Transparent scoring, not black-box hype

Every metric on MushyBook exists to answer one question: can you trust this repo enough to adopt it this week?

Health score (0-100)

A weighted point system computed from live GitHub metadata, refreshed roughly once a week per project. It is directional, not a guarantee of production readiness. Tap the info icon next to any health score to see a repo's real breakdown.

Popularity (stars)

25 pts

Up to 25 points, scaled by star count tiers.

Community (forks)

10 pts

Up to 10 points, scaled by fork count tiers.

Contributors

15 pts

Up to 15 points, based on the project's real contributor count from GitHub.

Recent activity

25 pts

Up to 25 points based on how recently the project last committed code.

README present

10 pts

Flat 10 points if the repo has a README.

License present

10 pts

Flat 10 points if the repo declares a license.

Issue backlog ratio

±5 pts

A small bonus for a light open-issues-to-stars ratio, or a small penalty for a heavy one.

Rising fast

Highlights repositories gaining stars over the last seven days. When recent momentum data is limited, we surface other projects showing strong traction.

Rising is a momentum lens, not a quality verdict. Pair it with the health score and page summary before you adopt anything mission-critical.

Alternatives and comparisons

We surface related projects from shared topics, categories, and side-by-side comparisons on each repo page.

Alternatives

Similar tools you might evaluate instead. We weight relationships by topic overlap, category fit, and editorial curation.

Compare view

Pick two to four published repos on /compare to review stars, health, license, and summaries side by side.

What gets published

Not every suggested repository appears in search right away.

In review entries are being checked for clear documentation, complete metadata, and a useful summary. They stay out of public search and browse lists until they are ready.

Published pages meet that bar and stay updated with fresh stars, activity signals, and trending data.

Submissions from /submit go through the same review process as projects we discover from GitHub and community sources.

How often data updates

  • Stars, health score, and trending signals: refreshed roughly weekly per project, spread across the week rather than all at once
  • Project summaries and comparisons: updated when pages are reviewed or edited
  • Search and browse lists: updated when a page is published or changed
  • Community comments: moderated before they appear publicly