Anonymous Pull Requests

Overview

GitGost enables truly anonymous pull requests by accepting pushes via the standard Git protocol (git-receive-pack) and automatically creating PRs through a bot account. Your identity is completely anonymized—no trace remains in the commit history.

How It Works

The anonymous PR workflow follows these steps:

Push via Git: You push commits to gitGost using standard Git commands
Fork Creation: gitGost creates/reuses a fork under the @gitgost-anonymous bot account
Commit Anonymization: All commit metadata (author, committer, email) is rewritten to anonymous values
Branch Push: Commits are pushed to a unique branch (e.g., gitgost-a1b2c3d4) in the fork
PR Creation: A pull request is automatically created from the fork to the original repository
Notification: You receive a unique PR hash to track and update your contribution

Endpoint

Git Protocol Endpoints

GET /v1/gh/:owner/:repo/info/refs?service=git-receive-pack

POST /v1/gh/:owner/:repo/git-receive-pack

Authentication

No authentication required. Anonymous contributions are the core feature—no GitHub account, API keys, or credentials needed.

Usage

Setting Up the Remote

Add gitGost as a Git remote to your repository:

git remote add gost https://gitgost.leapcell.app/v1/gh/OWNER/REPO.git
git push gost main

# Use the pr-hash returned from your first push
git push gost main -o pr-hash=a1b2c3d4

Creating Your First Anonymous PR

Clone and make changes

git clone https://github.com/owner/repo.git
cd repo
# Make your changes
git add .
git commit -m "Fix: resolve issue #123"

Add gitGost remote

git remote add gost https://gitgost.leapcell.app/v1/gh/owner/repo.git

Push to gitGost

git push gost main

Receive PR details

remote: gitGost: Processing your anonymous contribution...
remote: gitGost: Commits anonymized successfully
remote: gitGost: Creating fork...
remote: gitGost: Fork ready at gitgost-anonymous/repo
remote: gitGost: Pushing to fork...
remote: gitGost: Branch 'gitgost-a1b2c3d4' created
remote: gitGost: Creating pull request...
remote: 
remote: ========================================
remote: SUCCESS! Pull Request Created
remote: ========================================
remote: 
remote: PR URL: https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/42
remote: Author: @gitgost-anonymous
remote: Branch: gitgost-a1b2c3d4
remote: PR Hash: a1b2c3d4
remote: 
remote: Subscribe to PR notifications (no account needed):
remote:   https://ntfy.sh/gitgost-a1b2c3d4
remote: 
remote: To update this PR on future pushes, use:
remote:   git push gost main -o pr-hash=a1b2c3d4
remote: 
remote: Your identity has been anonymized.
remote: No trace to you remains in the commit history.
remote: ========================================

Updating an Existing PR

To push additional commits to an existing PR, use the pr-hash push option:

git commit -m "Address review feedback"
git push gost main -o pr-hash=a1b2c3d4

The PR hash is deterministic and based on owner/repo/branch. You’ll receive the same hash for the same branch, enabling updates without storing state.

Response Format

Successful Push

The response follows the Git protocol format using side-band encoding:

Band 1: Protocol status messages (unpack ok, ok refs/heads/main)
Band 2: Informational messages (progress, success details)
Band 3: Error messages (if any)

Success Fields

string

required

The GitHub URL of the created pull request

string

required

Always @gitgost-anonymous - the bot account

string

required

The fork branch name (format: gitgost-{hash})

string

required

8-character deterministic hash for tracking and updates

string

required

Notification topic URL (format: https://ntfy.sh/gitgost-{pr_hash})

PR Metadata

PR Title

Anonymous contribution via gitGost

PR Body

The PR body includes:

Your commit message(s)
A disclaimer about anonymous contribution
Link to gitGost service

Example:

Fix: resolve issue #123

This patch addresses the memory leak reported in issue #123.

---

*This is an anonymous contribution made via [gitGost](https://gitgost.leapcell.app).*

*The original author's identity has been anonymized to protect their privacy.*

Commit Anonymization

All commits are rewritten with:

Author: Anonymous Contributor <anonymous@gitgost.dev>
Committer: gitGost Service <service@gitgost.dev>
Commit Date: Preserved from original (optional: can be anonymized)

Notifications

GitGost provides real-time notifications via ntfy.sh without requiring accounts:

curl -s https://ntfy.sh/gitgost-a1b2c3d4/json

# Open in your browser:
https://ntfy.sh/gitgost-a1b2c3d4

# Subscribe to topic: gitgost-a1b2c3d4

Notification Events

PR Created: Initial notification when PR is opened
PR Updated: Sent when you push updates using the pr-hash
PR Comments: Not currently implemented (future feature)
PR Status Changes: Not currently implemented (future feature)

Rate Limiting

Rate limits protect against abuse while allowing legitimate use.

