories; a fine-grained token needs read and write on Starring. An installation token from a GitHub App is not a substitute: it acts as the app installation rather than as you, so it cannot star as the operator. Then check the token without starring anything:

$ blowhorn profile status --profile personal --check-platform github

Star from the command line

# Preview: reads each repository's star state for real and names exactly
# which would be starred, issuing no PUT.
$ blowhorn star --platform github --profile personal --repo acme/widgets --dry-run

# Star one repository from a single profile.
$ blowhorn star --platform github --profile personal --repo acme/widgets

# Star two repositories from every profile that holds a GH_TOKEN.
$ blowhorn star --platform github --profile all --repo acme/widgets --repo meshery/meshery

# A github.com URL names the same repository as owner/name.
$ blowhorn star --platform github --profile personal --repo https://github.com/acme/widgets

# Star from an explicit subset of profiles rather than all of them.
$ blowhorn star --platform github --profile company,work --repo acme/widgets

# Hold one profile out of this run.
$ blowhorn star --platform github --profile all --repo acme/widgets --exclude personal

--platform github is required: star acts on GitHub only, and any other platform, including all, is refused. Star cannot be scheduled: it stars only the repositories named on the command line.

Who runs

--profile all expands to the roster profiles that hold a GH_TOKEN; a profile you name that holds none is reported and skipped, and the rest run. Naming profiles explicitly makes --exclude inert, as everywhere else. Starring your own repository is ordinary on GitHub, so there is no self-exclusion: leave that profile out with --exclude when you do not want it.

Already starred is not an error

A repository the profile already starred is counted apart, never re-credited: the summary's Starred column counts only repositories this run newly starred, and Already counts the ones already there. A second run therefore stars nothing twice. A live run exits 0 only when at least one repository was confirmed and every attempted repository was confirmed by at least one profile; a --dry-run never fails for confirming nothing, only when it could not produce a preview for any profile at all.

A 404 that means the token, not the repository

GitHub answers 404 rather than 403 for a token lacking the scope, so "that repository is gone" and "your token cannot star" look identical by status. Blowhorn reads the cause off the response's own scope headers and says which scope is missing and which command stores a reissued token, instead of reporting "Not Found". When the headers show no shortfall, the status is reported as it came back.

A shortfall belongs to the token, so the run explains it once for that profile, in full, and stops that profile's starring, rather than failing once per repository. Every other profile in the run is still tried.

Related

• Follow accounts - the other GitHub path that acts per profile, and the same 404 diagnosis for follows.
• Amplify an issue or pull request on GitHub - the other GitHub path, and the same 404 diagnosis for reactions.
• Build a GitHub audience - list a repository's people into your account first.
• Sign a profile in to each platform - storing and checking the token.