GitHub Stars Don't Tell the Whole Story: Better Ways to Evaluate Open Source Projects

GitHub stars are often the first metric developers check when evaluating a project. But relying solely on star count can lead to poor decisions. Here's how to properly assess open source projects.

Why Stars Are Misleading

The Problems with Star Metrics

1. Popularity ≠ Quality

   • Trending projects get stars quickly
   • Old projects accumulate stars over time
   • Marketing can inflate numbers

2. Stars Don't Show Activity

   • Dead projects keep their stars
   • No indication of maintenance
   • Doesn't reflect current usage

3. Context Matters

   • Enterprise tools have fewer stars
   • Niche projects serve specific needs
   • New projects need time to grow

Better Evaluation Criteria

1. Commit Activity

Check the Insights → Commits graph:

✅ Good: Regular commits (weekly/monthly)
✅ Great: Multiple contributors
⚠️  Warning: No commits in 6+ months
❌ Bad: Abandoned (1+ year inactive)

2. Issue Response Time

Look at recent issues:

• How quickly do maintainers respond?
• Are bugs being fixed?
• Is there a backlog of ignored issues?

Red flags:

• 100+ open issues
• Issues from years ago
• No maintainer responses

3. Pull Request Merge Rate

Check Pull Requests tab:

• How many PRs are open vs closed?
• Are contributors active?
• Do PRs get merged or ignored?

Good signs:

• Active PR discussions
• Regular merges
• Clear contribution guidelines

4. Documentation Quality

Excellent documentation includes:

• Clear README with examples
• API documentation
• Contribution guidelines
• Changelog
• Migration guides

# Quality Documentation Checklist
- [ ] Installation instructions
- [ ] Quick start guide
- [ ] API reference
- [ ] Examples and tutorials
- [ ] Troubleshooting section
- [ ] FAQ
- [ ] Contribution guide

5. Test Coverage

Look for:

• Automated tests
• CI/CD badges
• Test coverage percentage
• Integration tests

6. Dependencies

Check package.json or equivalent:

• Are dependencies up to date?
• Too many dependencies? (complexity risk)
• Any security vulnerabilities?

7. Community Health

Discussions: Active community? Discord/Slack: Real-time support? Stack Overflow: Questions being answered?

8. Release Frequency

Check Releases tab:

• Regular releases indicate active maintenance
• Semantic versioning usage
• Detailed changelogs
• Migration guides for breaking changes

9. License

Ensure compatible with your use case:

• MIT, Apache 2.0 (permissive)
• GPL (copyleft)
• Commercial licenses

10. Production Usage

Best indicators:

• Companies using it in production
• Case studies and testimonials
• "Used by" section in README
• Listed on company tech stacks

The Complete Evaluation Checklist

Health Score (0-100)

| Metric | Points | Your Score | |--------|--------|------------| | Active development (commits) | 15 | ___ | | Issue response time | 15 | ___ | | PR merge rate | 10 | ___ | | Documentation quality | 15 | ___ | | Test coverage | 10 | ___ | | Community engagement | 10 | ___ | | Release frequency | 10 | ___ | | Production usage | 15 | ___ |

70+: Excellent choice 50-69: Good, monitor Below 50: Proceed with caution

Real-World Example: Evaluating a Library

Let's evaluate a hypothetical package manager:

Project: "fast-package-manager"
Stars: 5,000 (looks good!)

But deeper analysis reveals:
- Last commit: 14 months ago ❌
- 300+ open issues ❌
- No releases in 18 months ❌
- Major security vulnerability ❌
- Maintainer inactive ❌

Verdict: AVOID despite high star count

Alternative Metrics to Consider

npm Weekly Downloads (for JS packages)

Shows actual usage, not just interest.

Dependents Count

How many projects depend on this?

Fork Activity

Are forks more active than original?

Contributor Growth

Growing contributor base = healthy project.

When to Choose Less Popular Projects

Sometimes lower-star projects are better:

1. Newer, better solutions - Modern alternatives
2. Specific use cases - Tailored to your needs
3. Active maintenance - New project, active dev
4. Better documentation - Quality over quantity

Red Flags to Watch For

🚩 Bus factor of 1 - Single maintainer 🚩 No tests - Quality concerns 🚩 No license - Legal issues 🚩 Breaking changes - No stability 🚩 Toxic community - Drama and conflicts

Tools for Evaluation

1. GitHub Insights

Built-in analytics for commits, contributors, traffic.

2. Libraries.io

Dependency tracking and updates.

3. Snyk / Dependabot

Security vulnerability scanning.

4. npm trends

Compare package popularity and downloads.

5. OpenSSF Scorecard

Security best practices score.

Making the Final Decision

Ask yourself:

1. Is it actively maintained? (Most important!)
2. Does it solve my specific problem?
3. Can I contribute fixes if needed?
4. Is the license compatible?
5. Is the codebase quality good?
6. Does it have production users?

Conclusion

GitHub stars are a starting point, not the end point. Thorough evaluation takes time but saves countless hours of debugging, security issues, and potential rewrites.

Remember: A well-maintained project with 1,000 stars beats an abandoned one with 100,000 stars every time!

Pro Tips

• Bookmark projects, don't adopt immediately
• Try before you buy (prototype first)
• Have a backup plan
• Contribute to projects you depend on
• Build relationships with maintainers

Next time you evaluate a project, use this guide. Your future self will thank you!