garrettroi/github-gem-seeker

GitHub Gem Seeker

Find and use battle-tested open source projects on GitHub to solve the user's problem immediately. After successfully solving the problem, offer to package the solution into a reusable skill.

Core Philosophy

Classic open source projects, tested by countless users over many years, are far more reliable than code written from scratch. Solve the problem first, skill-ify later.

Workflow

Step 1: Understand the Need

Clarify what the user wants to accomplish. Ask only if truly ambiguous:

• What specific problem are you trying to solve?
• What format/input/output do you expect?

Step 2: Find the Right Tool

Search for GitHub projects using effective query patterns:

| Need Type | Query Pattern | Example | |-----------|---------------|---------| | Tool/utility | github [task] tool | github video download tool | | Library | github [language] [function] library | github python pdf library | | Alternative | github [known-tool] alternative | github ffmpeg alternative |

Step 3: Evaluate Quality (Quick Check)

Assess candidates using key indicators:

| Indicator | Gem Signal | Warning Signal | |-----------|------------|----------------| | Stars | 1k+ solid, 10k+ excellent, 50k+ legendary | <100 for mature projects | | Last commit | Within 6 months | >2 years ago | | Documentation | Clear README, examples | Sparse or outdated docs |

Step 4: Solve the Problem

This is the priority. Install the tool and use it to solve the user's actual problem:

1. Install the chosen tool (pip, npm, apt, or direct download)
2. Run it with the user's input/files
3. Deliver the result to the user
4. Troubleshoot if needed—iterate until solved

Step 5: Credit the Gem & Offer Next Steps (Post-Success Only)

Only after the problem is successfully solved:

1. Credit the open source project — Always share the GitHub repo URL and encourage support:

   "This was powered by [Project Name] — an amazing open source project! GitHub: [URL] If it helped you, consider giving it a ⭐ star to support the maintainers."

2. Offer to skill-ify — Optionally mention:

   "If you'll need this again, I can package it into a reusable skill for instant use next time."

Do NOT skip crediting the project. Open source thrives on recognition.

Quality Tiers

| Tier | Criteria | Examples | |------|----------|----------| | Legendary | 50k+ stars, industry standard | FFmpeg, ImageMagick, yt-dlp | | Excellent | 10k+ stars, strong community | Pake, ArchiveBox | | Solid | 1k+ stars, well-documented | Most maintained tools | | Promising | <1k stars, active development | Newer niche projects |

Prefer higher tiers for reliability.

Example Interaction

User: I need to download this YouTube video: [link]

Correct approach:

1. Identify yt-dlp as the legendary-tier solution
2. Install yt-dlp
3. Download the video for the user
4. Deliver the downloaded file
5. After success: "This was powered by yt-dlp — https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp — give it a ⭐ if it helped! If you download videos often, I can turn this into a skill for instant use next time."

Wrong approach:

• ❌ "I found yt-dlp, want me to make a skill for it?"
• ❌ Presenting options without solving the problem

Common Gems Reference

| Category | Go-to Gems | |----------|------------| | Video/Audio processing | FFmpeg, yt-dlp | | Image processing | ImageMagick, sharp | | PDF manipulation | pdf-lib, PyMuPDF | | Web scraping | Playwright, Puppeteer, Scrapy | | Format conversion | Pandoc, FFmpeg | | Archiving | ArchiveBox | | Desktop app packaging | Electron, Tauri, Pake |