GitGenius evaluates a GitHub user's activity and influence using only official GitHub APIs (REST + GraphQL).
Raw counts are normalized to avoid bias toward very large or old accounts.
The final GitGenius Score combines activity and influence scores, with an additional boost for users who indicate they are hireable.
The scoring methodology includes the following metrics:
GET /users/{username} – profile metadata
GET /users/{username}/repos – repositories (first 500 owned repositories, 5 pages of 100, which is where stars and forks received are summed from)
GraphQL contributionsCollection – last 12 months
activityScore = logNorm(totalContributions)
influenceScore = logNorm(followers + stars×2 + forks)
gitGeniusScore = (activityScore × 0.55) + (influenceScore × 0.45) + 0.15 if hireable = true
| Component | Weight | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Activity | 55% | Rewards recent engagement |
| Influence | 45% | Measures impact and adoption |
| Hireable | +0.15 | Signals collaboration intent |
The GitGenius Score is not a 0–100 rating. Because both components are logarithmic, the score has a hard floor at 0 but no upper cap — each additional 10× of contributions adds a fixed 0.55, and each additional 10× of influence adds a fixed 0.45. That keeps the scale compact: in practice virtually every scored account lands between 0 and 5.
| GitGenius Score | Level | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 0.00 | Floor | No contributions in the last 12 months, no followers, no stars or forks. The only way to sit above 0 with an empty profile is the hireable flag, which alone yields 0.15. |
| 1.0 – 2.5 | Emerging | Occasional contributions, little or no adoption of their repositories. |
| 2.5 – 3.5 | Established | Consistent year-round activity and a project or two with real traction. Most actively-scored users fall here. |
| 3.5 – 4.5 | Exceptional | Heavy contribution volume combined with widely adopted projects — typically Core Maintainers and Influencers. |
| 4.5+ | Rare | Requires both extreme activity and hundreds of thousands of weighted stars, followers and forks. Uncommon even among the best-known accounts on GitHub. |
| Profile | Contributions | Followers / Stars / Forks | Activity | Influence | GitGenius Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New developer | 120 | 3 / 1 / 0 | 2.08 | 0.78 | 1.50 |
| Regular contributor | 600 | 40 / 60 / 15 | 2.78 | 2.25 | 2.54 |
| Popular project author | 1,500 | 200 / 800 / 150 | 3.18 | 3.29 | 3.23 |
| Core maintainer, major project | 4,000 | 5,000 / 40,000 / 6,000 | 3.60 | 4.96 | 4.21 (4.36 if hireable) |
Note: the bands above describe the combined GitGenius Score. The activity and influence scales in the next section describe the two component scores individually, which are what drive user classification — the two sets of thresholds are not interchangeable.
Both activity and influence scores use logarithmic normalization (log₁₀(n + 1)) to handle the wide range of GitHub metrics fairly. Each runs on its own 0-to-unbounded scale and is read separately from the combined score above.
| Score Range | Interpretation | Classification Impact |
|---|---|---|
| 0 – 2.5 | Minimal to emerging activity/influence | Typically Specialist |
| 2.5 – 2.8 | Active contributor threshold | Builder (if activity), Specialist (if influence only) |
| 2.8 – 3.5 | Significant activity and/or influence | Core Maintainer (if both high), Builder or emerging Influencer |
| 3.5+ | High influence level | Influencer or Core Maintainer |
Note: Classification depends on both activity AND influence scores together. The thresholds above guide how users are categorized into Core Maintainer, Influencer, Builder, or Specialist.
Based on activity and influence scores, users are classified into four categories:
| Classification | Criteria | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 Core Maintainer | activity > 2.8 AND influence > 3.0 | High activity combined with significant influence. Active developers maintaining popular projects. |
| 🧠 Influencer | influence > 3.5 | High influence regardless of recent activity. Authors of widely-used projects with strong community reach. |
| 🛠 Builder | activity > 2.5 | Highly active contributors building projects consistently. May not yet have wide reach. |
| 🎯 Specialist | default (all others) | Focused contributions in specific domains or emerging developers building their presence. |
Note: Classifications are evaluated in order - Core Maintainer is checked first, then Influencer, then Builder, and finally Specialist as the default.
Planned extensions may include:
