How to Use GitHub Commit Status API to Track Build Status in Java

Using GitHub Commit Status API in Java

• To track build statuses using the GitHub Commit Status API in Java, you need to interface with the GitHub API. This requires using a library that can handle HTTP requests and responses effectively, such as Apache HttpClient or OkHttp.

 

• Begin by setting up your project with the necessary dependencies. You may choose to add external libraries via Maven or Gradle. For this guide, let's assume the use of OkHttp. Add OkHttp dependencies in your `pom.xml` (for Maven) or `build.gradle` (for Gradle).

<!-- Maven dependency for OkHttp -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.squareup.okhttp3</groupId>
    <artifactId>okhttp</artifactId>
    <version>4.9.3</version>
</dependency>

// Gradle dependency for OkHttp
implementation 'com.squareup.okhttp3:okhttp:4.9.3'

Authorize Your Requests

• Accessing the GitHub API requires authorization. Generate a personal access token from your GitHub account settings with appropriate scopes. Store this token securely and use it in your HTTP headers for authorization.

 

• Here is how you can set up your OkHttp request with the authorization token:

import okhttp3.OkHttpClient;
import okhttp3.Request;
import okhttp3.Response;

public class GitHubStatusTracker {

    private static final String GITHUB_API_URL = "https://api.github.com";
    private static final String REPO = "owner/repo"; // replace with your repo
    private static final String SHA = "commit_sha"; // replace with your commit SHA
    private static final String TOKEN = "your_personal_access_token";

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient();
        Request request = new Request.Builder()
                .url(GITHUB_API_URL + "/repos/" + REPO + "/commits/" + SHA + "/statuses")
                .header("Authorization", "token " + TOKEN)
                .build();

        try (Response response = client.newCall(request).execute()) {
            if (!response.isSuccessful()) throw new IOException("Unexpected code " + response);
            System.out.println(response.body().string());
        }
    }
}

Extract and Use Build Information

• The response from the GitHub API will be a JSON array containing the details of the build statuses associated with the commit. You can parse this JSON to extract relevant information.

 

• Consider using a JSON parsing library like Jackson or Gson to transform the JSON data into Java objects for easier handling.

<!-- Maven dependency for Jackson -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.core</groupId>
    <artifactId>jackson-databind</artifactId>
    <version>2.12.3</version>
</dependency>

import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.type.TypeReference;

public class GitHubStatusTracker {
    // Existing code...

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        // Existing code...

        ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
        List<Status> statuses = mapper.readValue(response.body().string(), new TypeReference<List<Status>>() {});

        for(Status status : statuses) {
            System.out.println("Context: " + status.getContext());
            System.out.println("State: " + status.getState());
            System.out.println("Description: " + status.getDescription());
            System.out.println("Target URL: " + status.getTarget_url());
            System.out.println("---");
        }
    }
}

class Status {
    private String context;
    private String state;
    private String description;
    private String target_url;

    // Getters and Setters
}

Handle Errors and Rate Limits

• Be mindful of API rate limits. GitHub enforces rate limits on API requests, especially for unauthenticated requests. Handle errors and implement retry logic if necessary.

 

• Consider adding exponential backoff or other retry strategies to handle temporary issues or to adhere to rate limits.

// Pseudo code for handling API rate limits and retry logic

try {
    Response response = client.newCall(request).execute();
    if (response.code() == 403 && response.headers("X-RateLimit-Reset") != null) {
        long retryAfter = // calculate wait time from "X-RateLimit-Reset" header
        Thread.sleep(retryAfter);
        // Retry the request
    }
    // handle other responses
} catch (IOException e) {
    // Handle exceptions
}