Bug: Backend TypeError crash when GitHub Repos API returns error

[Tanishkkkkk]

Summary

If the GitHub API call to fetch repositories fails or returns an error response, repos_response.json() returns a dictionary instead of a list. Slicing the dict using repos[:20] raises a TypeError and crashes the API server.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Trigger a condition where the GitHub API returns an error (e.g., expired token, rate limits).
2. Query the /github/languages endpoint.
3. The backend throws an HTTP 500 error with a TypeError: unhashable type: 'slice'.

Expected vs Actual

• Expected: The backend checks the API status and handles the error gracefully.
• Actual: The backend crashes due to dict slicing.

Screenshot

No screenshot available (Backend API response slicing bug).

Suggested Fix

In backend/app/services/github_service.py under get_language_breakdown, verify that the API request is successful (HTTP 200) and that the response is a list before slicing.

[Tanishkkkkk]

Hii, @laypatel13 , Can u assign this to me under ECSOC26 , Looking Forward to working with You ;'))

[Diwakar-odds]

Hello! I would love to tackle this backend crash issue. Here is my approach to fixing it:

Implementation Plan:

1. Error Handling: Wrap the GitHub API request in a robust try-except block (specifically catching httpx.HTTPError or requests.exceptions.RequestException).
2. Safe Attribute Access: Ensure we safely access the response payload before attempting to parse the repo data, preventing the TypeError.
3. Graceful Error Response: Return a proper HTTP 502 (Bad Gateway) or 400 response via FastAPI's HTTPException instead of crashing the process.

Files to be modified:

• backend/app/routers/github.py (or relevant service file)

Let me know if you'd like me to take this up, and please assign it to me!

[Diwakar-odds]

Hello! I would like to work on this issue as well. Could you please assign it to me?

As this appears to be a core/L3 feature, here is my proposed implementation plan:

Implementation Plan

1. Analysis: Review the relevant files and trace the current execution path to ensure no side effects.
2. Implementation: Apply the necessary code changes/fixes according to the acceptance criteria.
3. Testing: Write/update unit tests to verify the fix and ensure existing tests pass.

Files to be Modified

• Relevant core service files related to this issue.
• Associated test files.

Could you also please apply the ECSoC26 label to this issue so it can be tracked for the contribution program? Thank you!