Repo Explainer

AI explains your GitHub repos in plain language.

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Project Story

About the project

This project is a minimal AI assistant that fetches GitHub repository READMEs and provides a simple explanation using OpenAI’s GPT model.

I was inspired to create this project because I wanted to explore how AI can simplify code understanding and make repositories more accessible, even for beginners. I also wanted to experiment with Auth0 authentication and integrating external APIs like GitHub and OpenAI in a small, functional project.

What I learned

During the development, I learned how to:

  • Set up Auth0 authentication in a vanilla JavaScript frontend.
  • Fetch data securely from GitHub using personal access tokens.
  • Use the OpenAI API to summarize and explain content automatically.
  • Handle backend/frontend communication using Express and fetch.
  • Debug and manage API quotas and errors.

How I built it

  1. I created a frontend using vanilla JavaScript that allows users to log in via Auth0.
  2. The user can input a GitHub repository link.
  3. A backend Express server fetches the README from GitHub.
  4. The README content is sent to OpenAI, which generates a simple explanation.
  5. The explanation is displayed in the frontend.

All of this is done with minimal setup: the user just needs a GitHub token and an OpenAI API key.

Challenges faced

  • Understanding Auth0 integration with vanilla JavaScript.
  • Handling API rate limits from OpenAI when testing.
  • Making the workflow as simple as possible for a demo, while keeping authentication and API calls secure.

Despite its simplicity, this project demonstrates a working end-to-end flow: user login, fetching external data, AI summarization, and frontend display.

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