github-research

name

github-research

description

Find reputable GitHub repositories with quality filters (stars, recency, license). Use this skill when the user needs to find code samples, reference implementations, libraries, or templates on GitHub. Triggers on requests like "find GitHub repos for X", "search GitHub for Y examples", "find a good library for Z", or any request to discover quality open-source code. Requires gh CLI (version 2.14+).

GitHub Research

Find reputable GitHub repositories using quality filters. Prioritize curated Awesome Lists, then search with star thresholds to ensure code quality.

Workflow

Step 1: Check for Awesome Lists First

Awesome Lists are community-curated collections of quality resources. Search them first:

gh search repos "awesome <topic>" --stars=">=5000" --limit=5 --json name,stargazersCount,url,description

If a relevant Awesome List exists (e.g., awesome-python, awesome-react), recommend it as the primary source.

Step 2: Search Repositories with Quality Filters

gh search repos "<query>" \
  --language=<lang> \
  --stars=">=1000" \
  --archived=false \
  --limit=10 \
  --json name,url,stargazersCount,license,description,pushedAt

Default quality threshold: 1000+ stars. Adjust based on user needs:

• Production code: --stars=">=1000"
• Learning/examples: --stars=">=500"
• Exploration: --stars=">=100"

Step 3: Additional Filters (as needed)

Filter	Flag	Example
Topic	--topic	--topic=cli
Recency	--updated	--updated=">2024-01-01"
License	--license	--license=mit
Owner	--owner	--owner=microsoft
Sort	--sort	--sort=stars

Step 4: Validate Top Results

For the top 3-5 candidates, check quality indicators:

gh api "repos/<owner>/<repo>" --jq '{
  stars: .stargazers_count,
  forks: .forks_count,
  issues: .open_issues_count,
  updated: .pushed_at,
  license: .license.spdx_id
}'

Quality indicators:

• Recent activity (updated within 6 months)
• Active issues/PRs (maintained)
• Multiple contributors
• Clear license (MIT, Apache-2.0 preferred)

Step 5: Save Results

Save research to docs/research/ as Markdown:

docs/research/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-github-repos.md

Include: repo name, stars, license, URL, and brief description.

Examples

Find FastAPI templates:

gh search repos "fastapi template" --language=python --stars=">=500" --archived=false --limit=10

Find CLI tools in Go:

gh search repos --topic=cli --language=go --stars=">=1000" --limit=10

Find React component libraries:

gh search repos "react component library" --language=typescript --stars=">=1000" --updated=">2024-01-01"

Rate Limits

• Search API: 30 requests/minute (authenticated)
• Check remaining: gh api rate_limit --jq '.resources.search.remaining'

Prerequisites

Requires GitHub CLI version 2.14+ with gh search repos command. Check version: gh version