V Vant Docs

Environment & Limits

GitHub API usage, rate limits, environmental considerations. Updated: April 2025.

GITHUB API USAGE

How Vant interacts with GitHub APIs.

What Vant Uses

When configured with GitHub sync, Vant interacts with: | API | Purpose | Method | |—–|———|——–| | Repositories | Brain storage | GET, POST, PUT | | Contents | File read/write | GET, PUT | | Commits | Version history | GET, POST | | Branches | Isolation | GET, POST | | Git Data | Sync operations | GET, POST |

Not Used

Vant does NOT use:

POLLING CONSIDERATIONS

Timing and rate limit details.

GitHub.com ToS Prohibition

Automated polling of GitHub.com is prohibited. Self-hosted GitLab/Gitea is fine.

“Using GitHub as a database or for purposes unrelated to source code management.” — GitHub Acceptable Use Policies

What This Means

Allowed Not Allowed
Manual sync (vant sync) Polling every N seconds
git clone/fetch Checking every minute
On-demand sync Scheduled background sync
User-initiated Automated by default

Vant’s Approach

Vant defaults to:

DATA CONSIDERATIONS

How your data is handled.

What Gets Synced

Your brain files:

TOKEN SECURITY

Keeping your GitHub token safe.

Best Practices

  1. Use Fine-Grained Tokens
    • Created October 2022+
    • Minimum permissions
    • Expiration dates
  2. Rotate Regularly
    • Every 90 days
    • After suspicious activity
    • When leaving organization
  3. Never Commit
    • Add .env to .gitignore
    • Don’t paste in issues
    • Don’t share in chat
  4. Use .env Files 
    # .env (gitignored)
VANT_GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_xxxx

Token Exposure

If exposed:

  1. Immediate: Revoke token
    • GitHub → Settings → Developer → Tokens
    • Or: Settings → Tokens (classic)
  2. Check Audit Log
    • GitHub → Settings → Audit log
    • Look for suspicious activity
  3. Generate New
    • Minimal scopes only
    • Set expiration
  4. Update Vant
    • Update .env
    • Restart node

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

What you need to run Vant.

Minimum

| Resource | Requirement | |———-|————-| | Node.js | 18+ | | RAM | 512MB | | Disk | 100MB | | Git | 2.x |

| Resource | Requirement | |———-|————-| | Node.js | 20+ | | RAM | 1GB | | Disk | 500MB | | Git | 2.x |

Dependencies

Vant uses:

NETWORK CONSIDERATIONS

Network requirements and behavior.

Ports Used

Port Service
3100 MCP server (default)
3457 MCP alt port
443 HTTPS (GitHub)

Firewall Rules

For MCP server:

# Allow local only
ufw allow from 127.0.0.1 port 3456

# Or specific IPs
ufw allow from 192.168.1.0/24 port 3456

Proxy Support

Set HTTP proxy:

export HTTP_PROXY=http://proxy:8080
export HTTPS_PROXY=http://proxy:8080

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

Configuration via environment.

Required

| Variable | Purpose | |———-|———| | None | Works standalone |

Optional

| Variable | Purpose | |———-|———| | VANT_GITHUB_TOKEN | GitHub sync | | VANT_GITHUB_REPO | Repository | | VANT_MCP_PORT | MCP port | | VANT_AGREE_AUTO_SYNC | Opt-in polling |

Security

ERROR HANDLING

How errors are managed.

Common Errors

Error Cause Fix
401 Bad token Regenerate token
403 No permission Check scopes
404 No repo Create or check
429 Rate limit Wait, reduce sync
500 GitHub Check status

Recovery

  1. Token issues: Regenerate, update .env
  2. Rate limit: Wait 1 hour, use manual sync
  3. GitHub down: Use offline, wait
  4. Conflict: Pull rebase or merge manually

LIMITATIONS

Known limitations and workarounds.

Vant Limitations

MONITORING

Tracking Vant health and activity.

Local Monitoring

Monitor Vant health locally.

# Check resource usage
top
htop

# Check Node processes
ps aux | grep node

# Check disk usage
du -sh models/private/

GitHub Monitoring

COMPLIANCE CHECKLIST

Before using Vant with GitHub:

SEE ALSO