Reactions dissappear

[jidanni]

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Product Feedback

Feature Area

Issues

Body

I can react,

but later upon reloading a page, my reaction is gone. Happens all across GitHub.

Guidelines

• I have read the above statement and can confirm my post is relevant to the GitHub feature areas Issues and/or Projects.

[github-actions[bot]]

💬 Your Product Feedback Has Been Submitted 🎉

Thank you for taking the time to share your insights with us! Your feedback is invaluable as we build a better GitHub experience for all our users.

Here's what you can expect moving forward ⏩

• Your input will be carefully reviewed and cataloged by members of our product teams. 
  • Due to the high volume of submissions, we may not always be able to provide individual responses.
  • Rest assured, your feedback will help chart our course for product improvements.
• Other users may engage with your post, sharing their own perspectives or experiences. 
• GitHub staff may reach out for further clarification or insight. 
  • We may 'Answer' your discussion if there is a current solution, workaround, or roadmap/changelog post related to the feedback.

Where to look to see what's shipping 👀

• Read the Changelog for real-time updates on the latest GitHub features, enhancements, and calls for feedback.
• Explore our Product Roadmap, which details upcoming major releases and initiatives.

What you can do in the meantime 💻

• Upvote and comment on other user feedback Discussions that resonate with you.
• Add more information at any point! Useful details include: use cases, relevant labels, desired outcomes, and any accompanying screenshots.

As a member of the GitHub community, your participation is essential. While we can't promise that every suggestion will be implemented, we want to emphasize that your feedback is instrumental in guiding our decisions and priorities.

Thank you once again for your contribution to making GitHub even better! We're grateful for your ongoing support and collaboration in shaping the future of our platform. ⭐

[mikey177013]

Possible Causes can be

1. Client-side caching or authentication issue

GitHub reactions are stored via API calls to /reactions endpoints (internally handled through GraphQL mutations). If the authentication token used by the browser or app session expires, the API call may silently fail. The UI temporarily reflects the change locally, but it never reaches the server.

2. Browser extensions

Extensions that modify request headers, block scripts, or filter requests (e.g., uBlock, Privacy Badger, NoScript) can block or intercept the PATCH or POST requests GitHub uses for reactions. Testing in a clean browser profile or incognito mode confirms this.

3. Session storage corruption

Cached session data (cookies, local storage) may contain an invalid CSRF token or partial authentication data. Clearing cookies and cache for github.com can resolve this.

4. GitHub-side caching or API latency

Occasionally, GitHub’s API may temporarily fail to persist reactions while still rendering them locally. This can happen during partial outages or API rate limiting. Checking GitHub Status helps confirm this.

Recommended Steps:

1. Log out of GitHub and log back in to refresh authentication tokens.

2. Clear cookies and site data for github.com.

3. Test reaction behavior in a private/incognito window with all browser extensions disabled.

4. If the issue persists, inspect network traffic in Developer Tools → Network tab.

Successful requests should return HTTP 200 or 201.

Failures may show 401 (unauthorized) or 403 (forbidden).

5. If you identify failed requests, provide the request/response status in a bug report to GitHub Support.