AddHttpClientGitHub

AddHttpClientGitHub is an extension method used in .NET applications to register a preconfigured HttpClient for interacting with the GitHub REST API. It relies on the IHttpClientFactory to manage HttpClient lifetimes, improve reliability, and reduce socket exhaustion.

The extension typically configures the client with the GitHub API base address (https://api.github.com/), and sets essential headers such as User-Agent and Accept (application/vnd.github.v3+json). If authentication information is available, it can apply an Authorization header using a personal access token or GitHub App credentials.

Usage involves adding the client to the service collection during startup, for example by calling AddHttpClientGitHub in the DI setup. This registers a named or typed HttpClient that downstream services can request via constructor injection, acquiring a configured HttpClient instance.

Advantages include consistent configuration across callers, centralized management of headers and timeouts, and easier testing through mocking of the client interface. Considerations include respecting GitHub rate limits, handling authentication securely, and configuring retry or backoff policies as needed.

Related concepts include HttpClientFactory, named clients, typed clients, and resilience strategies such as Polly. Overall, AddHttpClientGitHub provides a standardized approach to configuring and consuming GitHub API calls through a dedicated HttpClient within a .NET application.