Orbit · GitHub Navigation

简体中文 · English

One-liner: Orbit is a Chinese-language GitHub navigation site for beginners and developers — it automatically collects, categorizes and star-tiers open-source repositories so you can find, understand and jump to the right project without signing up, without coding, and without a build step.

Governance: Orbit is community-maintained under the GPL-3.0 license. Everyone is welcome to join via Issues / PRs — see CONTRIBUTING.md.

Item	Value
Repository	https://github.com/DaiYiqq/orbit-github-nav
Governance	Community-maintained (CONTRIBUTING.md)
License	GPL-3.0
Stack	Vanilla HTML / CSS / JavaScript (no build, no framework) · GitHub Search API · PWA + Service Worker · Tauri 2 · GitHub Pages / Actions

Live demo

URL	Notes
https://DaiYiqq.github.io/orbit-github-nav/	GitHub Pages — all browsing features work without an account
https://orbit-github-nav.app.workbuddy.host/	Published app mirror — email / SMS code sign-in works on this origin

See the Chinese README for the full feature boundary and cloud/domain notes.

Screenshots

Mobile preview

Project detail / install center / motion

Core features

Feature	Details
Curated index	3265 real repositories across 16 topics; filter by category, language, star range, last update, license, 6 sort orders
Star tiers & trends	100k / 50k / 10k / 5k / 1k tiers; projects active in the last 7 / 30 / 90 days
Full project page	Rendered README, star / fork / issue counts, license, ZIP download, clone command, 8 deep links into GitHub, contribution steps, related projects
Source browser	Branch switch, file tree, syntax highlighting with line numbers, per-file copy / download, commits / issues / releases
AI & ecosystem	Chat assistants, coding tools, image / video / audio, open models, AI communities, MCP / Skills / Agent / open-source picks
Blogs & papers	18 engineering blogs, 20 classic papers (with arXiv source)
Search	⌘K command palette (repos / categories / tools / papers) + live GitHub-wide search for long-tail repositories
Favorites & sync	Heart favorites, share, JSON import / export; optional cloud sync after email / SMS code sign-in
Multi-platform	Web / PWA / Tauri 2 desktop / mobile share the same site/ code; Apple-style light / dark / system theme
No account needed	Search, filters, favorites, sharing and source browsing all work anonymously; guest data stays in the local browser

Who it's for

• GitHub beginners — a plain-language glossary, a 5-minute guide, and a feature-by-feature comparison with github.com.
• Developers evaluating options — narrow candidates by language, stars, activity and license, then read the README and check maintenance status.
• People hunting AI tooling — chat assistants, coding tools, open models, AI communities, MCP / Skills / Agent and classic papers in one place.
• Offline / app users — install as a PWA or build a Tauri 2 desktop package; works offline.
• Privacy-minded visitors — no sign-up for any core feature; favorites and settings stay in your own browser.
• Self-hosters — one-click startup scripts, a GitHub Pages deployment guide and an editable site/config.js.

What makes it different

Only capabilities actually implemented in this repository are listed:

Common pattern	Orbit
A link list that sends you away	A full page per project: README, stats, topics, license, 8 GitHub deep links, contribution steps, related projects
Reading code means leaving the site	Built-in source browser: branches, file tree, highlighting, per-file copy / download
Links without explanation	An 11-chapter in-site docs center + 6 built-in scripts, glossary, 5-minute guide, FAQ, explicit limitations
Manually maintained lists	scripts/fetch-repos.mjs runs 49 GitHub Search API queries; a weekly workflow refreshes the index; live GitHub-wide search covers the long tail
Web only	One site/ codebase for web, PWA, Tauri 2 desktop and mobile
Sign-up wall	Search / filters / favorites / sharing / source browsing need no account; cloud sync and GitHub connection are optional
Acting on your GitHub account	Only links out to github.com; Star / Fork / Issue / PR always happen on GitHub itself; source browsing is read-only
Claiming to index everything	Explicitly states full indexing is impossible and documents every other limitation

Usage

Install Node.js 18 or newer (nodejs.org), then:

OS	Command
Windows	double-click install.bat
macOS / Linux	./install.sh
Start without opening a browser	node scripts/install.mjs --no-open
Just look around	open site/index.html directly

The site starts at http://127.0.0.1:4173/; press Ctrl + C to stop. Or simply use the live demo above — no installation required.

node scripts/smoke-test.mjs      # full self-check
node scripts/fetch-repos.mjs     # refresh the repository index
node scripts/perf-audit.mjs      # performance / accessibility audit

Contributing (community-maintained)

Orbit is community-maintained — discussion, decisions and merges happen in the open via Issues and PRs, with no single-maintainer gate. The full guidelines, Issue templates and PR workflow are in CONTRIBUTING.md.

In short: use the Issue templates (bug / feature / repository nomination), edit site/data/catalog.js for curated content, run node scripts/smoke-test.mjs before a PR, and never commit secrets — site/cloud-config.js holds public config only. Keep all browsing features usable without an account, and never fabricate data, links or screenshots.

License

Orbit is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0) and is community-maintained.

• You may run, study, modify, copy and redistribute this project, including commercially, but derivative works you distribute must also be licensed under GPL-3.0 with source available, and must retain copyright/license notices and state changes. See LICENSE for the full text.
• Submitting an Issue / PR means you agree your contribution is licensed under GPL-3.0 for this project and all downstream users.
• Third-party content is unaffected: the repositories, blogs, papers and external links indexed here remain the property of their respective authors under their own licenses — Orbit only navigates and indexes them. Check each project's own license before using it.
• Repository index data comes from the public GitHub API; curated links point to official product sites.

Item	Value
License	GPL-3.0 (SPDX: GPL-3.0-only)
Commercial use	Allowed under GPL-3.0's copyleft terms
Closed-source use	Optional Commercial License

Commercial license (optional)

An optional Commercial License Agreement is available as an alternative to GPL-3.0. Note that GPL-3.0 already permits commercial use and charging — you only need the commercial license when you want to integrate Orbit into a closed-source product, deliver it to clients, or otherwise distribute derivative works without releasing their source code. Normal use, internal use and GPL-compliant distribution need no application and no fee.

Your case	Which license
Internal use, study, GPL-compliant distribution, paid GPL support	GPL-3.0 — no application
Closed-source integration, client delivery, OEM, no source release	Commercial License

The agreement covers scope of grant and copyleft exemption, restrictions, fees and application process, term and termination, warranty disclaimer and liability limits, confidentiality, governing law, and the rights boundary for community contributions and third-party content. The application template and contact channels are in section 12. Third-party repositories, blogs and papers indexed here keep their own licenses and are not covered.

Ready to sign? Fillable execution templates are provided: Chinese (governing) and English. They cover party details, licensed scope and exclusion schedules, fees, dispute resolution, signature blocks and a pre-signature checklist. A completed version contains commercially sensitive information — do not commit it to the public repository.

Project founder & contact

Orbit is community-maintained; discussion, decisions and merges happen in the open via Issues / PRs. Below are the project founder and publicly listed contact channels — please use Issues / PRs for collaboration.

DaiYi (戴亿) (project founder) · GitHub @DaiYiqq · Issues · Telegram @daiyi520 · Telegram channel · QQ 1703205607

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Turning "where do I even start?" into a short list of projects filtered by topic, language, stars and activity — with README, source and maintenance status one click away — is what Orbit is for. It collects no visitor data and asks for no registration.

如果这个项目对你有帮助，欢迎点一个 ⭐ Star。