My (23) Stars of GitHub at the End of 2025

Following my post from last year, in which I shared my GitHub stars for 2024, I have now reviewed what I discovered throughout 2025.

I review my stars periodically, and the 31st of December 2025 was no exception.

By the end of 2025, I had accumulated (or rediscovered) the following repositories, all of which are well worth a look.

This is a curated list, and I have selected those most worth knowing for the coming year, 2026. I have avoided repeating anything covered previously. To see my earlier recommendations, you can read my 2024 Stars of GitHub.

ikatyang / emoji-cheat-sheet

A markdown version emoji cheat sheet

Comprehensive markdown-based reference guide designed for users who want to incorporate emojis into GitHub, Slack, and other platforms that support emoji shortcodes. It provides an extensive, categorised list of emojis alongside their respective shortcodes (such as :smile:) and Unicode representations.

The repository is notable for being automatically updated, pulling data directly from the GitHub Emoji API and the Unicode Full Emoji List to ensure the content remains current with the latest additions. It serves as a highly popular and lightweight tool for developers and writers to quickly find and copy the exact syntax needed to render icons within markdown files, commit messages, and documentation.

yumetodo / google-photos-album-image-url-fetch

Extract public image URL from shared album URL on Google Photos

TypeScript-based library designed to programmatically extract direct image URLs from public Google Photos shared albums. Unlike standard API-based approaches that often provide temporary links, this tool focuses on retrieving more persistent URLs by scraping and parsing the album’s metadata directly from the shared page’s HTML structure.

The tool is particularly useful for developers who want to use Google Photos as a lightweight content delivery system or host for website images. It includes features to fetch image dimensions and update dates, and it even provides a mechanism to track new additions to an album over time. Leveraging the specific data callbacks embedded in Google Photos web pages, it allows for automated integration of photo galleries into third-party applications without requiring a complex OAuth setup for public content.

ImageOptim / ImageOptim

GUI image optimiser for Mac

The source code for the popular open-source macOS application designed to reduce image file sizes without sacrificing quality. It functions as a graphical front-end that seamlessly integrates several powerful command-line optimisation tools, such as Zopfli, MozJPEG, and PNGOUT. By automating these tools, it finds the best compression parameters to strip away bloated metadata, invisible junk, and unnecessary colour profiles from JPEG, PNG, and GIF files.

The project is highly regarded for its “brain-dead simple” user interface, which allows users to simply drag and drop images or entire folders to initiate batch processing. Beyond the desktop app, the repository serves as the foundation for a broader ecosystem, including an API and CLI tools, making it a staple for web developers and designers looking to improve page load times and app performance. Because it runs locally on your Mac, it ensures privacy by processing images without ever uploading them to an external server.

imteekay / web-performance-research

⚡️ Web Performance Research

Comprehensive, curated collection of resources dedicated to the deep study and application of web performance. It serves as a personal research log and knowledge base that covers a vast array of topics, from Core Web Vitals like LCP and CLS to advanced browser internals, rendering engines, and memory management.

The repository is organised into thematic sections, including architecture, backend, networking (HTTP/2, caching), and frontend frameworks like React. It aggregates high-quality articles, videos, podcasts, and case studies, providing developers with a structured path to move from basic optimisation techniques to a fundamental understanding of how browsers execute code and render pixels. By documenting real-world experiments and industry best practices, it functions as a go-to reference for building faster, more resilient web applications.

macos-fuse-t / fuse-t

A modern, “kext-less” implementation of FUSE (Filesystem in Userspace) for macOS. Its primary purpose is to serve as a successor to older projects like macFUSE that rely on kernel extensions. Because Apple has increasingly restricted the use of third-party kernel extensions for security and stability reasons, this project offers a more sustainable path for developers to create custom filesystems on the Mac.

Technically, the tool functions by implementing a userspace server that translates FUSE protocol calls into NFS v4 (Network File System) calls. This allows macOS to mount volumes using its built-in, native NFS client rather than requiring deep, low-level system modifications. This approach avoids the need to lower system security settings (such as disabling System Integrity Protection) or reboot into recovery mode, which is often necessary for traditional FUSE implementations.

The project is designed as a drop-in replacement, maintaining compatibility with existing libfuse API headers so that many existing filesystems can be ported with minimal changes. It is particularly popular within the privacy and backup communities, being used by tools like Cryptomator and rclone to provide a seamless way to mount encrypted or cloud-based storage as if it were a local drive.

dtinth / comic-mono-font

A legible monospace font… the very typeface you’ve been trained to recognise since childhood

A unique, monospaced font designed specifically for coding, inspired by the aesthetic of the infamous Comic Sans typeface. It is a derivative of Shannon Miwa’s “Comic Shanns,” modified to be a perfect monospaced font where every character has the exact same width. This makes it suitable for use in code editors and terminal emulators, offering a legible and casual alternative to more traditional, rigid programming fonts.

The project addresses common alignment issues found in the original inspiration by ensuring that glyphs are properly centred and scaled to work within a grid. It includes features such as bold and italic variants, and the repository provides simple installation scripts for various operating systems. For developers who find standard fonts too clinical, Comic Mono offers a readable, “hand-drawn” feel that maintains the technical requirements of a development environment without sacrificing the whimsical character of the source design.

google / woff2

The repository provides the reference implementation for the Web Open Font Format 2.0 (WOFF2), a font packaging format that provides significantly better compression than its predecessor. The project includes C++ libraries and command-line utilities—specifically woff2_compress and woff2_decompress — built on the Brotli compression algorithm to help developers prepare fonts for efficient web delivery.

This tool is particularly useful when working with repositories like dtinth / comic-mono-font, which only provides the font in TrueType (.ttf) format. While TTF files work well for local desktop use, they are often too large for optimal web performance. By using this utility, you can convert those TTF files into WOFF2 format, making them lightweight and ready for use in web applications and websites to ensure faster loading times and reduced bandwidth consumption.

serhii-londar / open-source-mac-os-apps

🚀 Awesome list of open source applications for macOS.

A massive, community-driven “Awesome List” that serves as a definitive directory for open-source software on macOS. It categorises hundreds of applications across dozens of fields, including development tools, productivity, audio-visual editing, security, and system utilities. The project is designed to help users find high-quality, free alternatives to proprietary software while encouraging developers to discover new projects they can contribute to.

Unlike smaller, highly curated lists, this repository is exhaustive and includes both native Swift/Objective-C apps and cross-platform tools. Each entry typically features a brief description, links to the official website, and the primary programming languages used in the project. Because it is powered by a large community of contributors, the list is frequently updated with the latest open-source releases, making it an essential resource for Mac users who prioritise transparency and community-driven software.

ben-nour / SQL-tips-and-tricks

SQL tips and tricks

A practical, curated guide designed to help developers and data analysts write cleaner, faster, and more maintainable SQL queries. It moves beyond basic syntax to cover professional best practices, such as using leading commas for better readability, leveraging Common Table Expressions (CTEs) to simplify complex logic, and understanding the specific performance implications of different filtering methods.

The collection is particularly valuable for its focus on common pitfalls and “pro-tips” that are often missed in standard tutorials. It includes advice on avoiding ambiguity in calculated fields, mastering the order of execution, and using advanced functions like QUALIFY or ROLLUP for sophisticated data aggregation. Whether you are working on ad-hoc analysis or production-level database code, this repository serves as a concise cheat sheet for refining your SQL craftsmanship.

insidegui / AssetCatalogTinkerer

An app that lets you open .car files and browse/extract their images.

A native macOS utility designed to open, browse, and extract the contents of .car files, which are the compiled asset catalogues used by Apple in iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS applications. It allows developers and designers to peer into the internal resources of an app to view images and icons that are otherwise packaged in a proprietary binary format.

