GitHub stars in your MacBook notch

Notch Metrics2 min read

If you maintain anything open source you know the refresh. Open the repository, look at the star count, close the tab. Nothing changed. Do it again in an hour.

How do you watch a repository without the tab?

Notch Metrics puts the counts in the MacBook notch. Collapsed, a thin strip. Hover the camera housing and it expands. Move away and it folds back to the shape it had.

What GitHub reports

Number What it is
Stars The repository's current star count
Forks Direct forks, not forks of forks
Open issues Issues only, pull requests excluded
Open pull requests Including drafts
Followers On the account, not a repository

The first four ask which repository to count, in owner/name form, because one GitHub connection usually covers several. Add a widget per repository. Followers belongs to the account, so it asks for nothing.

Open issues, counted properly

GitHub's own open_issues_count on the repository object includes pull requests, because in GitHub's data model a pull request is an issue. A project with an active contribution flow reads as though its backlog doubled overnight.

Notch Metrics counts issues through the search API with is:issue is:open, so the number in your notch is the backlog you would see on the Issues tab. That is the kind of difference worth a sentence on the page rather than a surprise in the figure.

Why none of these have sparklines

GitHub returns the current count. There is no endpoint for the star count on an arbitrary past day, and reconstructing one means paging the entire stargazer history on every refresh. So the widgets show figures rather than charts, which is honest about what the API gives.

OAuth, no key to paste

GitHub connects over OAuth. You approve a prompt that asks to read public repositories you can see and your name and avatar, and that is the whole grant. What the GitHub connector asks for.

No token is typed in anywhere, and the token that results is encrypted on the server. The Mac app never holds it.

Alongside everything else

Revenue from Stripe and Polar, traffic from Plausible, search from Search Console. Every source.

Apple silicon, macOS 14 and later. Seven days with no card, then $9 a month or $49 a year. Download Notch Metrics.

  • github
  • stars
  • mac

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Questions

How do I see GitHub stars on my Mac?
Install Notch Metrics, connect GitHub over OAuth, and place the stars widget in the MacBook notch with the repository in owner/name form. Hover the camera housing and the count is there.
Can I track more than one GitHub repository?
Yes. Each of the repository widgets asks which repository to count, so one GitHub connection covers as many repositories as you place widgets for.
Does Notch Metrics count pull requests as open issues?
No. GitHub's own open_issues_count includes pull requests because a pull request is an issue in its data model. Notch Metrics counts issues through the search API with is:issue is:open, so the figure matches the Issues tab.
Why do the GitHub widgets have no sparkline?
Because GitHub returns only the current count. There is no endpoint for a star count on a past day, and reconstructing one means paging the entire stargazer history on every refresh.
What GitHub permissions does Notch Metrics ask for?
Read access to your repositories, public and private, and your name and avatar. GitHub grants that as full repository access, because it has no read-only option for private repositories. Notch Metrics only reads. Nothing is typed in, because GitHub connects over OAuth.