What is starring?

Starring, in the context of online platforms like GitHub, GitLab, and similar services, is a feature that allows users to express appreciation, bookmark, or show support for a specific repository or project. It's a lightweight way to keep track of interesting projects and gauge their popularity.

• Purpose: The primary purpose of starring a project is to mark it as interesting or useful. It serves as a digital bookmark, allowing you to easily revisit the project later. It also helps to indicate the project's popularity and community support. See: Purpose%20of%20Starring

• Functionality: Starring a repository is typically a simple, one-click action. The "star" button is usually prominently displayed on the repository's page. You can usually "unstar" a repository if you no longer wish to track it. See: Starring%20Functionality

• Visibility: Your stars are generally public unless you configure privacy settings that might be available on certain platforms. The number of stars a repository has is publicly visible and serves as a social signal of its value. See: Visibility%20of%20Stars

• Benefits for Users:

  • Bookmarking: Quickly save projects of interest for future reference.
  • Discoverability: Easily find starred projects later through your profile.
  • Inspiration: Track projects you admire or want to learn from. See: Benefits%20for%20Users

• Benefits for Project Maintainers:

  • Social Proof: High star count can attract more contributors and users.
  • Feedback: A large number of stars can be an indicator of project quality and usefulness.
  • Motivation: Provides encouragement for maintainers to continue their work. See: Benefits%20for%20Maintainers

• Alternatives: While starring is a common feature, other ways to track projects exist, such as "watching" repositories (for notifications) or "forking" them (to create a personal copy for contributing). See: Alternatives%20to%20Starring