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GitHub

Connect GitHub so markdown documentation in your repositories—READMEs, docs folders, and guides—can power Mention alongside your other sources.

What gets synced

Mention discovers markdown files (names ending in .md) in each repository you grant access to. Mention uses each repo's default branch and walks the file tree so nested docs folders are included.

Other file types in the repo are not imported as individual assets through this integration.

Codebase analysis

Beyond syncing markdown files, Mention can analyze an entire repository's code and turn it into knowledge. On a connected GitHub source, open the Codebases tab and choose Analyze a repository.

Mention reads the repository's default branch and produces a tree of feature briefs—short, self-contained write-ups of the user-facing capabilities it finds in the code. You can browse the tree, open any brief to read it, and toggle the ones you want Mention to use:

  • Toggle a brief's switch to activate or deactivate it individually, or
  • Turn on Activate all briefs to surface every brief now and start new briefs active on future re-runs.

Only active briefs feed your organization's knowledge base; briefs start inactive.

If a brief fails to generate, it appears in a Failed list at the bottom of the tree with a Retry button. Retry re-writes that one brief in place—you don't need to re-run the whole analysis.

Re-running after new commits

Re-run the analysis after new commits land. A re-run is incremental: Mention compares the new commit against the last analyzed one and only re-does the work that changed—it updates briefs whose code moved, adds briefs for new features, removes briefs for features you deleted, and leaves the rest untouched. Activated briefs keep their activation across re-runs, and your knowledge base updates in place rather than being rebuilt. Only the latest analysis is kept per repository.

Scheduled re-analysis

Turn on Auto re-analyze for a codebase and Mention runs an incremental re-analysis when its default branch moves: on the push itself, and as a daily catch-up check for anything the push notification missed—so your code knowledge stays current without a manual re-run. It's off by default, skips repositories whose HEAD hasn't changed and repositories already being analyzed, and respects your credit balance.

You can also start codebase analysis during onboarding: on the Choose assets step, choose Analyze code instead of selecting documents. The wizard waits for the analysis to finish (several minutes), then has you activate briefs. Mention analyzes your activated briefs before continuing to audience creation. See Quickstart: Admin.

How to connect

  1. Add GitHub as a source in Mention.
  2. Complete GitHub's app installation flow: you will install the Mention app and choose which repositories (or the whole org) the app may access.
  3. After installation, browse the listed .md files and activate the ones you want Mention to use.

If you are unsure where your team authorizes apps, your GitHub org admin may need to approve the installation. See also Connecting sources.

Things to know

  • Only repositories included in the app installation can appear in Mention.
  • Private repos work as long as the installation has access; permissions follow GitHub’s rules for that installation.
  • File last-updated information comes from the repo history, which helps you spot stale docs in the product.
  • Access rules apply per repository: a repository's markdown files and its codebase briefs are one scope you can restrict to chosen audiences. See Source access.

Sync behavior

Mention's GitHub App receives webhook deliveries from GitHub, so changes arrive within seconds of the push instead of waiting for the next scheduled sync. The webhook URL and secret are configured on the Mention app itself — there is nothing to set up per installation.

What Mention acts on:

  • push to a repository's default branch — the changed .md files named in the push are re-read individually, and files deleted in the push are removed. If a codebase has Auto re-analyze on, the push also starts an incremental re-analysis.
  • installation — uninstalling the app disconnects the source and removes everything ingested under it.
  • installation_repositories — granting access to a repository lists it; removing access deletes that repository's markdown files and its codebase.
  • repository — a rename, a transfer, or a change of default branch re-lists the installation, since the affected files are identified by their repository and path.

A force-push, a push too large for GitHub to enumerate, and any of the repository changes above are handled by re-listing rather than by file, which takes a little longer to settle.

GitHub does not automatically redeliver a failed webhook (you can redeliver manually from the app's Advanced settings for up to 3 days), so the daily sync still runs as reconciliation and repairs anything a missed delivery would have left stale. Run a manual refresh whenever you want to force that reconciliation now.

Activation limit

You can activate up to 2,000 markdown files per GitHub integration (across all connected repositories).