REST API endpoints for dependency submission
Use the REST API to submit dependencies.
About dependency submissions
You can use the REST API to submit dependencies for a project. This enables you to add dependencies, such as those resolved when software is compiled or built, to GitHub's dependency graph feature, providing a more complete picture of all of your project's dependencies.
The dependency graph shows any dependencies you submit using the API in addition to any dependencies that are identified from manifest or lock files in the repository (for example, a package-lock.json file in a JavaScript project). For more information about viewing the dependency graph, see Exploring the dependencies of a repository.
Submitted dependencies will receive Dependabot alerts and Dependabot security updates for any known vulnerabilities. You will only get Dependabot alerts for dependencies that are from one of the supported ecosystems for the GitHub Advisory Database. For more information about these ecosystems, see GitHub Advisory database. For transitive dependencies submitted via the dependency submission API, Dependabot will automatically open pull requests to update the parent dependency, if an update is available.
Submitted dependencies will be shown in dependency review, but are not available in your organization's dependency insights.
Note
The dependency review API and the dependency submission API work together. This means that the dependency review API will include dependencies submitted via the dependency submission API.
You can submit dependencies in the form of a snapshot. A snapshot is a set of dependencies associated with a commit SHA and other metadata, that reflects the current state of your repository for a commit. You can choose to use pre-made actions or create your own actions to submit your dependencies in the required format each time your project is built. For more information, see Using the dependency submission API.
You can submit multiple sets of dependencies to be included in your dependency graph. The REST API uses the job.correlator property and the detector.name category of the snapshot to ensure the latest submissions for each workflow get shown. The correlator property itself is the primary field you will use to keep independent submissions distinct. An example correlator could be a simple combination of two variables available in actions runs: <GITHUB_WORKFLOW> <GITHUB_JOB>.
A repository can use multiple methods for dependency submission, which can cause the same package manifest to be scanned multiple times, potentially with different outputs from each scan. Dependency graph uses deduplication logic to parse the outputs, prioritizing the most accurate information for each manifest file.
Dependency graph displays only one instance of each manifest file using the following precedence rules.
- User submissions take the highest priority, because they are usually created during artifact builds they have the most complete information.
- If there are multiple manual snapshots from different detectors, they are sorted alphabetically by correlator and the first one used.
- If there are two correlators with the same detector, the resolved dependencies are merged. For more information about correlators and detectors, see REST API endpoints for dependency submission.
- Dependabot graph jobs have the second-highest priority. For ecosystems where Dependabot graph jobs are available (currently Go and Python), they take precedence over automatic dependency submission.
- Automatic submissions have the next priority since they are also created during artifact builds, but are not submitted by users.
- Static analysis results are used when no other data is available.
Create a snapshot of dependencies for a repository
Create a new snapshot of a repository's dependencies.
The authenticated user must have access to the repository.
OAuth app tokens and personal access tokens (classic) need the repo scope to use this endpoint.
Fine-grained access tokens for "Create a snapshot of dependencies for a repository"
This endpoint works with the following fine-grained token types:
- GitHub App user access tokens
- GitHub App installation access tokens
- Fine-grained personal access tokens
The fine-grained token must have the following permission set:
- "Contents" repository permissions (write)
Parameters for "Create a snapshot of dependencies for a repository"
| Name, Type, Description |
|---|
accept string Setting to |
| Name, Type, Description |
|---|
owner string RequiredThe account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive. |
repo string RequiredThe name of the repository without the |
| Name, Type, Description |
|---|
version integer RequiredThe version of the repository snapshot submission. |
job object Required |
sha string RequiredThe commit SHA associated with this dependency snapshot. Maximum length: 40 characters. |
ref string RequiredThe repository branch that triggered this snapshot. |
detector object RequiredA description of the detector used. |
metadata object User-defined metadata to store domain-specific information limited to 8 keys with scalar values. |
manifests object A collection of package manifests, which are a collection of related dependencies declared in a file or representing a logical group of dependencies. |
scanned string RequiredThe time at which the snapshot was scanned. |
HTTP response status codes for "Create a snapshot of dependencies for a repository"
| Status code | Description |
|---|---|
201 | Created |
Code samples for "Create a snapshot of dependencies for a repository"
Request example
curl -L \
-X POST \
-H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
-H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2026-03-10" \
https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/dependency-graph/snapshots \
-d '{"version":0,"sha":"ce587453ced02b1526dfb4cb910479d431683101","ref":"refs/heads/main","job":{"correlator":"yourworkflowname_youractionname","id":"yourrunid"},"detector":{"name":"octo-detector","version":"0.0.1","url":"https://github.com/octo-org/octo-repo"},"scanned":"2022-06-14T20:25:00Z","manifests":{"package-lock.json":{"name":"package-lock.json","file":{"source_location":"src/package-lock.json"},"resolved":{"@actions/core":{"package_url":"pkg:/npm/%40actions/core@1.1.9","dependencies":["@actions/http-client"]},"@actions/http-client":{"package_url":"pkg:/npm/%40actions/http-client@1.0.7","dependencies":["tunnel"]},"tunnel":{"package_url":"pkg:/npm/tunnel@0.0.6"}}}}}'Response
Status: 201{
"id": 12345,
"created_at": "2018-05-04T01:14:52Z",
"message": "Dependency results for the repo have been successfully updated.",
"result": "SUCCESS"
}