Participons - List Discussions

Workflow ID: TBD Status: Design (not yet implemented) Created: 2026-01-22

Purpose

Fetch and view discussions from the audierne2026/participons GitHub repository using GraphQL API.

Overview

GitHub Discussions are accessed via the GraphQL API (v4), not REST API. This workflow demonstrates:

GraphQL query construction in N8N
Discussion metadata extraction
Category and label filtering
Comment counting and participation metrics

Workflow Structure

┌──────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐
│ Webhook      │───►│ HTTP Request │───►│ Python       │───►│ Respond to   │
│ Trigger      │    │ GraphQL API  │    │ Transform    │    │ Webhook      │
└──────────────┘    └──────────────┘    └──────────────┘    └──────────────┘

Nodes Configuration

1. Webhook Trigger

Method: POST
Path: participons/discussions
Response Mode: Response Node

2. HTTP Request (GitHub GraphQL API)

Method: POST
URL: https://api.github.com/graphql

Headers:
  Authorization: Bearer {{ $credentials.githubApi.accessToken }}
  Content-Type: application/json
  User-Agent: N8N-Forseti461

Body (JSON):
{
  "query": "{{ $json.body.graphql_query }}"
}

Alternative: Use dynamic query construction in a Python node BEFORE the HTTP Request:

# Code Node: Build GraphQL Query
def build_discussions_query(owner, repo, first=10, category=None, after=None):
    """Build GraphQL query for fetching discussions."""

    category_filter = ""
    if category:
        category_filter = f', categoryId: "{category}"'

    after_clause = ""
    if after:
        after_clause = f', after: "{after}"'

    query = f"""
    query {{
      repository(owner: "{owner}", name: "{repo}") {{
        discussions(first: {first}{category_filter}{after_clause}, orderBy: {{field: UPDATED_AT, direction: DESC}}) {{
          totalCount
          pageInfo {{
            hasNextPage
            endCursor
          }}
          nodes {{
            id
            number
            title
            body
            url
            createdAt
            updatedAt
            author {{
              login
            }}
            category {{
              id
              name
              slug
            }}
            labels(first: 10) {{
              nodes {{
                name
              }}
            }}
            comments(first: 1) {{
              totalCount
            }}
            upvoteCount
            isAnswered
            answerChosenAt
          }}
        }}
        discussionCategories(first: 10) {{
          nodes {{
            id
            name
            slug
            description
          }}
        }}
      }}
    }}
    """
    return query

# Extract parameters from webhook input
owner = "audierne2026"
repo = "participons"
first = int($json.get("body", {}).get("per_page", 10))
category = $json.get("body", {}).get("category_slug")
after = $json.get("body", {}).get("after")

query = build_discussions_query(owner, repo, first, category, after)

return [{
    "json": {
        "query": query,
        "owner": owner,
        "repo": repo
    }
}]

3. Python Transform

import json
import re
from datetime import datetime

def extract_category_info(discussion):
    """Extract category information from discussion."""
    category_data = discussion.get('category', {})
    return {
        'id': category_data.get('id'),
        'name': category_data.get('name'),
        'slug': category_data.get('slug')
    }

def extract_labels(discussion):
    """Extract label names from discussion."""
    labels_data = discussion.get('labels', {}).get('nodes', [])
    return [label['name'] for label in labels_data if label.get('name')]

def transform_discussions(graphql_response):
    """Transform GitHub GraphQL response to standardized format."""

    # Extract discussions data
    repo_data = graphql_response.get('data', {}).get('repository', {})
    discussions_data = repo_data.get('discussions', {})
    categories_data = repo_data.get('discussionCategories', {}).get('nodes', [])

    discussions_list = discussions_data.get('nodes', [])
    total_count = discussions_data.get('totalCount', 0)
    page_info = discussions_data.get('pageInfo', {})

    print(f"DEBUG: Processing {len(discussions_list)} discussions")

    # Transform each discussion
    transformed = []
    for disc in discussions_list:
        author = disc.get('author', {})
        author_login = author.get('login', 'unknown') if author else 'deleted'

        transformed.append({
            'id': disc.get('number'),
            'graphql_id': disc.get('id'),
            'title': disc.get('title'),
            'body': disc.get('body') or '',
            'url': disc.get('url'),
            'created_at': disc.get('createdAt'),
            'updated_at': disc.get('updatedAt'),
            'author': author_login,
            'category': extract_category_info(disc),
            'labels': extract_labels(disc),
            'comments_count': disc.get('comments', {}).get('totalCount', 0),
            'upvotes': disc.get('upvoteCount', 0),
            'is_answered': disc.get('isAnswered', False),
            'answer_chosen_at': disc.get('answerChosenAt')
        })

    print(f"DEBUG: Transformed {len(transformed)} discussions")

    # Build response
    result = {
        'success': True,
        'count': len(transformed),
        'total_count': total_count,
        'has_next_page': page_info.get('hasNextPage', False),
        'end_cursor': page_info.get('endCursor'),
        'discussions': transformed,
        'available_categories': [
            {
                'id': cat.get('id'),
                'name': cat.get('name'),
                'slug': cat.get('slug'),
                'description': cat.get('description')
            }
            for cat in categories_data
        ]
    }

    return result

# Extract GraphQL response
graphql_response = {}

if _items and len(_items) > 0:
    graphql_response = _items[0].get("json", {})
    print(f"DEBUG: Received GraphQL response")
else:
    print("DEBUG: No input data received")

