1.1.1.1 GitHub Apps

GitHub Apps are first-class actors within GitHub. A GitHub App acts on its own behalf, taking actions via the API directly using its own identity, which means you don’t need to maintain a bot or service account as a separate user.

GitHub Apps are applications that need to be hosted somewhere. To install a GitHub App, you must be an organization owner or have admin permissions in a repository. By default, only organization owners can manage the settings of GitHub Apps in an organization.

To improve your workflow, you can create a GitHub App that contains multiple scripts or an entire application, and then connect that app to many other tools.

• For example, you can connect GitHub Apps to GitHub, Slack, other in-house apps you may have, email programs, or other APIs.

GitHub Apps can be installed directly on organizations and user accounts and granted access to specific repositories. They come with built-in webhooks and narrow, specific permissions. When you set up your GitHub App, you can select the repositories you want it to access.

• For example, you can set up an app called MyGitHub that writes issues in the octocat repository and only the octocat repository.

For a walkthrough of the process of building a GitHub App, see:

• Building Your First GitHub App

• A user or organization can own up to 100 GitHub Apps.
• A GitHub App should take actions independent of a user
• Make sure the GitHub App integrates with specific repositories.
• The GitHub App should connect to a personal account or an organization.
• Don’t expect the GitHub App to know and do everything a user can.
• Don’t use a GitHub App if you just need a "Login with GitHub" service. But a GitHub App can use a user identification flow to log users in and do other things.
• Don’t build a GitHub App if you only want to act as a GitHub user and do everything that user can do.