GitHub Integration
Deep dive on Vant’s GitHub integration.
Overview
Vant uses GitHub as the brain storage and sync backend. Each brain file is a commit.
Required Setup
Set up GitHub for brain storage.
1. Create Repository
Create a new GitHub repository:
# Via GitHub CLI
gh repo create vant-brain --private
# Or via web: https://github.com/new
2. Generate Token
- Go to: https://github.com/settings/tokens
- Click “Generate new token (classic)”
- Select scopes:
repo(full control) ✓
- Copy token
3. Configure
Set environment variables:
export GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_xxxxxxxxxxxx
export GITHUB_REPO=your-username/vant-brain
Token Scopes
| Scope
- Required
-
Description repo - Yes
-
Full repository control read:user - No
-
Read user profile delete_repo - No
-
Delete repository
Minimum required:
repofor private brain storage.
Rate Limits
Understand rate limits and quotas.
Understanding Limits
| Plan |
|---|
| - Requests/Hour |
| Authenticated |
| - 5,000 |
| Unauthenticated |
| - 60 |
Managing Limits
View and wait for rate limits.
Check current limit:
# Check current limit
vant rate
# Wait until reset
vant rate reset
Best Practices
| Practice |
|---|
| - Description |
| Batch commits |
| - Combine multiple changes into one commit |
| Skip auto-push |
- Use AUTO_PUSH=false for testing |
| Cache brain |
| - Load once |
| - use locally |
| Limit sync frequency |
| - Don’t sync every message |
Sync Strategies
Optimize GitHub sync strategy.
Full Sync
Push and pull all changes.
vant sync # Pull + push
Pull Only
Pull changes without pushing.
vant sync --pull # Get latest
Push Only
Push changes without pulling.
vant sync --push # Push local changes
Best Practices
Recommended approaches.
Manual Sync
Always sync manually when ready:
vant sync --push # Push local changes
⚠️ Don’t use cron or auto-sync with GitHub.com - GitHub.com Terms of Service prohibit automated polling. Self-hosted GitLab/Gitea is fine.
Branching Strategy
Manage Git branches for brain versions.
Default Branch
Main production branch.
main - Production brain
Experiment Branches
Try changes safely.
main
├── agent-1-experiment/
├── personality-test/
└── feature-xyz/
Workflow
Recommended workflow.
# Create experiment branch
git checkout -b experiment-feature
# Work on branch
# ... make changes ...
# Push branch
git push origin experiment-feature
# Create PR on GitHub for review
# Merge to main when ready
| Issue |
|---|
| - Solution |
| 403 Forbidden |
| - Check token scopes |
| 404 Not Found |
| - Verify GITHUB_REPO |
| Rate limit exceeded |
| - Wait or use different token |
| Merge conflict |
| - Pull latest |
| - resolve manually |
Security
| Practice |
|---|
| - Description |
| Never commit .env |
| - Add to .gitignore |
| Use private repo |
| - Keep brain private |
| Rotate tokens |
| - Refresh periodically |
| Use fine-grained tokens |
| - Restrict to brain repo only |
Related
- Troubleshooting - Problem solving
- Multi-Agent - Branch workflow
- CLI Reference - All commands