GitHub URL reference

webctx read-link recognizes structured GitHub URLs and prefers GitHub’s own data over scraping GitHub’s HTML. Use the URL you would normally copy from GitHub.

Common URLs

You want	Example URL to pass to webctx read-link
Repository overview	https://github.com/owner/repo
Directory	https://github.com/owner/repo/tree/main/src
File	https://github.com/owner/repo/blob/main/README.md
Source line range	https://github.com/owner/repo/blob/main/README.md#L1-L20
Markdown section	https://github.com/owner/repo/blob/main/README.md#install
Issue	https://github.com/owner/repo/issues/42
Exact issue comment	https://github.com/owner/repo/issues/42#issuecomment-123456
Pull request	https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/42
PR diff/files	https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/42/files
PR commits	https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/42/commits
PR checks	https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/42/checks
Exact review thread	https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/42#discussion_r123456
Commit	https://github.com/owner/repo/commit/<sha>
Compare two refs	https://github.com/owner/repo/compare/main...feature
File history	https://github.com/owner/repo/commits/main/src/file.go
Blame	https://github.com/owner/repo/blame/main/src/file.go
Actions run	https://github.com/owner/repo/actions/runs/123
Actions job	https://github.com/owner/repo/actions/runs/123/job/456
Release	https://github.com/owner/repo/releases/latest
Discussion	https://github.com/owner/repo/discussions/42
Gist	https://gist.github.com/owner/<gist-id>

Replace the example owner, repository, IDs, and references with real values. URLs containing # or query parameters should be quoted in the shell.

Overview vs exact item vs raw change

• Overview: A repository, issue, PR, Actions run, or other container URL returns useful metadata, a bounded preview/index, and links to its children. It is not intended to dump every item at once.
• Exact item: A copied line, comment, review, diff, Gist, or check selector asks for that item. WebCTX preserves the selected human-authored text when available rather than applying an overview’s size budget.
• Raw representation: A .diff or .patch URL requests the full raw text representation. Use these intentionally when you want bulk changes.

For example:

# Short overview first
webctx read-link https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/42

# Then a specific review thread
webctx read-link 'https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/42#discussion_r123456'

# Or an explicit raw diff
webctx read-link https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/42.diff

Issues, pull requests, and reviews

Issue roots can include a full small conversation, or a compact timeline for large ones. Follow a copied #issuecomment-<id> anchor to read one comment. The #issue-<id> anchor targets an issue/PR description when the database ID is known.

PR roots keep descriptions, comments, timeline events, submitted reviews, and inline threads distinct. Common anchors include #issuecomment-*, #pullrequestreview-*, and #discussion_r*. The /files, /commits, and /checks paths expose different PR views. On large files views, use the printed #diff-* selector for a particular file or hunk. Check views include ?check_run_id=<id> links to focus on individual checks.

PR search pages, such as https://github.com/owner/repo/pulls?q=is%3Apr+is%3Aopen, retain their search filters. GitHub may represent PR searches under /issues with is:pr; webctx preserves that meaning.

Actions, history, and changes

An Actions run returns a compact job index. A specific job URL returns structured steps and, when available, a bounded log preview. The job output includes GitHub’s log API URL for a deeper read. The provider’s signed download URL expires quickly and is not exposed as a permanent link.

Commit roots include authorship, message, stats, changed-file index, and comment index. Use their printed diff selectors to read a specific file’s changes. For bulk text, append .diff or .patch to a commit or compare URL.

History and blame work at file-path scope. Blame requires GitHub authentication.

Other supported GitHub views

# Repository activity and a deployment
webctx read-link https://github.com/cli/cli/activity
webctx read-link https://github.com/owner/repo/deployments/production

# Discussion, including an exact comment
webctx read-link https://github.com/vercel/next.js/discussions/42
webctx read-link 'https://github.com/vercel/next.js/discussions/42#discussioncomment-123456'

# Gist file or comment
webctx read-link 'https://gist.github.com/owner/<gist-id>#file-readme-md-L10-L20'
webctx read-link 'https://gist.github.com/<gist-id>#gistcomment-123456'

# Search, profile, or Project
webctx read-link 'https://github.com/search?q=agent+runtime&type=repositories&s=stars&o=desc'
webctx read-link https://github.com/torvalds
webctx read-link https://github.com/orgs/github/projects/12106

Also supported: branches, tags, workflow lists, Packages, releases/assets, contributors, statistics, Gists/revisions, profile tabs, deployments, and other recognized GitHub views. Some views require a token or additional repository permissions.

Pagination and limits

webctx distinguishes two situations:

• More data at GitHub: The API has another page, imposes a ceiling, is still computing, or no longer retains an artifact.
• Omitted by webctx: An overview intentionally shows an index instead of expanding every child. Follow the exact URL it prints to get that item.

Normal pageable lists display every row returned in the current provider page and include next/previous links when available. Aggregate overviews can omit entries locally and say so. You do not need a webctx-specific pagination mode; follow the printed GitHub URL.

Large generated logs, machine annotations, and summaries can still be previewed even when a selected item is exact. Explicit full provider URLs are included when available.

Authentication and error handling

Add GH_TOKEN (or GITHUB_TOKEN) for higher API capacity, private resources, Discussions, blame, some Actions logs, and richer review state. A narrow fine-grained token may not have permission for every resource; GitHub’s permission error remains visible.

Recognized native GitHub resources do not fall back to a generic scrape when GitHub returns a rate limit, private/not-found state, or authentication error. The exception is an exact public GitHub Package page: if the Package API rejects authentication/permission and Firecrawl is configured, webctx can return a clearly labeled best-effort page extraction. Unsupported GitHub URL shapes can use the normal webpage reader.

See Read a URL, Credentials, and Troubleshooting.