The application is particularly useful for reverse engineering or design research, as it can export individual assets or entire catalogues into standard formats. Beyond simple image viewing, the project includes a QuickLook plugin for macOS, enabling users to preview the contents of an asset catalogue directly from the Finder. While it was originally built with images in mind, recent updates have expanded its capabilities to include a command-line tool named act and support for modern asset types like SVGs and SF Symbols.

pbatard / rufus

The Reliable USB Formatting Utility

A home of the “Reliable USB Formatting Utility,” a widely used open-source Windows application for creating bootable USB flash drives. It is particularly renowned for its speed and reliability when preparing installation media from ISO images for Windows, Linux, and UEFI-based systems. The tool is frequently used for low-level tasks, such as flashing BIOS or firmware from DOS or running system utilities on computers without a pre-installed operating system.

Beyond simple formatting, Rufus includes advanced features such as the ability to create “Windows To Go” drives and bypass specific Windows 11 hardware requirements, like TPM 2.0 or Secure Boot, during the media creation process. The repository contains the highly optimised C-based source code, which allows the application to remain small, portable, and remarkably fast compared to many official alternatives. It supports a vast array of file systems and is available in dozens of languages, making it a staple utility for IT professionals and home users alike.

rustdesk / rustdesk

An open-source remote desktop application designed for self-hosting, as an alternative to TeamViewer.

The source code for a full-featured, open-source remote desktop infrastructure. Designed as a self-hosted alternative to proprietary solutions, it provides users with total control over their data security by allowing them to host their own relay and ID servers. The application is built using Rust, ensuring high performance and low memory usage across multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.

It has gained significant popularity as a powerful replacement for enterprise tools like TeamViewer, particularly for those looking to migrate their user base to a more transparent and cost-effective platform. As your personal favourite app for offering remote support, it provides a seamless transition for managing multiple users without the licensing restrictions or privacy concerns often associated with commercial competitors. Its ability to work out-of-the-box with a public rendezvous server, while still offering the flexibility of private deployment, makes it a versatile choice for both casual support and professional IT administration.

mangerlahn / Latest

A small utility app for macOS that makes sure you know about all the latest updates to the apps you use.

A home of a highly useful open-source utility for macOS that simplifies the often tedious task of keeping non-App Store applications up to date. While the official Mac App Store handles updates for its own software, many third-party apps downloaded from websites require manual checks; this tool bridges that gap by scanning your /Applications folder and identifying which apps have newer versions available.

The application primarily supports apps that use the popular Sparkle framework or those hosted on GitHub, presenting them in a clean, native interface that feels like a natural part of the macOS ecosystem. It allows you to view release notes for each update and perform the entire installation process with a single click. For users who prefer a centralised dashboard for software maintenance without relying on command-line tools, it offers a fast and elegant way to ensure their entire toolkit remains current and secure.

awesome-selfhosted / awesome-selfhosted

A list of Free Software network services and web applications which can be hosted on your own servers

One of the most significant collections of open-source software on GitHub, acting as a definitive directory for applications that can be hosted on one’s own infrastructure. It provides an exhaustive list of self-hosted alternatives to popular software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms, covering everything from cloud storage and communication tools to media streaming and home automation.

The project is meticulously organised into dozens of categories, ensuring that users can easily find reliable tools for specific needs, such as password management, analytics, or document editing. Because the repository is community-driven and adheres to strict quality guidelines, it serves as a trusted roadmap for enthusiasts and sysadmins looking to reclaim their digital privacy and data sovereignty. It is often considered the “gold standard” resource for anyone building a home lab or managing their own private server.

R0GGER / public-iperf3-servers

A list of public iPerf3 servers…

A curated and actively monitored directory of public iPerf3 servers located across the globe. It addresses the common challenge of finding reliable endpoints for network performance testing, providing a verified list of servers hosted by data centres, ISPs, and educational institutions rather than unreliable residential connections.

