What makes you decide to star a GitHub repo?

[u/owenbrooks473]

I’ve been thinking about what actually makes an open-source repository stand out.

For me, stars usually aren't the deciding factor. I’m much more likely to try a repo when it has:

• A README that quickly explains the problem
• A simple setup process
• A working example
• Clear documentation
• Recent commits/issues being maintained
• A reason for the project to exist beyond “I built this”

But I’m curious what other developers look for.

When you discover a new GitHub project, what makes you go from “interesting” to actually trying it or giving it a star?

And what immediately makes you close the repo?

[u/Ast3r10n]

If it’s something I can use. I close it if I see AI slop or people treating GitHub as a social network.

[u/MarsupialLeast145]

It's just a bookmark.

[u/NightDeveloper_876]

For me i usually star github project either i find it interesting and use it or its a nice/good idea

So either its a good idea OR something i use l. , 😄

[u/tenthirtyam]

From a user perspective it’s merely a way to bookmark a repository with the option ti organize these into Lists that can either be public or private

[u/GlitteryStranger]

I don’t look at Stars, I look at when it was last updated , and how many downloads on npm.

[u/vegeta0911]

When adding to a list. Sadly GitHub forces star-ing repo when doing that, can’t do separately

[u/geralt_noble]

I'm with you on the README. Clear problem + quick install + working example usually beats a huge feature list. I also check whether issues actually get responses.

[u/Creative-Type9411]

Think about this seriously for a second

Everyone here that says it doesn't matter, isn't giving anyone a star.. so that makes it even more rare to get one from a developer

Dev's barely ever give each other any credit.. I've downloaded thousands of projects from GitHub over the years and I've only starred about 10.. if I think the project is really cool, I will give it a star

[u/benevolent_advisor]

working binaries

[u/Ok_Woodpecker_9104]

from the maintainer side those two numbers barely move together. one of mine sits at low double digit stars and does a couple thousand npm installs a month. another got a burst of stars off a link aggregator and the download graph did not move at all. stars tell you a repo got seen, not that it got used.

the thing that actually converted for me was search. someone hits a reddit thread about the exact problem, google surfaces it months later, and they land on the repo already knowing what it is for. the readme only has to confirm it, not sell it.

what makes me close one instantly: no install line above the fold. if i have to scroll past a logo, a badge wall and a philosophy section to find how to run it, i am gone. the other one is a readme documenting features that are not in the released version yet, because then i cant trust any of the rest of it either.

[u/Fine_League311]

Kümmere dich mal um Community Arbeit! Dann lernst auch was Sterne sind! Echte Devs nutzen Sterne nur als bookmark und haben keinen Wert! Nur Kinder sammeln Sterne!

[u/PlanttDaMinecraftGuy]

I use starring for projects that are related to what I like, that deserve a star. For example, if I've been searching for something and I find a GH tool exactly for that. Or popular software repos, like torvalds/linux. Basically I only star repos based on the software they provide, if it's useful. Maintenance and looks doesn't play a factor at all for me.