GitHub Code Search Now Requires Logging In
koepnick (via Hacker News):
This is revolting and an anathema to the open source movement. A movement, I might add, Microsoft is abusing here.
We’re told that this is for security… But what possible point is there when I can simply clone the repository and use more dedicated tools for proper searching and analysis?
So what possible reason is there?! Do you NOT have enough of our data? Is it not enough to monetize every bowel movement, you now feel the need to track which individual lines of code I’m browsing?
I was on an older machine and needed to search for something in OUR OWN REPOSITORY and couldn’t. I actually want people to be able to search our codebase.
While searching across all repos has required being logged in for a long time, when we enhanced the search capabilities earlier in the 2023 we had to extend this to repos as well [Hacker News].
This is primarily to ensure we can support the load for developers on GitHub and help protect the servers from being overwhelmed by anonymous requests from bots etc.
See also: The technology behind GitHub’s new code search.
Previously:
- Twitter Now Requires Logging In
- Whither Stack Overflow Archives?
- Cheating Is All You Need
- Pruning GitHub’s Code Search Index
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I don't have a problem with this. The new code search is *very* good and I'm sure there's a big expense involved with providing it. Keep out bots and trying to convert people searching into customers doesn't seem that bad to me. There are plenty of options for hosting code outside Github if desired. As an open source maintainer myself, I get tremendous value from GitHub at no charge -- I have dozens of repos with automated workflows that run linux/Windows --and Mac (something few others do) -- VMs for free to perform automated testing of my code. Tightening who can use code search doesn't mean Microsoft isn't committed to open source.
What we have here is a failure brought on by enshittification (I realize I didn't need to link that for 90% of the readership).
No matter what the motivation, you have a less useful service now than you did before. It's like [but okay okay, not the same as] Twitter taking all those users who tweeted thinking anonymous users could find their posts (about their band, their art, their work) and putting that behind a login wall. That stinks.
Unlike Rhet I agree with koepnick.
Github is also abusing its privilege by training LLMs on open source/GPL'd material. Bait and switch.
This, like every other high-profile ending of public access to data this year, is 100% about cutting off competing companies from using data for their own "AI" initiatives.
A very relevant thing in history to look at are the Inclosure Acts, when the landed gentry took what really wasn't theirs and then extracted rent from those that it kinda belonged to in the first place.
Refuse resist
I recently discovered https://grep.app/ and https://sourcegraph.com/search, decent and fast replacements for Github code search