The list is organised by continent and includes essential connection details such as hostnames, available ports, and support for specific protocols like IPv6 or UDP. By maintaining strict uptime requirements for inclusion, the repository ensures that network administrators and enthusiasts have a dependable resource for measuring bandwidth, latency, and jitter between their local environment and various geographic regions.

sveltia / sveltia-cms

Netlify/Decap CMS successor. Fast, lightweight, Git-based headless CMS. Modern UX, first-class i18n support, mobile support + 100s of improvements. Framework-agnostic, open source & free.

A lightweight, open-source, and Git-based Content Management System (CMS) designed as a modern successor to Decap CMS (formerly Netlify CMS). It acts as a static site generator’s administrative interface, allowing users to manage content via a user-friendly GUI that automatically commits changes directly to a Git repository. Because it is built as a single-page application that runs entirely in the browser, it requires no backend server, making it an incredibly efficient way to add “WordPress-like” management to static sites.

It has become a standout choice for those looking to bring high-level content editing to static frameworks, such as the widely used Hugo. By integrating Sveltia CMS with a Hugo-built site, you can provide an intuitive dashboard for non-technical users to edit posts and upload media, while still benefiting from the speed, security, and simplicity of a static architecture. Its ability to work seamlessly with various Git providers and its focus on performance make it a powerful tool for bridging the gap between professional development and easy content administration.

wg-easy / wg-easy

The easiest way to run WireGuard VPN + Web-based Admin UI.

One of the most user-friendly ways to deploy and manage a WireGuard VPN server. It bundles the WireGuard VPN and a sleek, web-based management dashboard into a single Docker container, removing the complexity of manual configuration files and command-line peer management.

The tool is highly regarded for its simplicity, allowing users to create, delete, and manage clients through a responsive interface that even generates QR codes for instant mobile setup. It handles essential networking tasks automatically, such as internal NAT and firewall rules, making it an ideal choice for home lab enthusiasts or small teams who want a secure, high-performance VPN without the steep learning curve typically associated with network administration.

embedpdf / embed-pdf-viewer

A PDF viewer that seamlessly integrates with any JavaScript project

A lightweight, customisable solution for embedding a professional PDF viewing experience directly into web applications. It is built as a wrapper around the powerful PDF.js library, offering a clean and modern user interface that remains responsive across different screen sizes. By using this tool, developers can bypass the inconsistent behaviour of native browser PDF plugins and provide a uniform experience for their users.

The project is designed for easy integration, allowing for the rendering of PDF documents with features like zooming, page navigation, and text selection without requiring complex backend processing. It is particularly useful for documentation sites or content-heavy web apps where displaying portable documents inline—rather than forcing a download—is essential for a seamless user journey. The repository includes clear instructions for deployment, making it a straightforward addition to any modern web project.

cjpais / Handy

A free, open source, and extensible speech-to-text application that works completely offline.

A free, open-source speech-to-text application for macOS that prioritises privacy by working completely offline. It leverages OpenAI’s Whisper model locally on your machine to provide highly accurate transcriptions without ever sending your audio data to the cloud.

The application is designed to be extensible and unobtrusive, allowing users to quickly transcribe audio from their microphone or system output directly into text. Because it processes everything on-device, it is an excellent tool for users who need reliable transcription services while maintaining strict data sovereignty and avoiding recurring subscription fees.

netdata / netdata

The fastest path to AI-powered full-stack observability, even for lean teams.

A home of a highly advanced, open-source monitoring agent designed to provide real-time, per-second observability for entire IT infrastructures. Unlike traditional monitoring tools that often rely on historical data or slow polling intervals, Netdata captures thousands of metrics every second—covering everything from CPU and memory usage to application-specific performance and hardware sensors—and visualises them in an interactive, web-based dashboard that requires zero initial configuration.

