TL;DR
GitHub has restricted access to its stargazers API, limiting star data visibility to repository admins and collaborators. This change affects tools like Star History, which rely on this data to visualize repository growth.
✦ Why It Matters
Developers should regenerate their GitHub access tokens with appropriate scopes to maintain access to star data for their repositories.
Key Takeaways
Full Summary
GitHub announced on June 30, 2026, that it would restrict access to its stargazers API, which provides information on who starred a repository and when. This change means that only repository owners and collaborators can access this data, resulting in a 'Not Found' response for authenticated requests from others.
Tools like Star History, which depend on this data to create growth charts, will no longer function for repositories outside of one's ownership or collaboration. Additionally, tokens created without specific scopes will no longer work, even for personal repositories.
Users are advised to regenerate their access tokens with fine-grained permissions to maintain functionality. This shift impacts how developers track project popularity and growth over time, potentially limiting insights for those not directly involved with a repository.
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