Utilities github-solution-finder

Search GitHub for battle-tested open-source libraries and solutions

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/ouzayr/Utilities

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/ouzayr/Utilities "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/DailyPlanner/.local/secondary_skills/github-solution-finder" ~/.claude/skills/ouzayr-utilities-github-solution-finder && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: DailyPlanner/.local/secondary_skills/github-solution-finder/SKILL.md

safety · automated scan (low risk)

This is a pattern-based risk scan, not a security review. Our crawler flagged:

pip install

Always read a skill's source content before installing. Patterns alone don't mean the skill is malicious — but they warrant attention.

source content

GitHub Solution Finder

Find battle-tested libraries instead of building from scratch. Use GitHub's search operators — they're far more precise than plain Google.

Search Operators (combine with spaces = AND)

Operator	Example	Effect
`stars:>N`	`stars:>1000`	More than N stars
`stars:N..M`	`stars:100..500`	Between N and M
`language:X`	`language:python`	Primary language
`pushed:>DATE`	`pushed:>2025-06-01`	Commits after date — the key freshness signal
`created:>DATE`	`created:>2024-01-01`	Repo created after date
`topic:X`	`topic:cli`	Tagged with topic
`license:X`	`license:mit`	Specific license
`-X`	`-language:javascript`	Exclude (prefix any qualifier)
`archived:false`		Exclude archived repos
`is:public fork:false`		No forks
`in:name` / `in:readme`	`http in:name`	Restrict where term matches
`user:X` / `org:X`	`org:google`	Scope to owner
`"exact phrase"`	`"rate limiter"`	Phrase match
`NOT`	`redis NOT cache`	Exclude keyword (strings only)

High-Signal Query Templates


# Baseline: established + actively maintained
<problem> language:<lang> stars:>500 pushed:>2025-06-01 archived:false

# Find the dominant library (only a few results = clear winner)
<problem> language:python stars:>5000

# Hidden gems (newer, not yet famous, but active)
<problem> language:go stars:50..500 pushed:>2025-09-01 fork:false

# Curated lists — these exist for almost every topic
awesome <topic> in:name stars:>1000

# CLI tools
<task> topic:cli stars:>200 pushed:>2025-01-01

# Commercial-safe only
<problem> license:mit OR license:apache-2.0 stars:>500

# Boolean grouping
(language:rust OR language:go) <problem> stars:>1000

# Code search (different syntax — searches file contents)
path:**/*.py "from fastapi import" symbol:RateLimiter

Execute via webSearch

webSearch("site:github.com rate limiter python stars 1000")
webSearch("awesome self-hosted analytics github")
webSearch("<specific error message> site:github.com/issues")

Note: GitHub-specific qualifiers like

language:

stars:>

, and

pushed:>

only work on GitHub's own search engine. Through

webSearch

, use natural-language equivalents (e.g. "python" instead of

language:python

). For precise filtering, use

gh search repos

if the GitHub CLI is available (see below).

Then

webFetch

the repo URL to read the README directly.

Registry alternatives:

site:pypi.org <problem>

(Python),

site:npmjs.com <problem>

(Node),

site:crates.io <problem>

(Rust).

GitHub CLI (if available)

gh search repos "rate limiter" --language=python --stars=">1000" \
  --sort=stars --limit=10 --json=name,stargazersCount,pushedAt,url,description

gh api repos/OWNER/REPO --jq '{stars:.stargazers_count, pushed:.pushed_at, issues:.open_issues_count, license:.license.spdx_id, archived:.archived}'

Health Evaluation — Check These Fast

Signal	Healthy	Walk away
Last commit	<3 months	>18 months
Stars	>1000 (lib), >100 (niche)	<20
Open/closed issue ratio	<0.3	>1.0 with no replies
Contributors	5+	1 (bus factor)
"Used by" (sidebar)	>1000	0
Releases	Tagged, semver, changelog	No tags
License	MIT, Apache-2.0, BSD	None, GPL/AGPL (if commercial)
CI badge	Green	Missing or red
`archived: true` banner	—	Instant no

Red flags in issues: Search the issue tracker for

"memory leak"

"abandoned"

"unmaintained"

"alternative"

. If maintainer hasn't replied to anything in 6 months, the project is effectively dead regardless of star count.

Download trend check:

Python:
```
https://pypistats.org/packages/<name>
```
— declining = dying
npm:
```
https://npmtrends.com/<pkg1>-vs-<pkg2>
```
— compare candidates head-to-head
Check bundle size:
```
https://bundlephobia.com/package/<name>
```
(frontend only)

License TL;DR

License	Commercial OK	Must open-source your code?
MIT, BSD, Apache-2.0, ISC	Yes	No
LGPL	Yes	Only if you modify the lib itself
GPL	Yes	Yes, if you distribute (viral)
AGPL	Yes	Yes, even for SaaS (network-viral)
No LICENSE file	No	default is all rights reserved

Awesome Lists (curated entry points)

sindresorhus/awesome

— the root of all awesome lists. Then:

awesome-python

awesome-go

awesome-rust

awesome-react

awesome-selfhosted

awesome-nodejs

free-for-dev

build-your-own-x

(learn by reimplementing),

public-apis

Comparison Output Template


## pkg-name  [12.4k stars, pushed 2 weeks ago, MIT]
github.com/owner/pkg-name

**Does:** One-line pitch.
**Fit:** Why it matches this specific problem.
**Install:** `pip install pkg-name`

**Pro:** Active, typed, 89% test coverage.
**Con:** Pulls in 23 transitive deps; async-only API.

```python
from pkg import Thing
Thing().do(x)  # minimal working example
```

Decision Rules

Two libs within 2x stars of each other → pick the one pushed more recently
A lib with 50k stars but last commit 2023 → it's dead, find the fork (check "Forks" tab sorted by stars)
Lib does 10x more than needed → check if you can vendor the 200 lines you actually need (with attribution)
Can't find anything with >100 stars → problem may be too niche; search blog posts / Stack Overflow for how others solved it
Found 3+ viable options → npmtrends/pypistats comparison, then read the top 5 closed issues of each

Output

Always present key findings and recommendations as a plaintext summary in chat, even when also generating files. The user should be able to understand the results without opening any files.