0 results on "The token enables [some features]" link in Firefox add-on preferences

[anko]

This link points to a search with 0 results:

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• Mozilla Firefox 83.0
• Refined Github version 20.12.9

[yakov116]

Its working for me in chrome. it links to https://github.com/sindresorhus/refined-github/search?q=github-helpers/api
Can you copy the link and paste it here?

[anko]

https://github.com/sindresorhus/refined-github/search?q=github-helpers/api

It's the same link. It works in the sense that the page exists, it just contains no information relevant to what I thought the link was supposed to show me. I think it's pointing at the wrong URL.

Based on the context where the link appears, I would have expected the link to bring me to a page with a list of features that would be enabled by adding a personal token, but it links to a seemingly unrelated search with 0 results.

(Sorry, I could have described this better. It's not strictly a "broken link"; I just couldn't think of a better wording.)

[fregante]

That’s weird. I get 36 code results on that page (Safari)

[anko]

I checked Chrome, and it indeed shows 36 results too. Copied and pasted the same link into Firefox: 0 results. 💫

Testing theories:

• Maybe Firefox gets confused by / not being percent-escaped?

  ❌ https://github.com/sindresorhus/refined-github/search?q=github-helpers%2Fapi also shows 0 results.

• Maybe my profile or add-ons have some setting I don't know about that's causing this?

  ✔️ This seems to be it. If I start a Private Window in Firefox (so I'm not signed in to Github, and most add-ons are disabled), I also get 36 results.

I'll try disabling extensions one by one to narrow this down, then report back (see below).

[anko]

If I am logged in to Github, I get 0 results for https://github.com/sindresorhus/refined-github/search?q=github-helpers/api in both Chrome and Firefox. If I'm logged out, I see the 36 results I'm supposed to. Disabling add-ons has no effect.

But why?

• Have I forgotten about some search-related Github setting that might affect this?

  ❌ I went through the settings. There's nothing relating to search.

• Dark mode bug?

  ❌ Same problem with dark or light appearance setting.

• Is the code search API behind a magic account-tied API key that my account has somehow managed to get rate-limited on?

  ❌ No. I see code results when searching other repositories, for other search terms on this repo, and when searching globally.

• Am I for some reason blocked from this repo, or blocked by Sindre Sorhus so I see no results from his repos?

  ❌ No. If I search for other keywords, I can find code results from this repo.

While trying random stuff, I noticed that I get the intended 36 results if I search this repository for github-helpers api (the same search, but with a space instead of /); https://github.com/sindresorhus/refined-github/search?q=github-helpers+api&type=code

I also noticed that I get 0 code results even if I search Github globally for github-helpers/api, so one would think the / is universally bad, but every other search I've tried that has a / in it works fine. And slashes are supposed to do nothing anyway, according to Github documentation for code search:

You can't use the following wildcard characters as part of your search query: . , : ; / \ `` ' " = * ! ? # $ & + ^ | ~ < > ( ) { } [ ]. The search will simply ignore these symbols.

But for some reason, seemingly only on my account, and seemingly only for this specific search query, I get 0 results. Except if I remove the slash that is supposed to do nothing; then it works.

I must herefore conclude that my Github account is cursed.

---

Here's the whole mystery summarised in one screenshot:

If allowing mysteriously cursed users to access documentation is a priority, then I would propose amending the problematic search link to contain a space instead of a slash.

The slash is supposedly a no-op, so replacing it with a space shouldn't affect non-cursed users. (Someone non-cursed please confirm, by visiting https://github.com/sindresorhus/refined-github/search?q=github-helpers+api&type=code and observing 36 results?)

[fregante]

This is for you: https://youtube.com/watch?v=KXBI2_zH9Js

Could you report it to GitHub?

in the meantime, yes, we can replace it with a space. My non-cursed account reports 36 results either way

[anko]

@fregante Thanks for the fix and music. 😄

I emailed Github support about this (It bounced. Apparently https://support.github.com/ is the place now; I'll figure it out later.), and added a mention to Isaacs' unofficial issue tracker.