Push GitHub Developer Leads to Freshworks CRM

Why Push GitHub Signals to Freshworks

Freshworks CRM (Freshsales) is a popular choice for developer-focused sales teams, particularly at companies that also use Freshdesk for support. When a developer stars a GitHub repo or mentions a keyword in a GitHub issue, that is a buying signal — and it belongs in Freshsales where your SDRs can act on it.

GitLeads monitors GitHub in real time, enriches each signal with developer profile data, and pushes a contact record to Freshsales via webhook or direct API. You do not need to write scrapers or poll the GitHub API yourself.

Two Integration Methods

Method 1: Native GitLeads → Freshworks Webhook

GitLeads has a native webhook destination. Configure the destination URL as your Freshsales API endpoint and map the lead fields. No code required for basic use.

Method 2: Custom Integration via GitLeads Webhook + Node.js

For full control — custom field mapping, deduplication, and lead scoring — use the GitLeads webhook to call the Freshsales Contacts API directly:

import express from 'express';

const app = express();
app.use(express.json());

const FRESHSALES_DOMAIN = process.env.FRESHSALES_DOMAIN!; // yourcompany.myfreshworks.com
const FRESHSALES_API_KEY = process.env.FRESHSALES_API_KEY!;

interface GitLeadsPayload {
  signal_type: string;
  repo?: string;
  keyword?: string;
  github_username: string;
  name: string;
  email?: string;
  company?: string;
  bio?: string;
  top_languages?: string[];
  followers?: number;
  profile_url: string;
}

async function upsertFreshsalesContact(lead: GitLeadsPayload) {
  const url = `https://${FRESHSALES_DOMAIN}/api/contacts`;

  const body = {
    contact: {
      first_name: lead.name.split(' ')[0] || lead.github_username,
      last_name: lead.name.split(' ').slice(1).join(' ') || '',
      email: lead.email,
      job_title: 'Software Engineer',
      company: { name: lead.company || '' },
      custom_field: {
        cf_github_username: lead.github_username,
        cf_github_signal: lead.signal_type,
        cf_signal_source: lead.repo || lead.keyword || '',
        cf_top_languages: (lead.top_languages || []).join(', '),
        cf_github_followers: lead.followers || 0,
        cf_github_profile: lead.profile_url,
        cf_bio: lead.bio || '',
      },
    },
  };

  const res = await fetch(url, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      Authorization: `Token token=${FRESHSALES_API_KEY}`,
    },
    body: JSON.stringify(body),
  });

  if (!res.ok) {
    const err = await res.text();
    throw new Error(`Freshsales API error: ${res.status} ${err}`);
  }

  return res.json();
}

app.post('/webhook/gitleads', async (req, res) => {
  const lead: GitLeadsPayload = req.body;

  // Only push if email is available (required for Freshsales contact)
  if (!lead.email) {
    return res.status(200).json({ skipped: true, reason: 'no_email' });
  }

  try {
    const contact = await upsertFreshsalesContact(lead);
    console.log('Created Freshsales contact:', contact.contact?.id);
    res.json({ success: true, id: contact.contact?.id });
  } catch (err) {
    console.error('Failed to create contact:', err);
    res.status(500).json({ error: String(err) });
  }
});

app.listen(3000);

Setting Up Freshsales Custom Fields

Before running the integration, create custom fields in Freshsales under Settings → CRM → Custom Fields → Contacts:

• `cf_github_username` — Text field for GitHub handle
• `cf_github_signal` — Text field for signal type (repo_star, keyword_mention)
• `cf_signal_source` — Text field for the repo or keyword that triggered the signal
• `cf_top_languages` — Text field for comma-separated programming languages
• `cf_github_followers` — Number field for follower count (proxy for influence)
• `cf_github_profile` — URL field for direct GitHub profile link
• `cf_bio` — Text/Multiline for raw GitHub bio

Lead Scoring in Freshsales

Use Freshsales Lead Scoring rules to prioritize GitHub developer leads automatically:

• +20 points if `cf_github_followers` > 200 (influential developer)
• +15 points if `cf_github_signal` = keyword_mention (higher intent than passive star)
• +10 points if `cf_top_languages` contains your target stack (e.g., Rust, Go)
• +10 points if email is a company domain (not Gmail/Hotmail)
• +5 points if `cf_bio` contains "founder", "CTO", or "engineer"

Deduplication Strategy

GitHub developers often have multiple signals. Use `cf_github_username` as the dedup key in Freshsales to prevent duplicate contacts:

async function upsertWithDedup(lead: GitLeadsPayload) {
  // Search for existing contact by GitHub username custom field
  const searchUrl = `https://${FRESHSALES_DOMAIN}/api/contacts/search?q=${lead.github_username}&include=custom_field`;
  const searchRes = await fetch(searchUrl, {
    headers: { Authorization: `Token token=${FRESHSALES_API_KEY}` },
  });
  const searchData = await searchRes.json();

  const existing = searchData.contacts?.find(
    (c: { custom_field?: { cf_github_username?: string } }) =>
      c.custom_field?.cf_github_username === lead.github_username
  );

  if (existing) {
    // Update existing contact with latest signal
    await fetch(`https://${FRESHSALES_DOMAIN}/api/contacts/${existing.id}`, {
      method: 'PUT',
      headers: {
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
        Authorization: `Token token=${FRESHSALES_API_KEY}`,
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({
        contact: {
          custom_field: {
            cf_github_signal: lead.signal_type,
            cf_signal_source: lead.repo || lead.keyword || '',
          },
        },
      }),
    });
    return { updated: true, id: existing.id };
  }

  return upsertFreshsalesContact(lead);
}