ActionGitHubUpdated September 2026

How do I get the contents of a file from GitHub?

Short answer: You can get file in GitHub by hand from its own interface, but it won’t repeat itself. On TinyCommand, add the GitHub Get File action to a workflow, map its 4 inputs from any upstream app, and it runs automatically every time the trigger fires. No code, and a free tier to start.

Get File in GitHub — start free All 23 GitHub actions

Get File in GitHub — start free

Inputs

The fields this action accepts.

Every field can be mapped from an upstream trigger, AI step, table row, or hard-coded literal.

Field	Type	Required	Description
Owner owner	string	Required	GitHub repository owner — the user or organization login (the part before / in owner/repo URLs).
Repository repo	string	Required	GitHub repository name — the part after / in owner/repo URLs. Not the full URL.
File Path path	string	Required	File Path. Example: src/main.js
Branch / Tag / SHA ref	string	Optional	Branch / Tag / SHA. Example: main

Sample request

{
  "owner": "e.g. octocat",
  "repo": "e.g. Hello-World",
  "path": "e.g. src/main.js",
  "ref": "e.g. main"
}

Returns

{
  "sha": "abc123",
  "name": "main.js",
  "path": "src/main.js",
  "size": 1024,
  "content": "Y29uc29sZS5sb2coJ2hlbGxvJyk=",
  "encoding": "base64",
  "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/blob/main/src/main.js"
}

Use these fields in downstream nodes for routing, logging, or error handling.

Triggered by

Apps that pair well as the trigger for Get File.

Any of these apps can fire this action as part of a workflow.

Google Sheets → GitHub

2 Google Sheets triggers

HubSpot → GitHub

18 HubSpot triggers

FAQ

Questions about Get File.

What does the Get File action do in GitHub?

Gets the contents of a file in a GitHub repository at a specific ref. Returns base64-encoded content along with SHA, size, and download_url.

What inputs does Get File require?

Required: Owner, Repository, File Path. Every input accepts a static value or a variable from any upstream node in your workflow.

Can I use dynamic inputs from earlier workflow nodes?

Yes. Any field on this action can pull values from upstream nodes, whether that's a form response, a trigger payload, an AI output, or a lookup result.

What happens if GitHub returns an error?

The run history shows the failed step with its input and the error message GitHub returned, so you can fix the input and run the workflow again. Automatic retries are built into HTTP steps only, where you can also set your own retry count and delay.

Does Get File support batch operations?

Run Get File inside a loop to process each item in an array. TinyCommand does not throttle calls for you, so for large arrays add a Delay step if you need to stay within GitHub's rate limits.

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