GitHub supports Member accounts and GitHub App. Each person connects their own GitHub account in both modes. Live Search calls GitHub's APIs for issues, pull requests, code, repositories, and commits on github.com.
Member accounts
An admin adds GitHub in Settings → Sources, selects Member accounts, and saves. Each member connects GitHub from Integrations. There is no admin repository selection in this mode: the member's provider access determines what they can search.
Native GitHub qualifiers such as repo:, org:, and user: can narrow an individual search. Without an explicit scope, discovery is bounded to the connected account's first 100 affiliated repositories. Provider search and pagination limits still apply.
Add a repository
For an organization-selected repository boundary, use GitHub App:
- Open Settings → Sources → Add source → GitHub, choose GitHub App, and select Add repository.
- Connect the GitHub App installation. Choose the account or organization and approve its repository access. An organization owner may need to approve or perform installation.
- Choose one repository from the searchable Repository picker. Installing on all repositories does not automatically add them all to Search.
- Optionally set Path Filter and File Extensions for code results, then save.
- Use Add repository again for every additional repository.
- Each teammate opens Integrations → GitHub → Connect and authorizes their own account.
The App installation and personal authorization are separate. A member connects once per Sim organization; adding another repository reuses that connection. The member never receives the installer's permissions.
GitHub's live code search uses the default branch, so the live source form does not offer a branch setting. Path and extension filters apply to code; they do not narrow issue text by file path.
How access and filtering work
Search queries GitHub using the member's connected token. In App mode, Sim scopes the query to configured repositories. For each result, it checks the installation's current repository access, obtains a repository-scoped read token, verifies stable repository and owner identities under both tokens, and applies the source's code filters.
Document reads use the member token and repeat the same boundary checks. A personal repository outside the selected sources is excluded even when the member can read it. Removing a repository from the App or revoking the member's access blocks later requests once GitHub reflects the change.
There is no content crawl, PDF/Office extraction, embedding, or indexed-document retry in live GitHub Search. Provider search freshness, API limits, and supported search types determine coverage. Code search is not a complete inventory of every file.
Pull requests, comments, and reviews
Reading an issue includes its conversation comments. Reading a pull request also includes submitted review events and inline review comments. Each entry retains its author, timestamp, and GitHub link; inline comments include file/line context, review and reply identifiers, and the relevant diff excerpt. Review states describe individual historical events, so an earlier approval does not establish the current merge approval status.
Use native searches with kind issues for both issues and pull requests:
| Question | Example query |
|---|---|
| Where was a migration discussed? | repo:org/repo is:pr migration in:comments |
| Which PRs need changes? | repo:org/repo is:pr review:changes_requested |
| Which PRs did someone review? | repo:org/repo is:pr reviewed-by:octocat |
| Which PRs are awaiting someone's review? | repo:org/repo is:pr review-requested:octocat |
GitHub searches title, body, and conversation comments when in: is omitted. Search previews use matching passages when GitHub supplies them, including comment matches. Inline review text is available when reading a matching PR; do not treat issue search as an exhaustive search across inline reviews. First locate the PR by repository, title, participant, or review state, then read its discussion.
Reads retrieve up to three pages of 50 entries for each GitHub discussion category, in provider order, with a 120,000-character limit per category. When an endpoint fails or a limit is reached, the document starts with an incomplete-coverage notice while retaining the available content. Open the GitHub source for remaining history. Large reads can also require continuing through the returned document offsets.
Manage repositories
Open Settings → Sources → GitHub to add repositories or change their settings. Replace a connection only with one that can access the same configured repository; use Add repository for another repository. Removing a source stops subsequent Search access through that source.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Next step |
|---|---|
| GitHub is unavailable | Add the source and check the deployment's GitHub Search App configuration. |
| Repository missing from the picker | Confirm the installation includes it and that the selected account can read it. |
| Member cannot find an allowed repository | Confirm both personal access and App installation access. Check GitHub SSO and app policies. |
| The wrong account is connected | Disconnect or reconnect with the intended GitHub account. |
| A file does not appear in search | Check the default branch, path/extensions, GitHub code-search behavior, and provider limits. |
| Installation does not return to Sim | Check the App setup URL and Redirect on update settings. |
| Reconnect appears | Renew the member grant; changing App permissions may require renewed approval. |
Self-hosted Sim operators configure the App using GitHub Search setup. This adapter does not support GitHub Enterprise Server or ghe.com hosts. Ordinary GitHub knowledge-base connectors retain their separate indexing behavior.