How RocketHooks Works with GitHub

RocketHooks monitors GitHub’s REST API to track repository activity, pull request status, issue updates, and release publications. While GitHub offers webhooks, RocketHooks is useful for monitoring across multiple repositories, tracking specific field-level changes, or consolidating GitHub events with data from other platforms.

Works with any GitHub plan including free public repositories.

Authentication Setup

Use a GitHub personal access token (classic or fine-grained) for authentication:

{
  "auth": {
    "type": "bearer",
    "token": "ghp_YOUR_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN"
  }
}

Fine-grained tokens are recommended for production. Grant only the repo or read:org permissions you need.

Endpoint Examples

Monitor Pull Request Activity

Track new and updated pull requests:

{
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/pulls?state=open&sort=updated&direction=desc&per_page=20",
  "method": "GET",
  "pollInterval": 60,
  "changeDetection": {
    "strategy": "jsonpath",
    "expression": "$[*].updated_at"
  }
}

Monitor New Issues

Detect when new issues are opened:

{
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/issues?state=open&sort=created&direction=desc&per_page=20",
  "method": "GET",
  "pollInterval": 120,
  "changeDetection": {
    "strategy": "jsonpath",
    "expression": "$[*].id"
  }
}

Monitor Releases

Watch for new releases and tags:

{
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/releases?per_page=5",
  "method": "GET",
  "pollInterval": 300,
  "changeDetection": {
    "strategy": "jsonpath",
    "expression": "$[*].id"
  }
}

Common Patterns

Code Review Notifications

Monitor pull request status across multiple repositories. When a PR is updated or review-ready, push webhook notifications to your team tools so reviewers do not miss updates.

Issue Triage Pipeline

Track new issues across your organization’s repositories. Route them to the right team via webhooks based on labels, assignees, or repository ownership.

Release Monitoring

Watch for new releases across dependencies or internal projects. Trigger deployment pipelines, update changelogs, or notify stakeholders when a new version is published.

Delivery Channels

Webhooks: Trigger CI/CD pipelines or custom automation with HMAC-signed payloads and automatic retries

Additional delivery channels (Slack, email, SMS) coming soon.

Next Steps

Create a fine-grained personal access token on GitHub
Configure the token in RocketHooks with minimal permissions
Set up your first monitor targeting a repository endpoint
Route webhook notifications to your CI/CD pipeline or team tools

GitHub Integration