GitHub GraphQL API Rate Limit Monitor

🚨 (supervised) Vibe-Code alert 🚨

🚀 Modern Clojure/Babashka and multi-shell command-line tool for real-time monitoring of GitHub GraphQL API rate limits

🔍 Overview

Monitor your GitHub GraphQL API rate limits with a modern Clojure/Babashka implementation or traditional shell scripts. This tool provides detailed information about your API consumption, remaining quota, reset times, and usage recommendations.

Available implementations:

🎯 Babashka (Recommended) - Modern Clojure implementation with fast startup, excellent error handling, and comprehensive features
Bash - Original implementation with full POSIX compatibility
Zsh - Enhanced version with Zsh-specific optimizations
Fish - Complete implementation with native Fish features

Perfect for developers, DevOps engineers, and CI/CD pipelines that need to respect GitHub's API limits.

✨ Features

Babashka Version (Recommended)

🚀 Fast startup - Native binary with sub-second initialization
🔒 Enhanced security - File permission validation and token pattern checking
🎯 Superior error handling - Comprehensive HTTP, network, and GraphQL error handling
📊 Professional output - Beautifully formatted table, JSON, and compact modes
⚡ Built-in libraries - No external dependencies beyond Babashka
🔄 Continuous monitoring with intelligent screen clearing
🛡️ Robust validation - Token validation before API calls

All Versions

Real-time API monitoring with current usage statistics
Multiple output formats: table (default), JSON, compact
Continuous monitoring mode with customizable intervals
Smart recommendations based on usage levels
Configuration file support for secure token storage
Colored output with terminal detection
Cross-platform compatibility

🚀 Installation

Babashka Version (Recommended)

Prerequisites:

Babashka installed on your system

Install Babashka:

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install borkdude/brew/babashka

# Linux (using installer script)
$ curl -sLO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/babashka/babashka/master/install
# or
$ wget -qO install https://raw.githubusercontent.com/babashka/babashka/master/install
$ chmod +x install
$ ./install

Install the monitor:

git clone https://github.com/simonneutert/github-api-monitor.git
cd github-api-monitor
chmod +x github-api-monitor.clj

# Optional: Add to PATH
echo 'export PATH="'$(pwd)':$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc

Shell Versions

Quick Install:

git clone https://github.com/simonneutert/gh-api-tools.git ~/.gh-api-tools
cd ~/.gh-api-tools && chmod +x github-api-monitor.sh github-api-monitor.zsh github-api-monitor.fish

# Add to your shell config (~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc):
export PATH="$HOME/.gh-api-tools:$PATH"

# Optional: Create convenient aliases
alias gh-rate='github-api-monitor.sh'      # Bash users
alias gh-rate='github-api-monitor.zsh'     # Zsh users (enhanced features)
alias gh-rate='github-api-monitor.fish'    # Fish users (native Fish features)
alias gh-rate-watch='gh-rate --watch'      # Quick watch mode

📋 For complete shell installation instructions, setup, and troubleshooting, see INSTALL.md

🏃 Quick Start

Babashka Version (Recommended)

# Basic usage
./github-api-monitor.clj --token ghp_your_token_here

# JSON output for automation
./github-api-monitor.clj --token ghp_your_token_here --format json

# Continuous monitoring
./github-api-monitor.clj --token ghp_your_token_here --watch --interval 30

# Verbose mode with headers
./github-api-monitor.clj --token ghp_your_token_here --verbose --headers

# Run comprehensive test suite
bb test

# Quick smoke test
bb test-quick

Shell Versions

After installation, you can use either the direct commands or convenient aliases:

Using Direct Commands

# Bash version
github-api-monitor.sh --token ghp_your_token_here

# Zsh version (enhanced features)
github-api-monitor.zsh --token ghp_your_token_here --format json

# Fish version (native Fish features)
github-api-monitor.fish --token ghp_your_token_here --format json

Using Aliases (if configured)

# Quick check (uses your gh-rate alias)
gh-rate --token ghp_your_token_here

# Continuous monitoring (uses gh-rate-watch alias)
gh-rate-watch --token ghp_your_token_here --interval 30

# Tab completion works with Zsh and Fish versions!
github-api-monitor.zsh --format <TAB>   # Shows: table json compact
github-api-monitor.fish --format <TAB>  # Shows: table json compact

📖 Usage

Babashka Version

./github-api-monitor.clj [OPTIONS]

Shell Versions

You can use the scripts in two ways:

# Direct commands (always work)
github-api-monitor.sh [OPTIONS]
github-api-monitor.zsh [OPTIONS]
github-api-monitor.fish [OPTIONS]

# Convenient aliases (if you set them up during installation)
gh-rate [OPTIONS]              # Points to your preferred version
gh-rate-watch [OPTIONS]        # Quick watch mode

