BREAKING: GitHub MINOR 🔴 GraphQL API Requests Down - Workarounds Inside [vm1w8zq95wkt]

GitHub experiencing partial disruption on GraphQL API. Immediate workarounds for indie hackers relying on API integrations.

BREAKING: GitHub GraphQL API Incident - What You Need to Know

⏰ Status: Investigating | Severity: MINOR | Impact: Partial

---

What's Down & Who's Affected

GitHub is currently experiencing disruptions with GraphQL API requests. This impacts:

CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions that query the GraphQL API

Automation tools (Dependabot, bots, scripts) relying on GraphQL endpoints

Third-party integrations (project management tools, analytics dashboards, custom dashboards)

Local development workflows using GitHub CLI with --json flags

IDE extensions that pull data via GraphQL (branch info, PR status, etc.)

REST API appears operational – this is GraphQL-specific.

---

Immediate Workarounds (Do This Now)

1. Switch to REST API (Temporary)

If your tool supports it, use GitHub's REST API v3 instead of GraphQL: ```bash

Instead of GraphQL queries, use REST endpoints

curl https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/pulls curl https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/issues ```

2. Disable Failing Automations

Pause bots/scripts making GraphQL calls

Prevent retry storms (they won't help and will worsen your rate limit)

Check your GitHub Actions workflows – disable jobs querying GraphQL if non-critical

3. Rate Limit Your Requests

If you must use GraphQL:

Add exponential backoff (wait 60+ seconds between retries)

Reduce polling frequency by 50%

Batch queries where possible to reduce request volume

4. Local Workaround for CLI Users

```bash

Avoid --json flag temporarily

git log --oneline # Instead of: gh pr list --json ```

---

How to Check If Your Project Is Affected

Quick diagnostic checklist:

[ ] Do you use gh CLI with --json output?

[ ] Any custom scripts querying api.github.com/graphql?

[ ] Third-party tools (Linear, Jira, Zapier, custom dashboards) integrated with GitHub?

[ ] GitHub Actions with steps that call GitHub's GraphQL API?

[ ] IDE extensions showing real-time PR/issue data?

If yes to any → you're affected. Check your logs for 502, 503, or graphql errors.

---

Alternative Tools to Consider (Temporary)

| Tool | Use Case | Uptime | |------|----------|--------| | GitHub REST API v3 | Queries, webhooks | ✅ Running | | GitLab API | Multi-repo management | ✅ Independent | | Gitea | Self-hosted alternative | ✅ Your control | | Local git commands | Branch/commit info | ✅ Always available | | Webhooks | Real-time events | ✅ Still active |

Pro tip: Webhook deliveries (push, PR events) are unaffected – use these for triggers instead of polling GraphQL.

---

Monitor Recovery

Track the incident:

1. Official Status: https://www.githubstatus.com/ (refresh every 2 min) 2. Check Your Integrations: Test a simple GraphQL query: ```bash curl -H "Authorization: bearer TOKEN" \ -X POST https://api.github.com/graphql \ -d '{"query": "{ viewer { login } }"}' ``` Green response = recovered. 3. Monitor Alerts: Set up notification on GitHub Status page or use https://isitdown.site/

---

Action Items

✅ Check if you're affected (2 min) ✅ Switch critical services to REST API (5 min) ✅ Disable non-essential automations (5 min) ✅ Monitor status.github.com (ongoing) ✅ Re-enable after GitHub confirms resolution

Expected resolution: GitHub typically resolves GraphQL incidents within 30-60 minutes. No data loss expected.

Stay calm, stay posted. 🚀