I Built GitStock: View Git Hub repositories like you would view stock prices.

lan yi — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 09:33:45 +0000

GitHub tells us a lot about a project, but the signal is often spread across commit history, graphs, files, and activity pages.

I wanted a faster way to answer a simple question:

How active does this repository feel at a glance?

So I built GitStock, a small developer tool that turns any public GitHub repository into a market-style candlestick chart.

What is GitStock?

GitStock renders GitHub repository activity like a stock chart.

Enter a public repo such as:

github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss

GitStock fetches recent commit data and turns commits, additions, and deletions into an interactive SVG K-line chart. Each candle represents repository movement, making code activity easier to scan visually.

Instead of reading a long commit list, you get a compact activity chart that helps you spot:

bursts of development
quiet periods
large code changes
overall project momentum
whether a repo feels actively maintained

Why candlestick charts for GitHub?

Candlestick charts are great at showing movement over time. In financial markets, they help people quickly understand volatility, momentum, and direction.

Open source projects have similar patterns.

Some repositories move steadily. Some have sudden bursts. Some go quiet. Some receive large rewrites or heavy maintenance waves.

GitStock brings that visual language to code activity.

It is not trying to replace GitHub Insights or deep repository analysis. It is meant to be a fast visual layer that makes repo activity more readable and more shareable.

What you can do with it

GitStock currently supports:

generating charts for public GitHub repositories
rendering commit activity as SVG candlestick charts
mapping additions and deletions into chart movement
viewing commit details through interactive SVG tooltips
copying the chart as HTML
copying the chart as Markdown
copying the chart image
copying a direct image URL

That makes it useful for README badges, launch posts, project reports, dashboards, newsletters, and quick comparisons between repositories.

A chart you can actually share

One thing I wanted from the beginning was simple sharing.

When you generate a chart, GitStock gives you copy buttons for:

HTML embed code
Markdown embed code
image copy
image URL

So if you maintain an open source project, you can add a live-looking activity chart to your README or documentation without taking screenshots manually.

Who is this for?

GitStock is built for:

open source maintainers who want to show project activity
developers evaluating whether a repo is alive
founders and builders tracking technical momentum
writers creating posts about open source projects
investors and analysts looking for quick developer-signal visuals
anyone who enjoys seeing code activity from a different angle

How it works

Under the hood, GitStock uses GitHub repository commit data, including additions and deletions, then renders the result as an SVG chart.

The app is built with Go and Gin on the backend. Charts are generated server-side, cached, and served as SVGs so they are lightweight and easy to embed.

The goal is to keep the experience simple:

Enter a public GitHub repository.
Generate the chart.
Copy or share it.

No dashboard setup. No account flow. No complicated configuration.

What I learned building it

The most interesting part was translating commit history into a chart model that feels natural.

A commit is not a stock price, but it does have movement:

additions increase the codebase
deletions reduce it
large changes create wider swings
sequences of commits create momentum

Once represented visually, repositories start to feel surprisingly different from one another.

Some charts look calm and consistent. Others look volatile. Some show long quiet stretches followed by big bursts of work.

That is the part I find fun: GitStock makes repository activity feel visible.

Try it

If you work with GitHub projects, try GitStock with a repo you care about:

https://gitstock.org

Try your own project, a favorite open source repo, or a library you depend on.

I would love feedback on:

which repositories produce the most interesting charts
what signals should be added next
whether stars, releases, issues, or PRs should become chart overlays
how the embed experience could be improved

GitHub activity already contains a lot of useful signal. GitStock is my attempt to make that signal easier to see, share, and talk about.

Things You Should Know Before Starting Indie Development

lan yi — Sat, 09 May 2026 12:01:55 +0000

Apple Small Business Program

If your annual revenue is under 1 million USD, you can join Apple's Small Business Program and reduce the App Store commission rate from 30% to 15%.

That means if a user pays 10 dollars, you would receive 8.5 dollars instead of 7.

As long as your annual proceeds stay below 1 million USD, the lower rate continues. If you go above 1 million USD in a given year, the commission returns to 30% for the rest of that year, and you will no longer qualify for the program in the following year.

Both individual and company developer accounts can apply.

Apply here: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/small-business-program/enroll/

Cloudflare Startup Program

The credits can be used for the services below and are valid for one year.

This is especially useful if you want to build the backend for a website or app.

Databases and Storage

R2
Workers KV
Queues
D1

Compute

Workers
Workers for Platforms
Durable Objects
Workflows

AI

Workers AI
Vectorize

Media

Images and transformations
Stream
Cloudflare Calls

Performance and Security

Argo
Load Balancing
Cache Reserve

UI/UX Skill

This is currently the most starred UI skill project. It can be used to guide AI when generating app or website interfaces.

https://github.com/nextlevelbuilder/ui-ux-pro-max-skill

App Submission

When uploading screenshots in App Store Connect, it often reports that the image size is incorrect. You need to crop according to the exact size shown in the error message.

These two tools can crop images directly to the dimensions required by App Store Connect.

Preview and screenshot crop tool:
https://app-icon-generator.com/tools/apple-screenshot-preview-capture-tool

In-app purchase review screenshot crop tool:
https://app-icon-generator.com/tools/in-app-purchase-review-screenshot-crop-tool

Apple Search Ads

After your app goes live, you can run ads for it on the App Store through Apple's ad platform. New users usually get 100 USD in ad credit, which is worth claiming.

Eligibility

As long as you meet the following conditions, you can qualify whether your account is personal or company-owned:

New user: You must be registering an Apple Search Ads account for the first time.
Developer status: You must be the Account Holder of a registered App Store Connect account.
Published app: At least one app under your account must already be live on the App Store.
Account linking: Your Apple Search Ads account must be linked with your App Store Connect account.

How It Works

The credit is usually added automatically, but you still need to complete the basic setup:

Add a valid payment method, such as a credit card, in Apple Search Ads.
The system will consume the 100 USD credit first. Only after that is exhausted will it start charging your card.

https://app-ads.apple.com/

DEV Community: lan yi