Command Options

Option	Description	Default
`-t, --token TOKEN`	GitHub personal access token (required)	-
`-f, --format FORMAT`	Output format: `table`, `json`, `compact`	`table`
`-c, --config FILE`	Configuration file path	`~/.github-api-monitor`
`-w, --watch`	Continuous monitoring mode	`false`
`-i, --interval SECONDS`	Refresh interval for watch mode	`60`
`-H, --headers`	Show raw HTTP headers	`false`
`-v, --verbose`	Enable verbose output	`false`
`-h, --help`	Show help message	-
`--version`	Show version information	-
`--setup-fish`	Add Fish shell abbreviations (Fish only)	-

Fish Shell Abbreviations

Fish users can set up convenient abbreviations for faster access:

# Set up abbreviations (run once in Fish)
./github-api-monitor.fish --setup-fish

# After setup, use these shortcuts:
gh-rate --token YOUR_TOKEN                    # Basic monitoring
gh-rate-json --token YOUR_TOKEN               # JSON output
gh-rate-watch --token YOUR_TOKEN              # Continuous monitoring
gh-rate-verbose --token YOUR_TOKEN            # Verbose output

The abbreviations persist across Fish sessions and expand when you type them, providing convenient shortcuts while maintaining full transparency.

⚙️ Configuration

Token Setup

Create a GitHub Personal Access Token:

Go to GitHub Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens
Generate a new token (classic or fine-grained)
No special scopes required - basic access is sufficient

Config File

Store your token to avoid passing it each time:

echo "GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_your_token_here" > ~/.github-api-monitor
chmod 600 ~/.github-api-monitor # it's just for your eyes

# Now use without --token flag
github-api-monitor.sh    # Direct command
gh-rate                  # Or alias (if configured)

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
`GITHUB_TOKEN`	GitHub personal access token
`GITHUB_API_MONITOR_CONFIG`	Alternative config file path

📊 Output Formats

Table Format (Default)

GitHub GraphQL API Rate Limit Status
=====================================

User:                your-username
Current Time:        2025-09-13 10:30:45 UTC

Rate Limit Information:
Limit:               5000 points/hour
Used:                150 points (3.0%)
Remaining:           4850 points
Status:              Low
Query Cost:          1 points

Reset Information:
Reset Time:          2025-09-13 11:00:00 UTC
Time Remaining:      29m

Recommendations:
✓  Usage is within normal limits

JSON Format

{
  "timestamp": "2025-09-13T10:30:45Z",
  "user": "your-username",
  "rateLimit": {
    "limit": 5000,
    "used": 150,
    "remaining": 4850,
    "usagePercentage": 3.0,
    "resetAt": "2025-09-13T11:00:00Z",
    "cost": 1
  },
  "status": "low"
}

Compact Format

your-username: 150/5000 (3.0%) - 4850 remaining

🔧 Examples

Basic Monitoring

Babashka Version (Recommended)

# Check current status
./github-api-monitor.clj --token ghp_your_token_here

# With verbose logging and headers
./github-api-monitor.clj --token ghp_your_token_here --verbose --headers

# Compact format for quick checks
./github-api-monitor.clj --format compact

Shell Versions

# Check current status (direct command)
github-api-monitor.sh --token ghp_your_token_here

# Or using alias (if configured)
gh-rate --token ghp_your_token_here

# With verbose logging
github-api-monitor.sh --token ghp_your_token_here --verbose

Continuous Monitoring

Babashka Version (Recommended)

# Continuous monitoring with 30-second intervals
./github-api-monitor.clj --token ghp_your_token_here --watch --interval 30

# JSON output for parsing and automation
./github-api-monitor.clj --token ghp_your_token_here --watch --format json --interval 60

Shell Versions

# Direct command approach
github-api-monitor.sh --token ghp_your_token_here --watch --interval 30

# Or using alias (if configured)
gh-rate-watch --token ghp_your_token_here --interval 30

# JSON output for parsing (zsh version)
github-api-monitor.zsh --token ghp_your_token_here --watch --format json

Scripting Integration

Babashka Version (Recommended)

# Get usage percentage for automation - cleaner JSON parsing
USAGE=$(./github-api-monitor.clj --token ghp_your_token_here --format json | jq -r '.rateLimit.usagePercentage')

if (( $(echo "$USAGE > 90.0" | bc -l) )); then
    echo "⚠️  API usage critical: ${USAGE}%"
    exit 1
fi

# Or use compact format for simple parsing
COMPACT=$(./github-api-monitor.clj --format compact)
echo "Current status: $COMPACT"

Shell Versions

# Get usage percentage for automation (use direct command for reliability)
USAGE=$(github-api-monitor.sh --token ghp_your_token_here --format json | jq -r '.rateLimit.usagePercentage')

if (( $(echo "$USAGE > 90" | bc -l) )); then
    echo "⚠️  API usage critical: ${USAGE}%"
    exit 1
fi

CI/CD Pipeline

Babashka Version (Recommended)

# GitHub Actions example with Babashka
- name: Setup Babashka
  uses: tachyons/setup-babashka@v1
  with:
    babashka-version: 1.3.185

