1.3k+ npm installs in 2 weeks for open source SDK, but so less GitHub stars. Why?
I built Lyra which is an open source TypeScript SDK around YouTube APIs in few lines of code focused on:
- Transcripts — no API key needed, uses YouTube's internal API
- Comments & threads — fetch, search, and aggregate comment stats
- Transcribe entire playlists — batch mode with concurrency control and caching
- Filter & sort playlists — filter by duration/views, sort by any field
- Vercel AI SDK support — pre-built tools for AI workflows
Unexpectedly, npm installs crossed 1.3K+ pretty quickly.
But GitHub stars barely moved.
It made me realize developers today:
- install directly from docs/examples
- discover through AI/codegen
- don’t necessarily “star” tools anymore
- may not even visit the repo
Curious if other OSS/devtool builders are seeing the same thing.
Are GitHub stars becoming less relevant as a growth metric?
And if usage is growing but open source community signals aren’t, how are you distributing your devtools today?
u/Heavy-Ferret4800 — 14 days ago