Back to Blog
guide8 min readBy GitWatchman Team

How to Get Notified of New GitHub Releases: 5 Free Ways (2026)

GitHub release notifications help developers stay updated when their favorite open source projects publish new versions. According to GitHub's 2024 Octoverse report, there are over 420 million repositories on GitHub, with thousands of new releases published every day. Manually checking for updates is impractical — you need automatic notifications (here is why tracking GitHub releases matters).

Last updated:

1. GitHub Watch — The Built-in Option

GitHub has a built-in Watch feature that lets you subscribe to repository events, including releases. It's free and requires no setup beyond clicking a button.

How to set it up:

  1. Go to the repository page on GitHub
  2. Click the Watch button (top-right)
  3. Select Custom
  4. Check Releases and click Apply

Limitation: Notifications go to your GitHub inbox, not your email (unless you configure GitHub email settings). If you watch many repos, notifications can get noisy and easy to miss. See GitWatchman vs GitHub Watch for a side-by-side comparison.

2. RSS Feeds — For Power Users

Every GitHub repository has a public Atom feed for releases. You can subscribe to it in any RSS reader like Feedly, Inoreader, or NetNewsWire.

Feed URL pattern:

https://github.com/{owner}/{repo}/releases.atom

For example, to track React releases: https://github.com/facebook/react/releases.atom. To combine many feeds into one, follow our GitHub release RSS feed guide.

Pro tip: GitWatchman also offers a personal RSS feed that aggregates all your monitored repositories into a single feed — no need to add each repo separately.

3. Dedicated Release Trackers — The Easiest Method

Dedicated tools like GitWatchman are purpose-built for tracking GitHub releases. They monitor repositories automatically and send you email notifications when new versions are published — no manual checking required.

How GitWatchman works:

  1. Sign in with your GitHub or Google account (free)
  2. Add up to 5 repositories to monitor
  3. Receive an email, Slack, Discord or Telegram alert when a new release is published

GitWatchman checks for new releases every two hours, 24/7. Each notification includes the full release notes so you can see what changed without leaving your inbox. Browse the latest versions of popular projects such as Next.js, TypeScript or Node.js to see what an alert contains.

4. GitHub Actions — For Custom Workflows

If you need custom notifications (e.g., Slack, Discord, Teams), you can create a GitHub Action that triggers on the release event.

Example workflow:

name: Notify on Release on: release: types: [published] jobs: notify: runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: - name: Send notification run: | curl -X POST "YOUR_WEBHOOK_URL" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"text": "New release: ${{ github.event.release.tag_name }}"}'

Note: This only works for repositories you own or have contributor access to. You can't add Actions to someone else's repository.

5. CLI Tools — For Terminal Lovers

The GitHub CLI (gh) lets you check releases from the terminal.

gh release list --repo facebook/react --limit 5

You can combine this with a cron job on your machine or server to periodically check and alert you. However, this requires technical setup and maintenance.

Comparison: Which Method Is Best?

MethodCostEmail AlertsSetupBest For
GitHub WatchFreeIndirectEasyCasual tracking
RSS FeedsFreeNoEasyRSS power users
GitWatchmanFreeYesVery EasyEmail notifications
GitHub ActionsFreeCustomAdvancedCustom workflows
CLI ToolsFreeNoTechnicalDevelopers

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get notified when a GitHub repository has a new release?

On the repository page click Watch > Custom > Releases to get GitHub notifications, subscribe to github.com/owner/repo/releases.atom in an RSS reader, or add the repository to a release tracker such as GitWatchman to receive an email, Slack, Discord or Telegram alert with the release notes for every new version.

Can I get email notifications for GitHub releases?

Yes. The easiest way is GitWatchman, which emails you automatically when repositories you follow publish new releases. GitHub's built-in Watch feature can also send emails, but requires configuring your GitHub notification settings.

How often does GitWatchman check for new releases?

GitWatchman checks all monitored repositories every two hours, 24/7, and sends the notification as soon as a new release is detected.

Can I get GitHub release notifications in Slack, Discord or Telegram?

Yes. GitWatchman can post release notifications to a Slack or Discord channel through an incoming webhook, or send them to you on Telegram through @GitWatchmanBot, alongside or instead of email.

Is there an RSS feed for GitHub releases?

Yes. Every GitHub repository has a public Atom feed at github.com/owner/repo/releases.atom. GitWatchman also gives you a personal RSS feed that aggregates all your monitored repositories in one feed.

What's the difference between GitHub Watch and GitWatchman?

GitHub Watch sends notifications to your GitHub inbox (and optionally email), but mixes releases with other events. GitWatchman is focused exclusively on releases and sends clean notifications with the full release notes included.

Can I track private repositories?

GitWatchman currently supports public repositories only. For private repos, GitHub Watch or GitHub Actions is the best option.

Start tracking GitHub releases today

Sign up for free and add up to 5 repositories. You'll get an alert with the release notes for every new release.

Get started — it's free