What sets the project apart is its “distributed” architecture and extreme efficiency; the agent is written primarily in C to maintain a tiny resource footprint (often using less than 1% CPU) while performing complex tasks like unsupervised machine learning for anomaly detection directly at the edge. By keeping the data local to the source and only streaming views when needed, it offers a secure and high-fidelity alternative to centralised, expensive SaaS platforms. Whether you are troubleshooting a single server or managing a massive cluster of containers and IoT devices, Netdata provides the instant insights necessary to identify root causes and resolve incidents before they impact users.

open-webui / open-webui

User-friendly AI Interface (Supports Ollama, OpenAI API, …)

A feature-rich, self-hosted interface designed to be the ultimate front-end for interacting with large language models. Originally developed as Ollama WebUI, it has evolved into a universal gateway that supports various backends, including Ollama and OpenAI-compatible APIs. It brings a polished, ChatGPT-like experience to local AI setups, allowing users to manage conversations, documents, and models through a sleek and responsive web interface.

What makes this project stand out is its extensive suite of advanced features, such as Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) support, which allows the AI to “chat” with your local files and websites. It also includes comprehensive multi-user management, fine-grained access controls, and a “Functions” system for extending the model’s capabilities with custom scripts. For privacy-conscious users and developers, it serves as an essential tool for creating a powerful, private AI workstation that remains entirely under their own control.

nicholas-fedor / watchtower

Automate Docker container image updates

A prominent and actively maintained fork of the original containrrr/watchtower project. As the original upstream repository has become largely unmaintained, this fork has emerged as the community-recommended version for users who want to keep their Docker infrastructure secure and up-to-date. It functions as a process for automating Docker container base image updates, periodically checking for newer versions of your running images and gracefully restarting containers to apply those updates.

What distinguishes this specific fork is its commitment to modern Docker features and frequent bug fixes that have stalled elsewhere. Notably, it introduces robust support for depends_on logic within Docker Compose, ensuring that dependent containers are restarted in the correct order to prevent service failures. It also includes refined self-update behaviour, improved notification propagation through Shoutrrr, and fixes for the Docker API to ensure compatibility with the latest system environments.

For home lab enthusiasts and sysadmins, this version of Watchtower provides a “set-and-forget” solution for maintaining a fresh software stack without manual intervention. By mounting the Docker socket, it can monitor all running containers (or a specific subset) and send detailed reports via various notification services if an update occurs. It remains a critical utility for anyone looking to automate their DevOps workflow while ensuring their containers benefit from the latest security patches and performance improvements.

Raphire / Win11Debloat

A simple, lightweight PowerShell script to remove pre-installed apps, disable telemetry, as well as perform various other changes to customise, declutter and improve your Windows experience. Win11Debloat works for both Windows 10 and Windows 11.

A comprehensive PowerShell-based utility designed to transform a standard Windows 11 installation into a cleaner, faster, and more private environment. It is widely considered an essential first step for any freshly purchased computer or a clean Windows installation, as it systematically removes the “bloatware” and intrusive features that often clutter the default operating system experience.

The tool offers an extensive range of optimisations, from uninstalling pre-installed third-party apps and disabling telemetry to stripping away sponsored content from the Start menu and Taskbar. Beyond mere cleanup, it provides deeper system tweaks such as restoring the classic context menu, disabling Bing search within the OS, and removing non-essential system components like OneDrive or Cortana. Its modular approach allows users to run it via an interactive graphical interface or through automated scripts, making it a powerful ally for anyone looking to reclaim their system resources and ensure their hardware isn’t bogged down by unnecessary background processes from day one.

One of the most reassuring aspects of Win11Debloat is its “safety-first” design; when running with the default settings, the tool is remarkably non-destructive. If you find that you miss a specific feature or accidentally removed an app you actually needed, any changes applied can be easily reverted.

Because the script focuses on disabling services and hiding components rather than permanently deleting critical system files, you can restore functionality without a full OS reinstall. Furthermore, any stock applications that were uninstalled can be reinstalled through the Microsoft Store with ease, ensuring that you have complete control over your system’s configuration without the fear of breaking Windows permanently.

And that is all.

I hope you find something useful here too. If you do, please leave a star on the relevant repository to let the creators know that their hard work is highly appreciated.