How to Use the GitHub User Search Export

Before you start

• Awareness of safe usage:
  • Spread scraping across multiple launches during daytime hours to reduce the risk of hitting GitHub rate limits.
  • GitHub only displays the first 1,000 results of a user search (100 pages × 10 results per page). This Phantom cannot access results beyond that limit.

Step 1: Connect your Github account

To let the Phantom act on your behalf:

1. Install the PhantomBuster browser extension and connect your Github session in one click.
2. If you’re not using Chrome or Firefox, you can retrieve your session cookie manually (see our cookie guide).

Step 2: Provide search URLs

You can give your input in one of three ways:

• A URL:
  • Paste a single GitHub search URL directly in the setup field.
  • Paste the URL of a Google Sheet with your GitHub search URLs (make sure it’s shared with “Anyone with the link”).
  • Or upload a CSV file with your GitHub search URLs (make sure it’s publicly accessible, and note that CSV upload is only available on paid plans).

→ If you’re using a spreadsheet, the Phantom defaults to the first column (A). To use a different column, enter the column’s header name in the field “Column name containing GitHub search URLs.”

Step 3: Configure extraction settings

1. Number of result pages per search (optional):
   • Default = 100.
   • If left empty, the Phantom processes the maximum available results (100).
2. Number of searches to process per launch (optional):
   • Default = empty, the Phantom processes all searches.

Advanced settings (dropdown in setup)

1. Start the search results at a specific page (optional):
   • Add page number you want to resume extraction from a later page.
2. Remove all duplicate profiles (optional):
   • Enable to ensure unique user results across multiple searches.

Result file settings (dropdown in setup)

1. Name your results file (optional)

   • You can customize the file name.

     If you rename the file between launches, the Phantom will create a new results file and start processing inputs from scratch.

2. Fields to keep (optional)
   • Export only the fields you care about by listing them (comma-separated).
     Example: profileUrl, job, location.
   • This generates a second CSV file with just those fields.
   • Learn more in our guide: Customize how your Phantom results files are saved.

Step 4: Select launch frequency

Choose how often the Phantom should run:

1. Launch manually: Start the Phantom yourself whenever you need.
2. Launch once at a specific time: schedule a one-time run at a set date and time.
3. Launch repeatedly: schedule regular runs (e.g. once per day, several times during working hours).
4. Launch after another Phantom: chain automations together so this Phantom starts right after another finishes.
5. Advanced scheduling: customize the exact minutes, hours, days, or months when the Phantom should run.

→ For a complete walkthrough of scheduling options, see our guide to scheduling Phantoms automatically.

Step 5 (Optional): Advanced settings

Advanced settings are available if you want to fine-tune how your Phantom runs, but by default they’re already optimized for most use cases.

We recommend leaving them as they are unless a guide specifically instructs you to change something.

→ For a detailed overview of all advanced options (like execution limits, retries, email notifications, proxies, webhooks, and file management), see our Advanced settings guide.

Launch and results

When you’re ready:

1. Click Launch to start your Phantom.
2. Once it finishes, open the Results tab in the Phantom console.
3. Download your results as a CSV or JSON file.

→ To learn how to export your data to Google Sheets, integrate with other tools, or reuse it in more automations, check our Access and Export your Phantom Results guide.

Export and input limits on the Free plan
If you’re on the Free plan or Free trial, some features are limited:
- CSV exports include only the first 10 rows of results.
- CSV download links (for dynamic viewing in Google Sheets or integrations) are not available.
- JSON exports are not available.
- CSV upload as an input method is not supported.
To unlock all features, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan.

What you give (Input) and What you get (Output)

This section gives you a detailed breakdown of everything you need to provide to run this Phantom, and everything you’ll receive once it completes.

What you give (Input)

What you get (Output)

Tips and troubleshooting

Common pitfalls

• Using a private spreadsheet (make sure it’s set to “Anyone with the link”).
• Expecting more than 1,000 results from a single search: GitHub does not display them.
• Expecting contact or personal data: this Phantom only extracts contributor information visible on the repository page.
  → To enrich contributors with profile details or emails, use the GitHub Profile Scraper Phantom.

If you run into issues

• Check how to troubleshoot your phantom using Logs.
• Browse the Fix Issues & Troubleshoot Errors section for solutions to common problems.
• Review our Automation Rate Limits by Platform guide.
• Check our Best Practices for Social Media Automation guide.

Suggested automations

• GitHub Profile Scraper → Enrich user search results with full profile data (bio, repos, followers, etc.).
• GitHub Contributors Export → Compare search results with repo contributors for deeper targeting.
• GitHub Stargazers Export → Cross-reference stargazers with search results to find engaged developers.
• AI Advanced Enricher → Summarize or personalize outreach to your search results.