diff --git a/src/lib/octokit.ts b/src/lib/octokit.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ccf478b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/octokit.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+import { Octokit } from "octokit";
+
+// Private variable for Singleton pattern
+let _octokit: Octokit | null = null;
+
+export function getOctokit(): Octokit {
+  if (_octokit) return _octokit;
+
+  const auth = process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN;
+  
+  // We don't throw an error here because Octokit can work without a token 
+  // (unauthenticated), though it will be heavily rate-limited.
+  _octokit = new Octokit({
+    auth: auth || undefined,
+  });
+
+  return _octokit;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Fetches repository metadata safely.
+ * Notice we only log the error message, NOT the full error object.
+ */
+export async function getRepoData(owner: string, repo: string) {
+  const client = getOctokit();
+  
+  try {
+    const { data } = await client.rest.repos.get({
+      owner,
+      repo,
+    });
+    return data;
+  } catch (error: unknown) {
+    const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : "An unknown error occurred";
+    console.error("Error fetching GitHub repo:", message);
+    
+    return null;
+  }
+}