How to Extract Emails from GitHub Contributors
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Export and import options vary by plan, permissions and product version. Check the platform’s current help documentation if a menu or format differs. Use only contact data you are authorized to process; an extracted address is not proof of marketing consent.
Why Extract from GitHub Contributors?
GitHub is a platform for hosting and collaborating on code repositories. Every git commit contains an author name and email address. Public repositories make this commit history available to anyone. Contributor email addresses are useful for open source outreach, developer community building, recruiting and collaboration.
How Contributor Emails Appear in GitHub
Git commit metadata
Every git commit records the author's name and email in the commit metadata. This is set by the contributor's local git configuration. Some contributors use their real email address, while others use a GitHub-provided no-reply address.
GitHub profiles
Some GitHub users display their email address on their public profile. Others keep it private.
Contributors page
Each repository has a "Contributors" page listing users who have committed code. This page does not display email addresses directly.
How to Export Contributor Emails
From git log
- Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/owner/repo.git - Navigate into the repository directory.
- Run
git log --format='%ae' | sort -uto extract unique author emails from all commits. - Save the output to a text file:
git log --format='%ae' | sort -u > contributors.txt
From git shortlog
- Run
git shortlog -sneto see contributor counts with names and emails. - Copy or redirect the output to a file.
Including committer emails
- Commits have both author and committer fields. To include both:
git log --format='%ae%n%ce' | sort -u > all-emails.txt
From the GitHub API
- Use the
/repos/{owner}/{repo}/contributorsendpoint to list contributors. - For each contributor, use the
/users/{username}endpoint to check for a public email. - Save results to CSV or JSON.
How to Extract the Email Addresses
- Go to bulkemailextractor.com.
- Select "Text and files."
- Upload the TXT, CSV or JSON file containing git log output or API results. Up to 25 MB per file, 100 MB per batch.
- Click "Extract emails."
- Review the results. Duplicates are removed automatically.
- Download as TXT for a plain list, CSV for a single-column spreadsheet, or CSV with sources.
Working with the Results
Developer outreach
Reach out to contributors of relevant open source projects for collaboration, sponsorship or hiring purposes.
Community building
Build a list of contributors to your own repositories for community newsletters, release announcements or contributor recognition.
Recruiting
Identify developers who contribute to projects using specific technologies or frameworks.
Consolidate across repositories
Export contributor emails from multiple repositories and upload together. Deduplication shows your total unique developer community.
Things to Know
No-reply addresses
Many GitHub users configure their accounts to use a GitHub-provided no-reply address (e. These addresses forward to the user's real email but may not be suitable for direct outreach.
Contact data is not preserved
Email Extractor outputs email addresses only. Contributor names, commit counts, repository names and other metadata are not carried over.
Private emails
Contributors can choose to keep their email addresses private on GitHub. Private emails do not appear in the API response. However, commit history may still contain their real email if they committed before enabling the privacy setting.
Bot accounts
Some commits are authored by bots or automated systems. Their email addresses are not useful for outreach.
Consent and etiquette
Contributor email addresses are public information in git history. However, using them for bulk marketing without permission may be considered inappropriate in the open source community. Use these contacts for relevant, project-related communication.
Large repositories
Repositories with thousands of contributors produce long git logs. The text file may be large but Email Extractor handles files up to 25 MB.
