GitHub Star Count Integration

Add live GitHub star counts to websites as social proof. Two patterns depending on traffic level — pick the right one and go.

Decision: Client-Side vs Server-Side

Client-side hook (default) — fetch directly from GitHub API in the browser.

• No API key needed for public repos
• GitHub allows 60 requests/hour per IP (unauthenticated)
• Fine for most sites — each visitor makes their own request
• Star count simply doesn't render if the fetch fails

Server-side caching — proxy through your own API route with a GITHUB_TOKEN.

• Raises the limit to 5,000 requests/hour
• Add next: { revalidate: 300 } to cache for 5 minutes
• Use this for high-traffic pages or when you need the count at build time

Client-Side Hook

import { useEffect, useState } from "react";

export function useGitHubStars(repo: string) {
  const [stars, setStars] = useState<number | null>(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    fetch(`https://api.github.com/repos/${repo}`)
      .then((res) => res.json())
      .then((data) => {
        if (data.stargazers_count !== undefined) {
          setStars(data.stargazers_count);
        }
      })
      .catch(() => {}); // Intentional: star count is non-critical social proof — icon renders without it
  }, [repo]);

  return stars;
}

Display Pattern

import { Github } from "lucide-react";

const stars = useGitHubStars("owner/repo");

<a
  href="https://github.com/owner/repo"
  target="_blank"
  rel="noopener noreferrer"
  className="inline-flex items-center gap-1.5 rounded-md px-3 py-1.5 text-sm text-muted-foreground transition-colors hover:bg-accent hover:text-foreground"
>
  <Github className="h-4 w-4" />
  {stars !== null && <span className="text-xs tabular-nums">{stars}</span>}
</a>

Why tabular-nums: prevents layout shift as the digit count changes — all numerals occupy the same width.

Why stars !== null: the GitHub icon always renders; the count only appears after the fetch succeeds. If GitHub is down or rate-limited, the link still works as a plain GitHub link.

For More

Read references/patterns.md for:

• Server-side caching API route (Next.js)
• Mobile-responsive display (collapsed on small screens, badge on large)
• Rate limit details and when to add a token
• Animated star count (number counting up on mount)
• Reference implementation from our theme-token project