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Ingest knowledge from GitHub

Written by , Principal Architect, Networks and Tech, AskVault · Reviewed by Allison Chan
Last updated: 3 min read

What gets imported

For the repo URL you paste in:

  • README. The first of README.md, readme.md, README.rst, README.txt, or README found at the repo root, on the branch you specify.
  • The /docs folder. Every .md, .rst, and .txt file directly under /docs on that branch, up to 50 files.
  • The wiki home page. Only if you check "Include Wiki pages" — pulls the wiki's Home.md, nothing else on the wiki.

What's not imported:

  • Issues and Discussions. Not fetched by this integration.
  • Pull requests.
  • Code files outside /docs.
  • Nested doc subfolders. Only files directly inside /docs are read, not /docs/** recursively.
  • Private repositories. The fetch is unauthenticated, so it only works on repos that are public.

Setup walkthrough

Under a minute:

  1. Open Knowledge Hub > Add Source > GitHub.
  2. Paste the repository URL (e.g. https://github.com/owner/repo).
  3. Set the branch (defaults to main).
  4. Toggle "Include README" (on by default) and "Include Wiki pages" (off by default).
  5. Click Import.

AskVault fetches and indexes everything it finds in that one pass, then reports how many documents were imported.

Refreshing content

There's no background sync. To pick up new commits or doc edits:

  • Run the import again with the same repo URL and branch.
  • Pages are matched by URL, so a page whose content hasn't changed is left alone, and a page that changed gets re-indexed with the new content.

Sample questions the bot can answer

Once indexed:

  • "How do I install this package?" → README answer.
  • "What's the rate limit on the API?" → /docs/rate-limits.md.
  • "What's the rollback procedure?" → /docs/runbooks/rollback.md (only if that file sits directly in /docs, not a subfolder).

Each answer cites the source file.

Plan availability

  • Free, Starter, Growth. No GitHub integration.
  • Business and above. GitHub import available. Business+

Common pitfalls

"No readable content found in this repository." The repo has no README at the root and no files directly under /docs on the branch you specified. Check the branch name, or import specific docs via file upload instead.

Private repo import fails. Private repos aren't supported — make the repo public, or upload the docs directly as files.

Docs live in a subfolder of /docs, e.g. /docs/guides/. Only the top level of /docs is read today. Move the files up a level, or use file upload for the rest.

Wiki didn't import. "Include Wiki pages" only fetches the wiki's Home.md. Other wiki pages aren't fetched — copy them into the repo's /docs folder, or upload them as files.

FAQ

Does this work for private repositories?

No — the import uses GitHub's public endpoints without authentication. For private-repo content, upload the relevant docs as files instead.

Does AskVault keep this repo in sync automatically?

No, there's no scheduled or webhook-based sync. Re-run the import to refresh; unchanged pages are skipped and changed pages are re-indexed.

Can I index GitHub Issues or Discussions?

Not with this integration today.

Does this work for docs nested deeper than /docs?

Only files directly inside /docs are picked up (not /docs/** subfolders). For deeper structures, use file upload or URL crawling against your rendered docs site.

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