Unstarify

A modern, feature-rich desktop application for efficiently managing your GitHub stars. Built with PySide6 (Qt6) and optimized for handling thousands of starred repositories with a sleek dark-themed UI.

Features • Installation • Usage • API Details • Contributing

✨ Features

🎨 Modern User Interface

Dark Theme Design: Custom QSS stylesheet with a sleek, professional dark aesthetic
Responsive & Intuitive: Clean layout with organized tabs and sections
High Performance: Handles 5000+ starred repositories without lag or stuttering

⚡ Advanced Functionality

Asynchronous Design: Background workers via QThread with Signals and Slots keep the UI responsive
Live Search & Filter: Instantaneous full-text search by name, owner, description, or topics
Smart Filtering: Filter by Language, Archived status, and Fork status simultaneously
Multiple Sort Options: Sort by Repository Name, Owner, Language, or Last Updated date
Batch Operations: Select multiple repositories and perform actions en masse

🔐 Security & Authentication

Secure Token Connection: Connect with GitHub Personal Access Token (PAT)
Optional Local Storage: Safely store credentials locally (encrypted option available)
No Browser Automation: Uses official GitHub REST API exclusively—no Selenium or web scraping

📊 Interactive Repository Grid

Native Checkboxes: ☑ / ☐ for intuitive multi-select operations
Quick Actions:
- Select All / Deselect All / Invert Selection
- Right-click context menu (Open Repository, Copy URL, Open Owner Profile)
- Double-click to open repository directly in browser
Real-time Updates: Immediate feedback on all operations

📈 Progress & Monitoring

Interactive Progress Bar: Live estimated completion times and real-time counters
Cancellation Controls: Stop operations at any time
Console Log Output: Timestamped operation logs in a clean, scrollable code-font window
Error Handling: Detailed logging of failures and retry attempts

💾 Data Import/Export

Export Formats: Save your starred repositories to CSV or JSON
Import Backups: Load JSON backups to compare with current account status
Smart Re-starring: Automatically re-star missing repositories from backups
Data Integrity: Verify and sync your local backups with live GitHub data

🧹 Maintenance Tools

One-Click Cleanup: Clear settings, credentials, and cache folders
Configuration Reset: Easily reset all app preferences and tokens
Data Wipe: Securely remove sensitive information

🚀 Installation & Setup

Prerequisites

Python: Version 3.11 or higher
GitHub Account: With a Personal Access Token (PAT)
PAT Scopes:
- public_repo – for managing public repository stars
- repo – for managing both public and private repository stars

Step 1: Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/github-stars-manager.git
cd github-stars-manager

Step 2: Install Dependencies

Install all required packages in one command:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Or manually install:

pip install PySide6 requests python-dotenv

Step 3: Generate Your GitHub PAT

Go to GitHub Settings → Developer Settings → Personal Access Tokens
Click "Generate new token (classic)"
Select scopes: public_repo (or repo for private repos)
Copy the token and keep it safe

Step 4: Run the Application

python main.py

Step 5 (Optional): Reset Configuration

To wipe all saved tokens, config, and cache:

python clear_data.py

📖 Usage Guide

Connecting Your GitHub Account

Launch the application
Paste your GitHub Personal Access Token
Click "Connect" to authenticate
Your starred repositories load automatically

Searching & Filtering

Search Bar: Type to filter by repository name, owner, or description in real-time
Language Filter: Select a programming language to show only those repositories
Status Filters: Toggle "Archived" and "Forks" visibility
Sorting: Click column headers to sort by different criteria

Bulk Operations

Select repositories using checkboxes
Use batch actions:
- Remove stars from selected repos
- Export selected repos to CSV/JSON
- Open all in browser (opens owner profile)
Monitor progress with the live progress bar

Context Menu Actions

Right-click any repository to:

🌐 Open Repository – Opens in default browser
📋 Copy URL – Copies repo URL to clipboard
👤 Open Owner Profile – Opens owner's GitHub profile

Exporting Your Data

Select repositories (or select all)
Click "Export"
Choose format: CSV or JSON
File saves to your specified location

Importing & Syncing

Click "Import"
Select a previously exported JSON file
App compares with current starred repos
Review differences and confirm
Auto-star missing repositories

🔌 API Usage & Data Details

API Integration

The application uses the official GitHub REST API exclusively. No browser automation, Selenium, or scraping is involved.