- name: Check API Rate Limits
  run: |
    ./github-api-monitor.clj --token ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }} --format compact
    if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
      echo "Rate limit check failed"
      exit 1
    fi

Shell Versions

# GitHub Actions example (you'd need to install in CI too)
- name: Check API Rate Limits
  run: |
    github-api-monitor.sh --token ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }} --format compact
    if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
      echo "Rate limit check failed"
      exit 1
    fi

🧪 Testing

Babashka Version Testing

The Babashka implementation includes a comprehensive test suite via bb.edn tasks:

# Run all tests (comprehensive test suite)
bb test

# Quick smoke test (fast validation)
bb test-quick

# List available tasks
bb tasks

Test Coverage

The test suite validates:

Help functionality - Validates --help output and content
Version display - Confirms --version shows correct version number
Error handling - Tests invalid token handling with proper exit codes
Output formats - Validates table, JSON, and compact formats
Configuration loading - Confirms config file detection and token loading

Test Features

🎯 Comprehensive coverage of all major functionality
⚡ Process isolation - Each test runs CLI as separate process
🛡️ Graceful degradation - Skips tests when tokens unavailable
📊 Clear reporting - Emoji indicators and detailed status messages
🔄 Smart token detection - Uses environment or config file when available

Sample Test Output

🧪 Testing GitHub API Monitor (Babashka Implementation)
= ============================================================

1️⃣  Testing help functionality...
✅ Help test passed
   ✓ Help message contains expected title

2️⃣  Testing version display...
✅ Version test passed
   ✓ Version number correct

3️⃣  Testing error handling with invalid token...
✅ Invalid token error handling passed

4️⃣  Testing output formats...
   Testing table format...
   ✅ Table format test passed
   Testing JSON format...
   ✅ JSON format test passed
   Testing compact format...
   ✅ Compact format test passed

5️⃣  Testing configuration file loading...
   ✅ Configuration file exists
   ✅ Configuration loading test passed

🎉 Test suite completed!
= ============================================================

🏗️ Architecture

The project provides multiple implementations optimized for different use cases:

Babashka Version (Modern Architecture)

github-api-monitor/
├── github-api-monitor.clj    # 🎯 Babashka/Clojure implementation (RECOMMENDED)
├── bb.edn                    # Babashka build configuration with test tasks
└── README.md                 # This documentation

Babashka Implementation Features:

Self-contained: Single file with all functionality
Fast startup: Native binary execution via GraalVM
Built-in libraries: HTTP client, JSON processing, CLI parsing, file system operations
Advanced error handling: Comprehensive exception handling with specific error types
Security-first: File permission validation, token pattern checking
Professional output: Sophisticated formatting with color detection
Built-in testing: Comprehensive test suite via bb.edn tasks

Shell Versions (Multi-Shell Architecture)

The shell versions use a hybrid approach with shared components:

gh-api-tools/
├── github-api-monitor.sh     # Bash implementation
├── github-api-monitor.zsh    # Zsh implementation
├── github-api-monitor.fish   # Fish implementation
├── shared/
│   ├── core.sh              # Common utilities (POSIX compatible)
│   ├── api.sh               # GitHub API interaction
│   └── formatters.sh        # Output formatting
├── completions/
│   └── github-api-monitor.fish  # Fish shell completions
└── README.md                # This file

Implementation Comparison

Babashka Version (Recommended):

Runtime: Native binary (GraalVM compiled)
Startup time: < 100ms
Dependencies: Only Babashka binary required
Error handling: Comprehensive with specific exception types
Maintainability: Single file, modern language features
Security: Built-in file permission and token validation
Cross-platform: Excellent (native binaries available)

Shell Versions:

Bash Version:

Full compatibility with bash 3.2+
Uses traditional bash argument parsing
Standard error handling

Zsh Version:

Enhanced argument parsing with zparseopts
Built-in tab completion support
Improved error handling with Zsh features
Better signal management

Fish Version:

Native Fish argument parsing with argparse
Advanced tab completion system
Fish abbreviations for convenient shortcuts
Fish-specific variable handling and syntax
Enhanced signal handling with Fish event system

Cross-Platform Compatibility

Babashka Version:

Native binaries: Available for Linux, macOS, Windows
No runtime dependencies: Self-contained executable
Consistent behavior: Same functionality across all platforms

Shell Versions:

POSIX awk compliance: All awk usage strictly follows POSIX standards for maximum compatibility across Linux, macOS, and other Unix-like systems
Portable shell scripting: Uses POSIX-compatible features wherever possible
Standard utilities: Relies only on common Unix utilities (curl, jq, awk) available across platforms

🚧 Exit Codes

Code	Description
`0`	Success
`1`	General error
`2`	Invalid arguments
`3`	Missing dependencies
`4`	Authentication error
`5`	API error

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guide for details.

📜 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

⭐ Star this repo if you find it helpful!

Made with ❤️ and 🤖🧃 (Copilot and Claude) by Simon Neutert