ExplainGitHub API

ExplainGitHub API lets you build repo-aware AI features

Use repository context to power codebase chat, developer copilots, support tools, and internal workflows.

Customer-facing developer products

Add “ask this repository”, PR summaries, issue copilots, or codebase chat directly into your product experience.

Internal engineering and support tools

Help engineering, support, QA, or ops teams get answers from private repositories without manually searching code and docs.

Docs, onboarding, and automation

Power docs assistants, developer onboarding flows, CI helpers, or internal automation that needs repository context.

Instantly Understand Any GitHub Repository

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ExplainGitHub API is now live. Read the launch and technical walkthrough.

Read more

ExplainGitHub - Repo-aware code understanding in seconds

By ExplainGitHub Team • Nov 6, 2025 • 3 minutes read

ExplainGitHub helps you understand unfamiliar repositories fast. It reads the actual files in a repo and answers with exact file paths, functions, and call flows — so you can onboard, debug, and change code confidently. No fluff — just verifiable, file‑cited answers.

What it is

  • Repo‑aware assistant that cites files and functions in answers
  • Works directly on GitHub repos (and supports GitLab, too)
  • Great for tracing flows, locating logic, and planning changes

Try it: open any GitHub repo and replace github.com with explaingithub.com, then ask a targeted question.

Key features

  • File‑cited answers: returns exact file paths, functions, and line‑of‑attack
  • Repo history: jump back into recent chats without losing context
  • Smart retrieval: indexes repo content for fast, relevant context
  • Saved history: revisit past chats and traces
  • GitHub and GitLab: browse public repos; connect your account for more

How it works (high level)

  1. Ingests repository files (code, docs, comments)
  2. Builds an index for fast retrieval of relevant snippets
  3. Assembles precise context for your question
  4. Responds with verifiable file paths, functions, and flows

Quick start

  1. Open any repo and replace the domain with explaingithub.com

  2. Ask focused questions like:

    Trace the HTTP request → controller → service → DB flow for the upload endpoint.

  3. Click cited files to verify and continue the investigation

Good prompts

  • “Show the request → controller → service → DB flow for createOrder() and cite files.”
  • “Where is pagination implemented for the issues list? Cite functions.”
  • “Which tests cover AuthService.refreshToken and what do they assert?”

When to use it

  • Onboarding a new codebase quickly
  • Finding the source of a bug or a failing test
  • Planning a feature by mapping existing flows and dependencies

Notes on access

  • Public repositories work out of the box
  • For private sources or provider APIs, connect your account in settings; you can revoke at any time

Try it now

Replace github.com with explaingithub.com on any repo and ask:

“Trace the main request → controller → DB flow for the upload endpoint and show the files.”

You’ll see the cited files and functions in seconds.