github.rest.issues.listforRepo.endpoint.merge fails to return some issues

[JJ]

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Question

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Misc

Discussion Details

I'm using this code

const non_paginated_issues =
                await github.rest.issues.listForRepo.endpoint.merge( { owner: user, repo: repo, state: 'all', per_page: 100 })
            let issues;
            try {
                issues = await github.paginate( non_paginated_issues )
            } catch (error) {
                console.error( "Problemas con la paginación ", error );
            }

within a Github action to try and retrieve issues from this repository: https://github.com/chelunike/didactic-chainsaw which has got at least one issue https://github.com/chelunike/didactic-chainsaw/issues. However, the request fails to return that one as issue; it returns the two open pull requests, but not that issue (or any other we've created). Any idea of what can happen or how to debug this?
Update: I'm trying to list it from the milestone, but the same result. Milestone returns that it's got 1 issue, but listing the issues for a milestone results in nothing.

[Omprakash3104]

This is a common issue that often stems from how GitHub's API handles different types of issues. Here are the most likely causes and solutions:

The Problem: Issue vs. Pull Request Confusion
GitHub's API treats pull requests as a special type of issue. When you use issues.listForRepo, by default it may filter out actual "issues" and only return pull requests, or vice versa.

Debugging Steps

1. Check the API Response Structure
   First, let's see what's actually being returned:

javascript
const non_paginated_issues = await github.rest.issues.listForRepo.endpoint.merge({
owner: user,
repo: repo,
state: 'all',
per_page: 100
});

let issues;
try {
issues = await github.paginate(non_paginated_issues);
console.log('Total items returned:', issues.length);
console.log('Items structure:', issues.map(issue => ({
number: issue.number,
title: issue.title,
pull_request: issue.pull_request ? true : false
})));
} catch (error) {
console.error("Pagination error:", error);
}
2. Use the Correct Filter Parameter
Try adding the filter parameter to specify what type of issues you want:

javascript
const non_paginated_issues = await github.rest.issues.listForRepo.endpoint.merge({
owner: user,
repo: repo,
state: 'all',
filter: 'all', // This ensures both issues and PRs are returned
per_page: 100
});
3. Alternative: Use the Search API
If the issues API continues to be problematic, try the search API instead:

javascript
const searchResult = await github.rest.search.issuesAndPullRequests({
q: repo:${user}/${repo} type:issue,
per_page: 100
});
Most Likely Solution
The issue is probably that you need to explicitly specify you want both issues and pull requests:

javascript
const non_paginated_issues = await github.rest.issues.listForRepo.endpoint.merge({
owner: user,
repo: repo,
state: 'all',
filter: 'all', // ← This is the key parameter
per_page: 100
});
Check the Specific Issue
Also, verify that the issue you're looking for:

Isn't actually a pull request (sometimes they look similar in the UI)

Isn't locked or has special visibility settings

Has the state you're filtering for (open/closed/all)

Try the filter: 'all' parameter first - this should resolve the issue in most cases. If it still doesn't work, run the debug code above and share what the API is actually returning.

[JJ]

Thanks for the answer, bu I don't think that's the issue. By default, the query should be equivalent to filter: all. As a matter of fact, that's how it worked until basically 6 months ago. It does not make any sense that the default of issues.listForRepo lists only the pull requests. Besides, the same call for a milestone returns nothing. I have opened a ticket with support, to check if it's a bug.
I've also tried to use GraphQL queries, and it works. So I think there's some issue with the REST API, including maybe what you say, that the default behavior of issues.listForRepo doesn't actually list issues for the repo, but PRs.

[JJ]

This is a common issue that often stems from how GitHub's API handles different types of issues. Here are the most likely causes and solutions:

The Problem: Issue vs. Pull Request Confusion GitHub's API treats pull requests as a special type of issue. When you use issues.listForRepo, by default it may filter out actual "issues" and only return pull requests, or vice versa.

Is this undefined behavior actually expected? The way this worked was not undefined: it always returned only the pull requests. Is that documented anywhere?

[JJ]

Thanks for the answer, but my point here is that it's only returning pull request, it's ignoring issues, either if you call it for the whole repo, or you call it for a specific milestone.

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