Use case · GitHub
Ask your GitHub history why.
The reasoning behind a change lives in commit messages, pull request descriptions and review threads. KnowWhy indexes them for the repositories you choose and answers who changed what, when and why, with links to the exact commit, pull request or issue.
Free plan · Read-only access · You choose what gets indexed
Questions you can ask
Plain-language questions, answered from your own GitHub.
- Why did we remove the retry loop from the payment worker?
- What shipped in the api repository last week?
- Who reviewed the auth middleware change, and what did they flag?
- Is there an open issue about flaky checkout tests?
Example questions. Answers depend on what your connected sources contain.
What gets indexed
You choose what gets indexed.
Index repository activity so KnowWhy can answer who changed what, when, and why — with links back to the exact commit, pull request or issue.
Indexed
- Commit history and commit messages
- Pull request descriptions, reviews and review comments
- Issues, labels, milestones and comments
- 90 days of history by default, configurable per connection, kept current through webhooks
Never indexed
- Source code files
- Repositories you haven't selected
GitHub permissions, and why
- Metadata: read
- List the repositories you selected during installation.
- Contents: read
- Read commit history and messages. Source files are not indexed.
- Pull requests: read
- Index pull request descriptions, reviews and review comments.
- Issues: read
- Index issues, labels, milestones and comments.
How answers work
Answers you can check, not just trust.
Every claim is cited
Numbered citations open the exact excerpt and link to the original source. Citations that don't map to real evidence are removed before you see them.
No answer beats a guess
Answers use only indexed sources the asker is allowed to see. When they don't contain the answer, KnowWhy says so.
Understands “last week”
Relative dates resolve in your organization's time zone, and the searched range is shown above the answer.
Decisions vs. proposals
KnowWhy is built to separate what was decided from what was only proposed, and to flag sources that disagree.
Better together
One question across GitHub and the rest of your tools.
A decision is rarely in one place. Connect more sources and a single answer can cite the discussion, the change and the write-up together.
Good to know
The limits, up front.
- KnowWhy answers questions about history and reasoning. It is not a code search tool and won't tell you where a function is defined.
- GitHub is the only code host supported today. GitLab is on the roadmap.
- Private repositories are visible only to workspace owners and admins until an admin grants access to others.
Does KnowWhy read our source code?
No. KnowWhy reads commit history and messages, pull requests with their reviews and comments, and issues. Source code is not downloaded or indexed.
How does KnowWhy connect to GitHub?
It is installed as a GitHub App with read-only permissions. You choose which repositories it can see on GitHub, then which of those it indexes.
How far back does it look?
90 days of history by default, configurable per connection. New activity arrives through webhooks.
Can it tell an author from a reviewer?
Yes. KnowWhy is built to keep roles apart, so a commit author, a pull request author, a reviewer, whoever merged the change and someone who was only mentioned are not treated as the same thing.
Is there a free plan?
Yes, there is a free plan with 300 questions a month and up to 10 members, with GitHub, Slack and Notion all included. Team and Enterprise plans are available by contacting us.
Ask your first question in minutes.
Create a workspace, connect a tool and choose what gets indexed. The free plan includes GitHub, Slack and Notion.