Get a user

Retrieves the public profile information for a specific GitHub user by username

GitHub get a user action to retrieve the public profile for a specific GitHub user by username. This is a read-only action that returns publicly available profile information for any GitHub account.

Prerequisites

• Your admin must install and configure the GitHub connector, add the GitHub actions pack under Admin > Actions, and enable this action.

• A GitHub app must be installed on the relevant organization(s) and linked to the correct GitHub datasource in the Glean admin console.

Supported parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
Username	String	Yes	The GitHub username whose public profile you want to retrieve.

Usage examples

• “Look up the GitHub profile for user ‘abc’ and show me their bio and location.”

• “What is the follower count for GitHub user ‘abc’?”

• “Show me the public profile information for ‘octocat’.”

Troubleshooting

Authentication or authorization failure

• Possible cause: The GitHub connector is not fully set up, the GitHub app is not installed on the target organization, or the app is missing required permissions.
• Fix: Confirm that the GitHub connector is installed and authenticated, that the GitHub app is installed on the correct organization(s), and that it has the necessary repository and organization scopes. If using a custom app, verify that permissions such as contents, issues, pull requests, and commit-related scopes are enabled.

User not found or 404 error

• Possible cause: The username does not exist on GitHub, or there is a typo in the username.
• Fix: Verify that the username is spelled correctly and exists on GitHub by visiting https://github.com/username. GitHub usernames are case-insensitive but should be entered exactly as they appear.

Limited or incomplete profile information returned

• Possible cause: The user has a minimal GitHub profile or has not filled out certain fields.
• Fix: This is expected behavior. The action only returns publicly available information. If a user has not filled out their bio, company, location, or other fields, those fields will be empty or null in the response.

FAQs

What information does this action return?

The action returns the public profile for the specified GitHub user, including username, display name, bio, company, location, email (if public), website, avatar URL, public repository count, follower/following counts, and account creation date. Only publicly available information is returned.

Can this action retrieve private profile information?

No. This action only retrieves publicly available profile information. Private details such as private email addresses or private repository counts are not accessible through this action.

Does this action work for organization accounts?

Yes. You can use this action to retrieve public profile information for both individual user accounts and organization accounts on GitHub.

How is this different from Get the authenticated user?

Get a user retrieves the public profile for any GitHub user by username. Get the authenticated user retrieves the profile (including private details) for the currently authenticated user without requiring a username parameter.