GraphQL: Fetch repository releases since point in time

[KieranP]

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I maintain the github releases feed: https://github.com/KieranP/Github-Releases-Feed

It loops over starred github repos and shows the last month of releases.

Currently I need to fetch the past 100 releases:

releases(
  first: 100,
  orderBy: { field: CREATED_AT, direction: DESC }
) {
  nodes {
    id
    name
  }
}

This works, but it's slow. Some repos only have 1 release every 6 months, so fetching 100 and then discarding all of them is slow.

I would like to ask Github for a way to filter releases to a certain time frame. e.g.

releases(
  first: 100,
  since: "30.days.ago",
  orderBy: { field: CREATED_AT, direction: DESC }
) {
  nodes {
    id
    name
  }
}

This would greatly cut back on the amount of data being fetched, reducing load on Github servers and reducing load time on the github feed.

[anirudh-svg]

Thanks for sharing this — the use case is very clear, and it’s a good example of where filtering could significantly improve performance for both clients and GitHub’s infrastructure.

Right now, the GraphQL API does not support time-based filtering (since, created_after, etc.) for releases. The only available approach is to request a fixed number of recent items and discard anything that falls outside your desired date window, as you're currently doing.

For repositories with infrequent releases, this leads to unnecessary data transfers and slower response times.

A time-range filter on the releases connection (e.g., since, createdAfter, or createdAt_gte) would be extremely useful. It would:

• Reduce the amount of data fetched
• Improve API responsiveness for clients
• Reduce load on GitHub’s API servers
• Provide a more consistent pattern with other APIs that support timestamp filtering

This is a strong candidate for an API enhancement, and I’m adding my support for it. A date filter would help many developers relying on release automation and feeds.

Thanks for sharing the idea — it would be a great improvement for the GraphQL API.

[KieranP]

I appreciate the support (even if it appears to be an AI auto-response ^_^). Sadly Github staff don't often see or respond to these, so I guess opening this request will be pointless. I've filed a couple of other API requests in the past (such as for a way to tell what scopes are enabled for a Personal Access Token), but they've all been ignored :-( Github doesn't seem too interested in listening to their users these days. They're mostly focused on AI and not much else.

[anirudh-svg]

No bro , please do wait because they do take time to respond . You do have a valid point , I hope they find you soon mate . All the best