GITHUB-EXPORT-IMPORT-STARS

Seamlessly Transfer Your GitHub Stars, Effortlessly.

GitHub Export Import Stars

This project allows you to transfer starred repositories from one GitHub account to another. It's a Python script that uses the GitHub API to fetch starred repositories from a source account and star them in a target account.

Why?

I had a lot of stars in a "legacy" GitHub account, and I wanted to re-star all the repos on my new "main" GitHub account.

About 1,283 stars to be exact - took this script about 30 mins to run (due to safely rate limiting API calls). All while I sat back, relaxed, and caught up on some YouTube subscription videos ... 🥳

... profit ???

Features

• Export starred repositories from one GitHub account
• Import (star) repositories to another GitHub account
• Dry run option to preview actions without making changes
• Detailed logging for debugging and monitoring
• Support for command-line arguments and environment variables
• Handles GitHub API rate limiting gracefully

Prerequisites

• Python 3.6+
• GitHub Personal Access Tokens for both source and target accounts

Obtaining GitHub Personal Access Tokens

To use this script, you need to create Personal Access Tokens for both the source (export) and target (import) GitHub accounts. Here's how to create them:

1. Log in to your GitHub account.
2. Navigate to https://github.com/settings/tokens
3. Click "Generate new token" and select "Generate new token (classic)".
4. Give your token a descriptive name (e.g., Star Import/Export).
5. For the required permissions, select the following scopes:
   • public_repo: Allows the script to read public repositories and manage your stars.
   • read:user: Allows the script to read user profile data.
6. Click "Generate token" at the bottom of the page.
7. Copy the generated token immediately and store it securely. You won't be able to see it again!

Repeat this process for both the export and import accounts.

Important: Keep your tokens secret and secure. Treat them like passwords. Do not share them or expose them in public repositories.

Installation

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/richardadonnell/github-export-import-stars.git
   cd github-export-import-stars

2. Install the required dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Copy the .env.example file to .env and fill in your GitHub tokens:

   cp .env.example .env

   Edit the .env file:

   GITHUB_EXPORT_TOKEN=your_export_token_here
   GITHUB_IMPORT_TOKEN=your_import_token_here

   Replace your_export_token_here and your_import_token_here with the actual tokens you generated.

Usage

Run the script using the following command:

python app.py [--export-token TOKEN] [--import-token TOKEN] [--run]

Arguments:

• --export-token: Access token for the account to export stars from (optional if set in .env)
• --import-token: Access token for the account to import stars to (optional if set in .env)
• --run: Actually star repositories (default is dry run)

If tokens are not provided as arguments, the script will use the values from the .env file.

Dry Run (Default)

By default, the script runs in dry run mode. In this mode:

1. It will not actually star any repositories.
2. It will log the repositories it would have starred.
3. It will create a file named repos_to_star.txt in the same directory, containing the full names of the repositories that would be starred.

To perform a dry run:

python app.py

Actually Starring Repositories

To actually star the repositories, use the --run flag:

python app.py --run

This will perform the actual starring operation.

Output

The script produces the following outputs:

1. Console output: Displays INFO level messages about the script's progress.
2. debug.log file: Contains detailed DEBUG level messages for troubleshooting.
3. repos_to_star.txt file: (In dry run mode only) Contains the list of repository full names that would be starred.

Logging

The script generates two types of logs:

1. Console output: Displays INFO level messages.
2. File log: Detailed DEBUG level messages are written to debug.log.

Error Handling

The script includes error handling to manage potential issues such as:

• Invalid tokens
• Network errors
• Rate limiting
• Repository access issues

Errors are logged both to the console and the debug log file. The script handles GitHub API rate limiting by waiting appropriately before retrying.

Security Notes

• Never commit your .env file or share your GitHub tokens.
• Use tokens with the minimum required permissions (public_repo and read:user scopes).
• Consider using short-lived tokens and rotating them regularly.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

GPLv3 License

Disclaimer

This tool is not officially associated with GitHub. Use it responsibly and in accordance with GitHub's terms of service.