Fix GitHub API authentication and add stats caching for resilient tracking

.github/workflows/stats-tracker.yml

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
       contents: write
+      metadata: read
 
     steps:
     - name: Checkout repository

REALTIME_STATS.json

@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 {
-  "timestamp": "2026-01-04T23:06:02.761107Z",
+  "timestamp": "2026-01-05T14:37:41.805435Z",
   "local": {
-    "commit_count": 4,
+    "commit_count": 5,
     "unique_contributors": 2,
-    "last_commit_date": "2026-01-04 23:04:23 +0000",
-    "last_commit_message": "Remove stats files from .gitignore to enable auto-tracking workflow",
-    "current_branch": "copilot/fix-auto-tracking-issues",
+    "last_commit_date": "2026-01-05 14:36:30 +0000",
+    "last_commit_message": "Add caching for GitHub stats when API calls fail",
+    "current_branch": "copilot/fix-real-time-stats-api",
     "tracked_files": 63,
-    "timestamp": "2026-01-04T23:06:02.771988Z"
+    "timestamp": "2026-01-05T14:37:41.816614Z"
   },
   "github": {}
 }

REALTIME_STATS.md

@@ -1,19 +1,19 @@
 # Repository Statistics - Real-Time
 
-**Last Updated:** 2026-01-04T23:06:02.761107Z
+**Last Updated:** 2026-01-05T14:37:41.805435Z
 
 ## 📊 Current Statistics
 
 ### Local Repository
 
 | Metric | Value |
 |--------|-------|
-| 🌿 Current Branch | `copilot/fix-auto-tracking-issues` |
-| 📝 Total Commits | 4 |
+| 🌿 Current Branch | `copilot/fix-real-time-stats-api` |
+| 📝 Total Commits | 5 |
 | 👥 Contributors | 2 |
 | 📄 Tracked Files | 63 |
-| 🕐 Last Commit | 2026-01-04 23:04:23 |
-| 💬 Last Message | Remove stats files from .gitignore to enable auto-tracking workflow |
+| 🕐 Last Commit | 2026-01-05 14:36:30 |
+| 💬 Last Message | Add caching for GitHub stats when API calls fail |
 
 ---
 
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 Add these to your README.md:
 
 ```markdown
-<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/commits-4-orange?style=flat-square">
+<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/commits-5-orange?style=flat-square">
 ```
 
 ---

STATS_HISTORY.json

@@ -89,5 +89,83 @@
       "timestamp": "2026-01-04T23:06:02.771988Z"
     },
     "github": {}
+  },
+  {
+    "timestamp": "2026-01-05T14:28:02.069860Z",
+    "local": {
+      "commit_count": 2,
+      "unique_contributors": 2,
+      "last_commit_date": "2026-01-05 14:26:06 +0000",
+      "last_commit_message": "Initial plan",
+      "current_branch": "copilot/fix-real-time-stats-api",
+      "tracked_files": 63,
+      "timestamp": "2026-01-05T14:28:02.080588Z"
+    },
+    "github": {}
+  },
+  {
+    "timestamp": "2026-01-05T14:28:11.901823Z",
+    "local": {
+      "commit_count": 2,
+      "unique_contributors": 2,
+      "last_commit_date": "2026-01-05 14:26:06 +0000",
+      "last_commit_message": "Initial plan",
+      "current_branch": "copilot/fix-real-time-stats-api",
+      "tracked_files": 63,
+      "timestamp": "2026-01-05T14:28:11.912102Z"
+    },
+    "github": {}
+  },
+  {
+    "timestamp": "2026-01-05T14:31:28.134321Z",
+    "local": {
+      "commit_count": 3,
+      "unique_contributors": 2,
+      "last_commit_date": "2026-01-05 14:30:26 +0000",
+      "last_commit_message": "Initial plan",
+      "current_branch": "copilot/fix-real-time-stats-api",
+      "tracked_files": 63,
+      "timestamp": "2026-01-05T14:31:28.144853Z"
+    },
+    "github": {}
+  },
+  {
+    "timestamp": "2026-01-05T14:32:59.155485Z",
+    "local": {
+      "commit_count": 3,
+      "unique_contributors": 2,
+      "last_commit_date": "2026-01-05 14:30:26 +0000",
+      "last_commit_message": "Initial plan",
+      "current_branch": "copilot/fix-real-time-stats-api",
+      "tracked_files": 63,
+      "timestamp": "2026-01-05T14:32:59.166468Z"
+    },
+    "github": {}
+  },
+  {
+    "timestamp": "2026-01-05T14:36:19.877520Z",
+    "local": {
+      "commit_count": 4,
+      "unique_contributors": 2,
+      "last_commit_date": "2026-01-05 14:33:19 +0000",
+      "last_commit_message": "Improve GitHub API error handling and update auth format",
+      "current_branch": "copilot/fix-real-time-stats-api",
+      "tracked_files": 63,
+      "timestamp": "2026-01-05T14:36:19.888287Z"
+    },
+    "github": {}
+  },
+  {
+    "timestamp": "2026-01-05T14:37:41.805435Z",
+    "local": {
+      "commit_count": 5,
+      "unique_contributors": 2,
+      "last_commit_date": "2026-01-05 14:36:30 +0000",
+      "last_commit_message": "Add caching for GitHub stats when API calls fail",
+      "current_branch": "copilot/fix-real-time-stats-api",
+      "tracked_files": 63,
+      "timestamp": "2026-01-05T14:37:41.816614Z"
+    },
+    "github": {}
   }
 ]

