builder-map

name	builder-map
category	dev
description	Map of who's building on top of watched repos — forks, third-party ecosystem repos, builder announcements. Answers the "who's building on top" question.
schedule	0 10 * * 2
commits	false
permissions	[]
tags	["dev","social","ecosystem"]

Today is ${today}. Read memory/MEMORY.md before starting. If soul/SOUL.md + soul/STYLE.md exist and are populated, read them to match the operator's voice; otherwise use a clear, direct, neutral tone.

Why this skill exists

When a repo, framework, or stack attracts builders — forks, third-party apps, integrations, research uses — that signal compounds quietly across GitHub and social. Without a regular sweep, the picture stays fragmented. This skill is a weekly cross-project builder discovery run: who's building on top of the watched repos, which categories are emerging, where the ecosystem is thickening.

Config

This skill reads watched repos from memory/watched-repos.md. Each row should declare a primary repo and optional search keywords. Example format:

# Watched Repos

| Repo | Keywords | Notes |
|------|----------|-------|
| acme/coreframework | coreframework, acmesdk | flagship stack |
| acme/dataengine | dataengine, acmedata | trading / quant ecosystem |

If memory/watched-repos.md doesn't exist or lists no repos, log BUILDER_MAP_SKIP: no watched repos configured and stop — there's nothing to map.

Steps

1. Load ecosystem baseline

Read memory/topics/ecosystem.md. If it doesn't exist, create it with this seed and continue:

# Builder Ecosystem

*Last run: never*

## Known Builders
- (populate as discoveries land)

## Fork Counts (baseline)
- (per-repo counts populated by the first run)

## Builder Categories
- quant/finance:
- research/scientific:
- agentic-apps:
- enterprise/adoption:
- misc:

## Signal Log
- (append per-run summaries here)

Extract:

• known_builders — list of already-tracked builders (avoid re-announcing them unless they ship something new)
• forks_last — last recorded fork count per watched repo (or "unknown")

2. Scan forks for each watched repo

For each repo from memory/watched-repos.md:

gh api "repos/${OWNER}/${REPO}/forks" --paginate \
  --jq '[.[] | select(.archived == false) | {full_name, owner: .owner.login, pushed_at, stars: .stargazers_count, description, default_branch}]'

If that fails (404 or permission), try:

gh api "repos/${OWNER}/${REPO}" --jq '{forks_count, stargazers_count}'

and note that fork enumeration was unavailable for that repo this run.

Classify each fork:

• Active = pushed_at within last 30 days
• Stale = 30–90 days
• Dormant = >90 days

Record total, active count, and any active forks with ≥1 star or a non-empty description.

3. Search GitHub for third-party ecosystem repos

These are repos that MENTION or USE the watched stack but aren't forks. For each set of Keywords in the config:

gh search repos "${KEYWORD}" --sort=updated --limit=15 --json=fullName,description,stargazersCount,updatedAt,owner

If gh search repos is unavailable:

gh api "search/repositories?q=${KEYWORD}+in:readme+in:description&sort=updated&per_page=15" \
  --jq '[.items[] | {full_name, description, stargazers_count, updated_at, owner: .owner.login}]'

Filter:

• Exclude the owners listed in memory/watched-repos.md (their own repos)
• Exclude repos that are clearly forks already captured in step 2
• Focus on repos updated in last 30 days

These are the highest-signal ecosystem builders — they chose to use the stack without forking.

4. WebSearch for builder announcements

For each watched repo and its keywords, run two searches capped to last 7 days where possible:

1. "${KEYWORD}" built OR using OR integrating ${year}
2. site:x.com "${KEYWORD}" "built" OR "using" OR "shipped"

From results, extract:

• Builders sharing demos, screenshots, or results built with the stack
• Projects that cite the watched repos as a component
• Any notable company or researcher using it

Flag results from new builders NOT in known_builders. Skip already-known builders unless they shipped something new.

5. Classify and score builders

Combine all findings. For each builder (fork, ecosystem repo, or announcement):

Signal	Points
Active fork (pushed ≤30d)	+3
Third-party repo (not a fork) using the stack	+5
Stars on fork/repo	+1 per star (cap 10)
New builder not in known_builders baseline	+4
Builder announcement / demo shared publicly	+3
Non-obvious vertical (research, enterprise, consumer)	+2

Sort by score descending. Assign category:

• quant/finance — trading bots, market simulation, portfolio analysis
• research/scientific — academic, biology, social science
• agentic-apps — autonomous agent products, tools, frameworks built on the stack
• social-sim — political/social simulation, opinion modeling
• enterprise/adoption — companies using it in products
• misc — doesn't cleanly fit

6. Compute ecosystem momentum

Signal	Level
≥3 new builders not in baseline	breakout
1–2 new builders + active forks growing	accelerating
Same builders, forks growing	building
No new builders, stable fork count	holding
Forks declining or no activity	cooling

Track fork count deltas per repo vs baseline:

• delta = current active forks − forks_last

7. Update memory/topics/ecosystem.md

Rewrite:

• *Last run: ${today}*
• Update Known Builders (append new ones; update if existing shipped something new)
• Update Fork Counts with current totals and active counts per watched repo
• Update Builder Categories map
• Append entry to Signal Log

Keep the file under ~150 lines. Archive oldest signal log entries if needed.

8. Send notification

Write to .pending-notify-temp/builder-map-${today}.md, then:

mkdir -p .pending-notify-temp
./notify -f .pending-notify-temp/builder-map-${today}.md

Format — match the operator's voice if soul files are populated, otherwise direct and neutral:

builder map — ${today}

{momentum level}: {one-line framing}

{forEach watched repo}
{repo}: {N_ACTIVE} active forks (delta {+N} vs last run)
{end}

{IF new_builders}
new builders ({count}):
{forEach new_builder, top 3}
- {owner/project}: {one-line on what they built} ({category})
{end}
{end}

{IF notable_third_party}
ecosystem repos using the stack:
{forEach, top 2}
- {repo}: {description} ({stars}★)
{end}
{end}

{IF quiet}
no new builders this week. stack's compounding.
{end}

Keep under 900 chars. Do NOT use ./notify "$(cat ...)" — write the file first, pass the path.

Skip notification entirely if:

• Momentum is "holding" AND no new builders AND fork deltas are 0 or negative
• Log BUILDER_MAP_QUIET instead

9. Log to memory/logs/${today}.md

Append:

## builder-map
- **Watched repos scanned:** {N}
- **Total active forks:** {sum across repos}
- **Third-party repos:** {count} found using the stack
- **New builders:** {count} ({names})
- **Momentum:** {level}
- **Notification:** sent / skipped (quiet)
- BUILDER_MAP_OK

Required Env Vars

None. Uses gh CLI (GITHUB_TOKEN via workflow), WebSearch, WebFetch.

Sandbox Note

• gh search repos and gh api use the gh CLI — handles auth internally.
• WebSearch: built-in tool, always available.
• If gh api for forks returns 404 (private or renamed repo): skip fork scan for that repo, log ${REPO}_forks=unavailable, continue with the rest.

Relationship to Other Skills

• fork-fleet / fork-cohort: Deep per-fork analysis. This skill stays surface-level (count, who, active/stale) to avoid duplication and covers third-party ecosystem repos as well.
• github-trending: Broad trending sweep. This skill is targeted at the operator's watched repos.

What to Watch For

• Non-obvious verticals adopting the stack (signals a real product–market fit beyond the original niche)
• Academic or research institutions using the stack
• Forks shipping novel features that didn't come from upstream
• Third-party products charging for features built on the stack (token-gating, paid endpoints)