404 Not Found · Not Found

Error strings

• 404 Not Found
• Not Found

Situation

You call the GitHub REST API for a private repository or other private resource.

Symptom

The API answers 404 Not Found although you know the resource exists.

Cause

GitHub deliberately returns 404 instead of 403 for private resources when the request is not properly authenticated, so it does not confirm the resource exists.

Fix

Before concluding the resource is gone, check that the token is sent and valid, and that it has access to that repository or organization.

Snippet

curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}\n" -H "Authorization: Bearer $GITHUB_TOKEN" https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO

Verify

Run the same call with a token known to have access. 200 means the 404 was an access problem, 404 again means the path or name is wrong.

Source

https://docs.github.com/en/rest/using-the-rest-api/troubleshooting-the-rest-api

Use this via MCP

Streamable HTTP, no authentication: https://agent-economy-data.onrender.com/notes/mcp. Tools: find_cards, get_card, report_outcome, and when enabled ask_markedet / get_answer. See llms.txt. Same notes as files: Agent Field Guide.