Per-IP Limits

number

default:"5"

Maximum PRs per hour per IP address

duration

default:"1h"

Rolling time window for rate limit

Global Burst Detection

GitGost monitors for coordinated abuse:

Threshold: 20 pushes from 10+ distinct IPs in 60 seconds
Response: Admin notification, optional panic mode activation
Recovery: Automatic when activity drops below threshold

Rate Limit Response

When rate limited, you’ll receive:

remote: 
remote: Rate limit exceeded: max 5 PRs per hour per IP.
remote: Please try again later.
remote: 
push rejected: rate limit exceeded

Error Responses

Invalid Repository

error: invalid repo name

string

Repository name contains invalid characters or path traversal attempts

Fork Creation Failed

remote: gitGost: Creating fork...
remote: error creating fork: failed to create fork: 404 Not Found
push rejected

string

Target repository doesn’t exist or bot lacks access

Push Too Large

error: RPC failed; HTTP 413 Request Entity Too Large

number

default:"104857600"

Maximum push size: 100 MB

Service Suspended (Panic Mode)

remote: 
remote: SERVICE TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED
remote: 
remote: The panic button has been activated. The service has been
remote: temporarily suspended due to detected bot activity
remote: sending mass PRs. Please try again in 15 minutes.
remote: 
push rejected: service temporarily suspended

string

Admin activated panic mode due to abuse detection

string

Typically 15 minutes, manually controlled by admin

Implementation Details

Fork Management

The bot reuses existing forks when possible:

Check if fork gitgost-anonymous/repo exists
If exists, reuse it; otherwise create new fork
Wait for fork to be ready (forks are async on GitHub)

Source Reference: internal/github/pr.go:430-503

PR Hash Generation

PR hashes are deterministic SHA-256 hashes:

input := fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s/%s", owner, repo, branch)
sum := sha256.Sum256([]byte(input))
prHash := hex.EncodeToString(sum[:])[:8]

Source Reference: internal/github/pr.go:656-662

Branch Naming

Branches follow the format: gitgost-{pr_hash}

Deterministic and unique per repository/branch combination
Allows automatic PR updates without state storage
Example: gitgost-a1b2c3d4

Security Considerations

Identity Protection

All commit metadata is rewritten. No IP addresses, usernames, or identifying information is logged.

Rate Limiting

Multiple layers of rate limiting prevent abuse while maintaining anonymity.

Abuse Prevention

Burst detection and panic mode protect against coordinated attacks.

Open Source

100% open source and auditable. No hidden tracking or data collection.

Best Practices

Use meaningful commit messages

Since your commits become the PR body, write clear, descriptive messages:

# Good
git commit -m "Fix memory leak in worker pool\n\nAdds proper cleanup of goroutines when pool is closed."

# Bad
git commit -m "fix stuff"

Save your PR hash

Store the PR hash in a safe place to enable future updates:

# Save to a local file
echo "a1b2c3d4" > .pr-hash

# Reference it later
git push gost main -o pr-hash=$(cat .pr-hash)

Respect rate limits

Avoid rapid successive pushes:

Test locally before pushing
Squash multiple fixes into single commits
Wait between pushes if making frequent contributions

CLI Integration

Bash Alias

~/.bashrc

alias anon-push='git push gost main'
alias anon-update='git push gost main -o pr-hash=$(cat .pr-hash)'

Git Configuration

# Set default push options
git config remote.gost.pushOption pr-hash=a1b2c3d4

# Always push to gost by default for this repo
git config remote.pushDefault gost

Anonymous Issues

Create anonymous issues via REST API

Anonymous Comments

Post anonymous comments on issues and PRs

​Overview

​How It Works

​Endpoint

​Git Protocol Endpoints

​Authentication

​Usage

​Setting Up the Remote

​Creating Your First Anonymous PR

​Updating an Existing PR

​Response Format

​Successful Push

​Success Fields

​PR Metadata

​PR Title

​PR Body

​Commit Anonymization

​Notifications

​Notification Events

​Rate Limiting

​Per-IP Limits

​Global Burst Detection

​Rate Limit Response

​Error Responses

​Invalid Repository

​Fork Creation Failed

​Push Too Large

​Service Suspended (Panic Mode)

​Implementation Details

​Fork Management

​PR Hash Generation

​Branch Naming

​Security Considerations

Identity Protection

Rate Limiting

Abuse Prevention

Open Source

​Best Practices

​CLI Integration

​Bash Alias

​Git Configuration

​Related Endpoints

Anonymous Issues

Anonymous Comments

Overview

How It Works

Endpoint

Git Protocol Endpoints

Authentication

Usage

Setting Up the Remote

Creating Your First Anonymous PR

Updating an Existing PR

Response Format

Successful Push

Success Fields

PR Metadata

PR Title

PR Body

Commit Anonymization

Notifications

Notification Events

Rate Limiting

Per-IP Limits

Global Burst Detection

Rate Limit Response

Error Responses

Invalid Repository

Fork Creation Failed

Push Too Large

Service Suspended (Panic Mode)

Implementation Details

Fork Management

PR Hash Generation

Branch Naming

Security Considerations

Best Practices

CLI Integration

Bash Alias

Git Configuration

Related Endpoints