- What connecting the two gives you
- Who needs to be in the room
- GitHub or GitHub Enterprise?
- Installing from Sentry
- The GitHub permissions it asks for
- One GitHub organisation, several Sentry organisations
- Using the connection for releases
- How Rollbar and BugSnag compare
- My advice for a development team
- Frequently asked questions
To connect Sentry to GitHub, go to Settings, then Integrations, then GitHub in Sentry, click Install, add the installation and choose which repositories Sentry can access. You'll need Sentry owner, manager or admin permissions and GitHub owner permissions. You then get commit tracking, suspect commits, stack trace linking and issue creation.
What connecting the two gives you
The GitHub integration ties your repositories to Sentry for commit tracking, suspect commits, stack trace linking, issue management and pull request comments. You can also resolve Sentry issues through a commit or pull request, and use Code Owners to route issues to the right people automatically.
Once installed, the integration is available to every project in your Sentry organisation, and you can connect more than one GitHub organisation to a single Sentry organisation.
Who needs to be in the room
Installing needs two sets of rights: Sentry owner, manager or admin permissions, and GitHub owner permissions. In a small company that's often the same person. In an agency or a larger team, line up the GitHub owner before you start, or you'll stall halfway.
GitHub or GitHub Enterprise?
| Type | Use it when |
|---|---|
| GitHub | Your users and organisations are hosted on github.com |
| GitHub Enterprise | Your instance isn't reachable from github.com, usually on a custom domain |
| Seer GitHub App | Deprecated |
Most teams want plain GitHub, the first row in that table. GitHub Enterprise on a custom domain is a different, longer process that involves your own GitHub App.
Installing from Sentry
- In Sentry, go to Settings, then Integrations, then GitHub, and click Install. If you have the legacy integration, the button says Upgrade.
- In the window that opens, click Add Installation, then click Install in the GitHub window.
- Choose which repositories Sentry can access, or allow all repositories.
- You're sent back to Sentry's Integrations page. Click Configure and refresh to see your repositories.
- To use only some repositories, pick them from the dropdown list.
- If a repository doesn't appear, check in GitHub that the Sentry app has permission to access it.
Sentry recommends installing from Sentry rather than starting in GitHub, because the process is more streamlined that way. All repositories are added by default, so narrow the list if you only want some.
The GitHub permissions it asks for
- Contents: read and write.
- Issues: read and write.
- Pull Requests: read and write.
- Webhooks: read and write.
- Administration and Metadata: read-only.
Sentry may ask for more permissions later as it adds features. Denying or ignoring the request doesn't affect what you use now, but it may block new features. If your security team reviews app permissions, send them this list in advance.
One GitHub organisation, several Sentry organisations
Sentry Docs note a restriction that matters for agencies and groups of companies. Connecting one GitHub organisation to several Sentry organisations is only supported on Sentry's Business or Enterprise plans, and not for GitHub Enterprise Server. If you run separate Sentry organisations for different clients against one GitHub organisation, check this before you plan your setup.
Using the connection for releases
Sentry's releases setup uses a repository integration so it can read your commit history. That's what makes suspect commits work and lets Sentry tie each release to the changes in it. You can upload commit data manually through the API instead, but the integration is far less work.
How Rollbar and BugSnag compare
Rollbar's GitHub integration turns Rollbar items into GitHub issues, links stack traces to the code and resolves items when a particular commit is deployed. BugSnag's docs say configuring your notifier with your app version and release stage lets you filter the dashboard by release and see which release introduced an error.
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My advice for a development team
Install from Sentry with a GitHub owner beside you, limit access to the repositories your Sentry projects use, and turn on Code Owners so issues land with the right developers. Then set up releases so suspect commits start pointing at real changes. For help reviewing those changes faster, my AI prompts for code review are a handy companion, and my GitHub alternatives roundup covers other hosts.
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Frequently asked questions
Who can install the Sentry GitHub integration?
Someone with Sentry owner, manager or admin permissions, plus GitHub owner permissions.
What does it give me?
Commit tracking, suspect commits, stack trace linking, issue management and PR comments, plus resolving issues via commit or PR.
Can I connect more than one GitHub organisation?
Yes. Multiple GitHub organisations can connect to one Sentry organisation.
Which GitHub type do I choose?
GitHub for github.com-hosted accounts, GitHub Enterprise for instances not reachable from github.com.
Why is my repository missing?
Check that the Sentry GitHub app has permission to access it in GitHub.