# Transform and return
result = transform_discussions(graphql_response)
return [{'json': result}]

4. Respond to Webhook

Respond With: JSON
Response Body: {{ $json }}

Input Parameters

{
  "per_page": 10,          // Number of discussions to fetch (default: 10, max: 100)
  "category_slug": null,   // Filter by category slug (e.g., "ideas", "announcements")
  "after": null           // Pagination cursor for next page
}

Output Format

{
  "success": true,
  "count": 10,
  "total_count": 45,
  "has_next_page": true,
  "end_cursor": "Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK5MjAyNC0wMS0xNVQxMDozMDowMFo=",
  "discussions": [
    {
      "id": 5,
      "graphql_id": "D_kwDOJxyz1M4AaBcD",
      "title": "Proposition pour améliorer le port d'Audierne",
      "body": "Je propose de moderniser les infrastructures portuaires...",
      "url": "https://github.com/audierne2026/participons/discussions/5",
      "created_at": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
      "updated_at": "2024-01-20T14:20:00Z",
      "author": "citizen123",
      "category": {
        "id": "DIC_kwDOJxyz1M4CZabc",
        "name": "Ideas",
        "slug": "ideas"
      },
      "labels": ["economie", "infrastructure"],
      "comments_count": 12,
      "upvotes": 8,
      "is_answered": false,
      "answer_chosen_at": null
    }
  ],
  "available_categories": [
    {
      "id": "DIC_kwDOJxyz1M4CZabc",
      "name": "Ideas",
      "slug": "ideas",
      "description": "Share ideas for new features"
    },
    {
      "id": "DIC_kwDOJxyz1M4CZdef",
      "name": "Announcements",
      "slug": "announcements",
      "description": "Updates from maintainers"
    }
  ]
}

Webhook URL

POST https://vaettir.locki.io/webhook/participons/discussions
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "per_page": 10,
  "category_slug": "ideas"
}

Testing

# List all discussions
curl -X POST "https://vaettir.locki.io/webhook/participons/discussions" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"per_page": 10}'

# Filter by category
curl -X POST "https://vaettir.locki.io/webhook/participons/discussions" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"per_page": 5, "category_slug": "ideas"}'

# Paginate to next page
curl -X POST "https://vaettir.locki.io/webhook/participons/discussions" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"per_page": 10, "after": "Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK5MjAyNC0wMS0xNVQxMDozMDowMFo="}'

GraphQL Query Reference

Basic Query Structure

query {
  repository(owner: "audierne2026", name: "participons") {
    discussions(first: 10, orderBy: {field: UPDATED_AT, direction: DESC}) {
      totalCount
      pageInfo {
        hasNextPage
        endCursor
      }
      nodes {
        id
        number
        title
        body
        url
        createdAt
        updatedAt
        author {
          login
        }
        category {
          id
          name
          slug
        }
        labels(first: 10) {
          nodes {
            name
          }
        }
        comments(first: 1) {
          totalCount
        }
        upvoteCount
        isAnswered
      }
    }
  }
}

To filter by category, you need the category GraphQL ID (not the slug). You can:

First fetch categories (included in response)
Then use category ID in subsequent queries:

query {
  repository(owner: "audierne2026", name: "participons") {
    discussions(
      first: 10,
      categoryId: "DIC_kwDOJxyz1M4CZabc",
      orderBy: {field: UPDATED_AT, direction: DESC}
    ) {
      nodes {
        title
        # ... rest of fields
      }
    }
  }
}

Learnings & Issues

1. GraphQL vs REST API

Key Difference: GitHub Discussions are ONLY available via GraphQL API (v4), not REST API (v3).

Solution: Use HTTP Request node with POST https://api.github.com/graphql and build queries dynamically.

2. Category Filtering Requires ID

Issue: You cannot filter by category slug directly. You need the GraphQL ID.

Solution:

Fetch categories first (included in response)
Map slug → ID on the client side
OR maintain a category mapping in N8N variables

3. Pagination with Cursors

Issue: GraphQL uses cursor-based pagination, not page numbers.

Solution:

Use endCursor from pageInfo
Pass it as after parameter in next request
Check hasNextPage to know if more data exists

4. Authentication

Important: The GitHub credential in N8N must have read:discussion scope for public repos, or repo scope for private repos.

List Issues - Fetch GitHub Issues
N8N GitHub Integration Design

Next Steps

Create workflow in N8N using the node configurations above
Test with curl to verify webhook response
Enable MCP access in workflow settings
Add to MCP tool list in main integration document
Create companion workflow for single discussion details (with full comments)

Future Enhancements

Filter by labels in addition to categories
Search discussions by keyword in title/body
Fetch discussion comments (separate workflow or parameter)
Reaction counts (👍, ❤️, etc.)
Export discussions to markdown for archival

Purpose​

Overview​

Workflow Structure​

Nodes Configuration​

1. Webhook Trigger​

2. HTTP Request (GitHub GraphQL API)​

3. Python Transform​

4. Respond to Webhook​

Input Parameters​

Output Format​

Webhook URL​

Testing​

GraphQL Query Reference​

Basic Query Structure​

Query with Category Filter​

Learnings & Issues​

1. GraphQL vs REST API​

2. Category Filtering Requires ID​

3. Pagination with Cursors​

4. Authentication​

Related Workflows​

Next Steps​

Future Enhancements​