GitHub
Overview
Given crypto’s open-source permissionless nature, most crypto-asset’s code is available publicly through Github. IntoTheBlock links directly to the official Github repositories of a crypto-asset and extracts key information for each protocol’s ecosystem of developer activity. Here is a breakdown of the attributes displayed in the Github indicator:
Commits
A commit is a set of changes made to a crypto-asset’s source code on behalf of one or more developers. Commits are an indicator of activity, evolution and maintenance in the software surrounding a crypto-asset.
Stars
Starring is a process through which a developer indicates interest in developments in a GitHub project. Stars add to the ranking that developer communities give to open-source projects. Therefore, stars are an indicator of a projects’ popularity and prestige.
Open Issues
Open issues keep track of tasks, enhancements and bugs for crypto-asset projects. These are indicative of an active developer community reporting problems and requesting new aspects for a crypto-asset.
Closed Issues
Closed issues show signs of progress as projects advance by solving problems and adding enhancements. Lagging numbers for closed issues may suggest abandonment or lack of commitment from a crypto-asset’s developer community.
Watchers
Similar to stars, watchers are users that subscribe to receive notifications for events connected to a crypto-asset’s repositories. These point to community interest.
Size
The size (in bytes) of the total content in a crypto-assets’ GitHub repositories. A stable size may suggest abandonment or lack of commitment from the developer community.
Forks
Forks are copies of a repository generally used to extend or modify the original code. Within GitHub, these act as a proxy of popularity and engagement by the developer community.
Repositories
Repositories are a collection of versioned files that make up a project. In general, a crypto-asset’s ecosystem consists of several GitHub repositories.
Open Pull Requests
Pull requests are a mechanism through which a collaborator notifies users responsible for a project about modifications or suggestions done for its code. These are evaluated and then decided if the proposed changes will go into effect or not. Pulled requests act as a signal of collaboration and activity for a crypto-asset’s developer community.
Merged Pull Requests
Approved pull requests are merged into the protocol’s main repository. Merged pull requests therefore point to activity and frequency in modifications executed.
Closed Pull Requests
Pull requests that are not approved are closed, resulting in repositories staying the same way they were prior to the requests.
💡 How can I use it?
For anyone looking to analyze a protocol’s developer community, the GitHub indicator is a must-use. The metrics shown above, commits (left axis) and stars (right axis) point to general interest and involvement from a crypto-asset’s developer community. Ideally, there should be growth in these aspects as well as in other key developer metrics.
Open issues (left axis) and closed issues (right axis) are useful to compare the number of bugs and enhancements found compared to those that are fixed/executed. As seen with Ethereum, significantly more issues are being sorted out than kept open, pointing to commitment from the developer community.
Overall, each of these GitHub metrics paint a slightly different angle into a project’s developer community. This indicator handily provides a holistic view of all key GitHub metrics. Feel free to compare between each and across crypto-assets.
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