how to get pull requests get if we dont have RW access and there is no owner available in repository

[Abhishekgoel1917]

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how to get pull requests get if we don't have RW access and there is no owner available in repository

[neerajc0des]

If you don’t have read-write access and the repo owner is inactive or unavailable, you can still fetch pull requests locally as long as the repository is public.

Here’s what worked for me:

git clone https://github.com/username/repo.git
cd repo
git fetch origin 'pull//head:pr/'

That'll pull down all open PRs into local branches like pr/1, pr/2, etc. You can then check out a specific one like this:
git checkout pr/42

This way, you can view or even test the changes from pull requests without needing push access. Super handy for reviewing or continuing work on stale PRs.

Alternatively, if you just want to view the patch or apply it manually, GitHub lets you download it:
Let me know if you get stuck anywhere — happy to help!

[Lakshya2099]

If you don’t have read-write (RW) access to a GitHub repository and the owner is unavailable, your ability to interact with pull requests (PRs) is limited — but there are still ways to view and extract pull request data, depending on the repo's visibility and your needs.

Here are your options:

---

🟢 If the Repository is Public

Even without RW access or an active owner, you can still:

✅ View Pull Requests

• Go to https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>/pulls

• You can browse open and closed PRs without needing any permissions.

✅ Use GitHub REST API (No Auth Needed for Public Repos)

You can list PRs using:

curl https://api.github.com/repos/<owner>/<repo>/pulls

Example:

curl https://api.github.com/repos/vercel/next.js/pulls

This returns the open pull requests by default. You can also get closed/merged ones:

curl "https://api.github.com/repos/<owner>/<repo>/pulls?state=all"

---

🔴 If the Repository is Private

You must have at least read access (or a token with the right scopes) to view or fetch pull requests. Without that and without access to the owner:

• You cannot view PRs or clone the repo.

• GitHub’s UI and API will return a 404 Not Found or 403 Forbidden.

---

🛠️ Workarounds (if owner is unavailable):

1. Contact GitHub Support (if it's important):

   • If you're part of the organization or the repo is business-critical and the owner is inactive, you can contact GitHub Support to request admin rights transfer, but this only works in special cases (e.g. owner account is gone, repo is critical, etc.).

2. Fork and Rebuild (for public repos):

   • You can fork the repo and recreate pull requests manually by copying diffs/branches if you want to continue development or triage.

3. Use GitHub Archive / GH Archive or Google BigQuery:

   • Services like GH Archive or datasets on BigQuery host historical GitHub activity and PR metadata. This won’t help with private repos but can provide insight into old PRs of public ones.

---

🧠 Summary

Scenario	Can View PRs?	Can Interact with PRs?	Workaround
Public Repo, No RW	✅ Yes	❌ No (e.g., merge, comment)	Use GitHub UI or REST API
Private Repo, No Access	❌ No	❌ No	Contact Support (edge case only)
No Owner Available	❌/✅ Depends	❌	Fork, GH Archive, or Rebuild

---

Let me know if you want a script to fetch and format public PR data from the API.

If you **don’t have read-write (RW) access** to a GitHub repository **and the owner is unavailable**, your ability to interact with **pull requests (PRs)** is limited — but there are still ways to **view and extract** pull request data, depending on the repo's visibility and your needs.

Here are your options:

---

🟢 If the Repository is Public

Even without RW access or an active owner, you can still:

✅ View Pull Requests

• Go to https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>/pulls
• You can browse open and closed PRs without needing any permissions.

✅ Use GitHub REST API (No Auth Needed for Public Repos)

You can list PRs using:

curl https://api.github.com/repos/<owner>/<repo>/pulls

Example:

curl https://api.github.com/repos/vercel/next.js/pulls

This returns the open pull requests by default. You can also get closed/merged ones:

curl "https://api.github.com/repos/<owner>/<repo>/pulls?state=all"

---

🔴 If the Repository is Private

You must have at least read access (or a token with the right scopes) to view or fetch pull requests. Without that and without access to the owner:

• You cannot view PRs or clone the repo.
• GitHub’s UI and API will return a 404 Not Found or 403 Forbidden.

---

🛠️ Workarounds (if owner is unavailable):

1. Contact GitHub Support (if it's important):

   • If you're part of the organization or the repo is business-critical and the owner is inactive, you can contact GitHub Support to request admin rights transfer, but this only works in special cases (e.g. owner account is gone, repo is critical, etc.).

2. Fork and Rebuild (for public repos):

   • You can fork the repo and recreate pull requests manually by copying diffs/branches if you want to continue development or triage.

3. Use GitHub Archive / GH Archive or Google BigQuery:

   • Services like GH Archive or datasets on BigQuery host historical GitHub activity and PR metadata. This won’t help with private repos but can provide insight into old PRs of public ones.

---

🧠 Summary

Scenario	Can View PRs?	Can Interact with PRs?	Workaround
Public Repo, No RW	✅ Yes	❌ No (e.g., merge, comment)	Use GitHub UI or REST API
Private Repo, No Access	❌ No	❌ No	Contact Support (edge case only)
No Owner Available	❌/✅ Depends	❌	Fork, GH Archive, or Rebuild

---

Let me know if you want a script to fetch and format public PR data from the API.

[shamrozkhan0]

You don’t need write access to view or test a pull request.

✅ Steps to get a PR locally (no write access needed):
Clone the repo:

git clone https://github.com/username/repo-name.git
cd repo-name

Fetch the pull request:
git fetch origin pull/ID/head:pr-branch

Replace ID with the pull request number, and pr-branch is just a name you give it.

Switch to the PR:
git checkout pr-branch

Now you have the PR code on your local machine.

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