How can I use GitHub as a paclet server?

Question

I want to use GitHub as a paclet server, but this fails:

PacletInstall[
 "ServiceConnection_StackExchange",
 "Site" -> "https:/github.com/paclets/Repository"
 ]

PacletSiteUpdate::err: An error occurred attempting to update paclet information from site https:/github.com/b3m2a1/PacletServer. Does not appear to be a valid paclet site

PacletInstall::notavail: No paclet named ServiceConnection_StackExchange is available for download from any currently enabled paclet sites.

$Failed

Is there a work around?

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See also: How to distribute Mathematica packages as paclets? and this answer

Answer 1

First things first we set up the paclet server in the normal way as described here or here.

Then all we need to do is pass the "raw.githubusercontent" version of that so that the resources themselves get downloaded instead of the HTML pages:

PacletInstall[
 "ServiceConnection_StackExchange",
 "Site" -> 
  "http://raw.githubusercontent.com/paclets/Repository/master"
 ]

Paclet[
"Name" -> "ServiceConnection_StackExchange", "Version" -> "1.0.0", 
 "Description" -> "A service connection to the Stack Exchange API. \
Supports the majority of the functions defined in the API", 
 "Extensions" -> {{
   "Kernel", "Root" -> ".", 
    "Context" -> "ServiceConnection_StackExchange`"}, {
   "FrontEnd", "Prepend" -> True}}, 
 "Location" -> "~/Library/Mathematica/Paclets/Repository/\
ServiceConnection_StackExchange-1.0.0"]

Note:

As Szabolcs points out, you must use "http://raw.githubusercontent.com". The PacletManger refuses to use the "https://" form.