6 tried and tested ways to get more Github Stars

Over the last year, we’ve been building an open-source, low-code platform for developers and IT professionals. We’ve been so bogged down building the product and talking to users; we completely neglected the Budibase Github repo .

A trifling 83 stars in November presented a bleak assessment of the impact our repository had on passersby.

So, a few weeks back, we decided to give more thought to our Github repository. I would like to stipulate, we do not treat stars as the primary currency of successful open source projects. But, we do feel they serve an important role when it comes to trust and adoption.

We’re proud of our results so far. You can view a live version of this chart .

Our objective is to get to 1000 ⭐s by the end of January, and we’re confident we can do it if we increase the value of our repository and continue to utilize the following 6 methods:

1. Update your Github Readme

Our old Github Readme consisted of a title and an outdated way to run Budibase - that was it! This had to change. It provided negative value.

So, we went about changing it. We decided from the outset, we wanted the Readme to be clean, inviting, and informative. It’s not the finished article, but it’s a step in the right direction and we’ve received great feedback from our users. Here’s a quick glimpse.

You can access the Readme here .

2. Get email involved

When a user signs up for Budibase, we send an automated email. We previously sent a general ‘Welcome to Budibase’ email including a number of CTAs signposting the user to different Budibase channels.

We immediately changed the blurb to focus on community/building an ecosystem. And we now signpost sign-ups to Github, informing them this is where our roadmap, community, and code reside. We are also very direct in our ask.

3. Add a Github CTA to your website

We get around 25,000 website visits per month. This presented us with a great opportunity to highlight our investment in Github. We decided to add a Github CTA (call to action) to our primary navbar.

Today, our website is our primary external referrer to our Github page.

You can see the button on the website here .

4. Social pointing

We communicate a lot on Twitter and we would often point people to our website. We decided, going forward, we will also point users to our Github repository. Twitter is a popular referrer to our Github page.

5. Github Discussions

We previously managed our community on Discourse. We decided to make the move to Github Discussions and it’s been a great experience to date. They are continually releasing new features, and for an open-source product, it’s nice to have your community beside your code. It’s also nice to have your community beside the Github Star button too!

6. Public roadmap (on Github)

Budibase is open source, so it’s important our roadmap is public so users understand what’s coming down the line, and provide feedback. We use Github Projects to manage our roadmap , and like Discussions, it’s great having our users on Github where they can star us, contribute, and collaborate with others.

And that’s our secret sauce. I hope this post helps you find additional Github stars for your project. There are many, many great projects out there that don’t get the attention they deserve due to a lack of stars.

If you have any questions or ideas, please reach out in the comments and I will do my best to help. Also, if you get a chance, star our repo . Please include your repo below - I’ll check it out and give it a star - everyone deserves a boost in life!

Thanks! Joe