Fix GitHub API authentication and add stats caching for resilient tracking

[Copilot]

The stats tracker was failing to collect GitHub metrics, leaving github: {} empty in all historical snapshots.

Changes

Authentication

• Updated authorization header from deprecated token to Bearer format for GitHub App tokens (GITHUB_TOKEN)

Error handling

• Parse actual error messages from API response bodies instead of generic HTTP codes
• Differentiate between rate limiting, permission issues, and missing endpoints
• Changed bare except: to except Exception: to avoid catching system exits

Stats caching

• Preserve last successful GitHub stats when API calls fail
• Add github_cached flag and visual indicators in output when using cached data

Workflow

• Added metadata: read permission for repository metadata access

Example

When API calls fail, the tracker now preserves previous data:

# Before: API failure → empty stats
{"github": {}}

# After: API failure → cached stats with indicator
{
  "github": {"stars": 42, "forks": 5, ...},
  "github_cached": true
}

Error messages are now actionable:

⚠️  GitHub API error (403): API rate limit exceeded
💡 Set GITHUB_TOKEN env var for higher rate limits.

Warning

Firewall rules blocked me from connecting to one or more addresses (expand for details)

I tried to connect to the following addresses, but was blocked by firewall rules:

• https://api.github.com/repos/Lackadaisical-Security/Voynich-Script-Decoded
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/python3 python3 realtime_stats_tracker.py (http block)
  • Triggering command: `/usr/bin/python3 python3 -c
    import os
    import urllib.request
    import json

token = os.environ.get('GITHUB_TOKEN', None)
print(f'Token exists: {token is not None}')
print(f'Token length: {len(token) if token else 0}')

Try a simple API call

url = 'REDACTED` (http block)

• Triggering command: `/usr/bin/python3 python3 -c
  import urllib.request
  import urllib.error
  import json

url = 'REDACTED'
headers = {'Accept': 'application/vnd.github.v3+json'}

try:
req = urllib.request.Request(url, headers=headers)` (http block)

• https://api.github.com/repos/Lackadaisical-Security/Voynich-Script-Decoded/contributors
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/python3 python3 realtime_stats_tracker.py (http block)
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/python3 python3 realtime_stats_tracker.py queries -J-Xmx6101M _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ conf�� get --global /usr/sbin/git credential.helpe/opt/hostedtoolcache/CodeQL/2.23.8/x64/codeql/tools/linux64/java/bin/java (http block)
• https://api.github.com/repos/Lackadaisical-Security/Voynich-Script-Decoded/releases
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/python3 python3 realtime_stats_tracker.py (http block)
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/python3 python3 realtime_stats_tracker.py queries -J-Xmx6101M _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ conf�� get --global /usr/sbin/git credential.helpe/opt/hostedtoolcache/CodeQL/2.23.8/x64/codeql/tools/linux64/java/bin/java (http block)
• https://api.github.com/repos/Lackadaisical-Security/Voynich-Script-Decoded/traffic/clones
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/python3 python3 realtime_stats_tracker.py (http block)
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/python3 python3 realtime_stats_tracker.py queries -J-Xmx6101M _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ conf�� get --global /usr/sbin/git credential.helpe/opt/hostedtoolcache/CodeQL/2.23.8/x64/codeql/tools/linux64/java/bin/java (http block)
• https://api.github.com/repos/Lackadaisical-Security/Voynich-Script-Decoded/traffic/views
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/python3 python3 realtime_stats_tracker.py (http block)
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/python3 python3 realtime_stats_tracker.py queries -J-Xmx6101M _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ conf�� get --global /usr/sbin/git credential.helpe/opt/hostedtoolcache/CodeQL/2.23.8/x64/codeql/tools/linux64/java/bin/java (http block)

If you need me to access, download, or install something from one of these locations, you can either:

• Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
• Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)

Original prompt

Could you fix the real-time stats api to properly track?

---

💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.

[Lackadaisical-Security]

looks good hopefully goes through properly this round xd