I Renamed My Open-Source Project and Doubled Its Discoverability — Here's Why "CliGate" Replaced "ProxyPool Hub"

#ai #opensource #devtools #webdev

The Problem: Nobody Could Find My Project

I built an open-source tool that manages multiple AI coding assistant accounts (Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI) through a single local proxy. It had multi-account pooling, smart routing, a visual dashboard — everything a developer using AI tools needs.

But it had 12 stars. And when I Googled my own project name, I couldn't find it.

The name was "ProxyPool Hub." The problem? Search "proxypool" on GitHub and you get dozens of HTTP/IP proxy pool projects — web scraping tools with thousands of stars that completely buried mine. My AI coding tool was invisible because its name belonged to a different domain entirely.

The Fix: Rename to CliGate

After analyzing SEO patterns, checking npm/GitHub availability, and studying how successful open-source projects name themselves (LiteLLM, FastAPI, etc.), I renamed the project to CliGate — CLI + Gateway.

Why this name works:

7 characters — short, memorable, easy to type
CLI + Gate — instantly communicates "gateway for CLI tools"
Zero naming collisions — searching "cligate" returns only my project
Great CLI experience — npx cligate start feels natural
SEO-friendly — contains "cli" which matches what users search for

The GitHub org also changed from yiyao-ai (meaningless in English) to codeking-ai (memorable, professional).

What CliGate Actually Does

CliGate is a unified local gateway that sits between your AI coding CLIs and their APIs:

Claude Code / Codex CLI / Gemini CLI / OpenClaw
                    |
            CliGate (localhost:8081)
                    |
       +------------+------------+
       |            |            |
   ChatGPT      Claude       API Keys
   Accounts    Accounts     (10+ providers)

Core Features

Multi-Account Pooling

Add multiple ChatGPT, Claude, and Antigravity accounts
Auto-rotate when one hits rate limits (sticky, round-robin, or random)
OAuth login with automatic token refresh

API Key Management

Support for OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Vertex AI, MiniMax, Moonshot, ZhipuAI
One-click connectivity test
Automatic failover between keys

Smart Routing

Account Pool First or API Key First priority
Bind specific apps to specific credentials
Custom model mapping (e.g., route claude-haiku to free models)

Visual Dashboard

Real-time usage analytics and cost tracking
Full request/response logging
One-click CLI configuration for all supported tools
Built-in tool installer (Node.js, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, OpenClaw)
Dark/light theme, English/Chinese i18n

Quick Start

# No install needed
npx cligate@latest start

# Or install globally
npm install -g cligate
cligate start

Open http://localhost:8081 and you'll see the dashboard:

Lessons Learned About Naming Open-Source Projects

Your name IS your SEO — If your project name collides with established projects in a different domain, you're invisible
Include a domain keyword — "cli", "ai", "code" help search engines categorize your project correctly
Short beats descriptive — cligate > ai-llm-proxy-gateway-hub
Check availability everywhere — GitHub org, npm, Google results
Brand consistency matters — org name and project name should work together (codeking-ai/cligate)