realtime_stats_tracker.py

@@ -34,18 +34,41 @@ def github_api_request(self, endpoint):
 
         token = self.get_github_token()
         if token:
-            headers['Authorization'] = f'token {token}'
+            headers['Authorization'] = f'Bearer {token}'
 
         try:
             req = urllib.request.Request(url, headers=headers)
             with urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=10) as response:
                 return json.loads(response.read().decode())
         except urllib.error.HTTPError as e:
+            # Try to get detailed error message from response body
+            error_msg = None
+            try:
+                error_body = e.read().decode()
+                error_data = json.loads(error_body)
+                error_msg = error_data.get('message', '')
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+
             if e.code == 403:
-                print(f"⚠️  GitHub API rate limit reached. Set GITHUB_TOKEN env var for higher limits.")
+                if error_msg:
+                    print(f"⚠️  GitHub API error (403): {error_msg}")
+                    if 'rate limit' in error_msg.lower():
+                        print(f"💡 Set GITHUB_TOKEN env var for higher rate limits.")
+                    elif 'credentials' in error_msg.lower() or 'token' in error_msg.lower():
+                        print(f"💡 Check that GITHUB_TOKEN has the correct permissions.")
+                else:
+                    print(f"⚠️  GitHub API access denied (403). Set GITHUB_TOKEN env var with proper permissions.")
+                return None
+            elif e.code == 404:
+                print(f"⚠️  GitHub API endpoint not found (404): {endpoint}")
+                return None
+            else:
+                if error_msg:
+                    print(f"⚠️  GitHub API error {e.code}: {error_msg}")
+                else:
+                    print(f"⚠️  GitHub API error {e.code}: {e.reason}")
                 return None
-            print(f"⚠️  GitHub API error {e.code}: {e.reason}")
-            return None
         except Exception as e:
             print(f"⚠️  Error fetching from GitHub API: {e}")
             return None
@@ -151,12 +174,28 @@ def collect_stats(self):
         """Collect all statistics"""
         print("🔍 Collecting repository statistics...\n")
 
+        # Try to load previous stats for fallback
+        previous_github_stats = {}
+        if self.stats_file.exists():
+            try:
+                with open(self.stats_file, 'r') as f:
+                    previous_data = json.load(f)
+                    previous_github_stats = previous_data.get('github', {})
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+
         stats = {
             "timestamp": datetime.now(UTC).strftime('%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%fZ'),
             "local": self.get_local_git_stats(),
             "github": self.get_github_stats()
         }
 
+        # If GitHub stats are empty but we have previous stats, preserve them
+        if not stats["github"] and previous_github_stats:
+            print("ℹ️  Using cached GitHub stats from previous successful fetch")
+            stats["github"] = previous_github_stats
+            stats["github_cached"] = True
+
         return stats
 
     def save_stats(self, stats):
@@ -226,6 +265,8 @@ def display_stats(self, stats):
         # GitHub stats
         if stats.get("github"):
             print("\n🌐 GITHUB STATISTICS:")
+            if stats.get("github_cached"):
+                print("   ℹ️  (Using cached data from previous successful fetch)")
             print("-" * 80)
             gh = stats["github"]
             print(f"  ⭐ Stars:          {gh.get('stars', 'N/A')}")
@@ -251,7 +292,12 @@ def generate_stats_markdown(self, stats):
         md = f"""# Repository Statistics - Real-Time
 
 **Last Updated:** {stats['timestamp']}
-
+"""
+
+        if stats.get("github_cached"):
+            md += "\n> ℹ️ **Note:** GitHub metrics below are cached from previous successful fetch (current API call failed)\n"
+
+        md += """
 ## 📊 Current Statistics
 
 """