Endpoints Used

1️⃣ Token Validation

GET https://api.github.com/user
Authorization: Bearer <TOKEN>

Purpose: Authenticates the token and retrieves the logged-in username
Response: User profile information

2️⃣ Fetch Starred Repositories

GET https://api.github.com/user/starred?per_page=100&page=<n>
Accept: application/vnd.github.star+json
Authorization: Bearer <TOKEN>

Purpose: Retrieves paginated list of all starred repositories
Parameters:
- per_page: 100 (maximum per-page limit for efficiency)
- page: Incremented to fetch all pages
Special Header: Custom Accept header pulls starred_at timestamps

3️⃣ Remove Star

DELETE https://api.github.com/user/starred/{owner}/{repo}
Authorization: Bearer <TOKEN>

Purpose: Unstar a specific repository
Response: 204 No Content on success

4️⃣ Add Star

PUT https://api.github.com/user/starred/{owner}/{repo}
Authorization: Bearer <TOKEN>

Purpose: Star a repository (used for re-starring imported repos)
Response: 204 No Content on success

Rate Limit & Error Handling

Primary Rate Limits

Monitoring: Tracks X-RateLimit-Remaining and X-RateLimit-Reset headers
Auto-Pause: When remaining quota reaches 0, automatically pauses operations
Smart Resume: Calculates exact sleep duration and resumes automatically

Secondary / Abuse Limits

403 Handling: Detects HTTP 403 rate limits
Retry Strategy: Extracts Retry-After header and waits specified duration
Prevention: Implements exponential backoff to avoid repeated throttling

Retry Mechanism

Transient Failures: Automatically retries up to 3 times for network issues
Detailed Logging: All retry attempts logged to console with timestamps
Graceful Skipping: Failures after max retries are logged and skipped

Data Schema

Each starred repository stores the following fields:

Field	Type	Description
`id`	Integer	Unique Repository ID
`name`	String	Repository name
`owner`	String	Owner's GitHub login
`description`	String	Repository description (nullable)
`language`	String	Main programming language
`topics`	Array	Keywords/tags associated with repo
`fork`	Boolean	Whether repo is a fork
`archived`	Boolean	Whether project is archived
`private`	Boolean	Public/Private visibility
`created_at`	Timestamp	Repository creation date
`updated_at`	Timestamp	Last update timestamp
`html_url`	String	Repository web URL
`default_branch`	String	Primary branch name (e.g., `main`)
`avatar_url`	String	Owner's profile picture URL
`starred_at`	Timestamp	When you starred it

🏗️ Project Structure

github-stars-manager/
├── main.py              # Entry point for the Qt application
├── gui.py               # PySide6 UI, stylesheets, and worker management
├── api.py               # GitHub REST API integration & rate limiting
├── models.py            # Repository dataclass definition
├── utils.py             # File I/O (CSV/JSON) & comparison utilities
├── config.py            # Configuration & preference management
├── clear_data.py        # Data cleanup & reset utility
├── requirements.txt     # Python dependencies
└── README.md            # This file

Module Details

main.py: Application entry point; initializes the Qt event loop and main window
gui.py: Manages all UI components, QSS styling, context menus, and launches background workers to prevent blocking
api.py: Handles GitHub API requests, pagination, rate throttling, and error recovery
models.py: Defines the Repository dataclass for type-safe data handling
utils.py: Provides utility functions for JSON/CSV export, import, and data comparison
config.py: Manages local configuration (config.json), window state, and preferences
clear_data.py: One-click tool to reset all configurations and wipe stored secrets

🛠️ Development

Building from Source

# Clone repo
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/github-stars-manager.git
cd github-stars-manager

# Create virtual environment (optional but recommended)
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Run application
python main.py

Code Style

Follow PEP 8 guidelines
Use type hints where applicable
Keep functions focused and modular
Document complex logic with docstrings

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License – see the LICENSE file for details.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! To get started:

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Commit changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
Push to branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
Open a Pull Request

Areas for Contribution

🐛 Bug fixes – Report and fix issues
✨ Features – Suggest new functionality
📚 Documentation – Improve guides and comments
🎨 UI/UX – Enhance design and usability
⚡ Performance – Optimize code and speed

❓ FAQ

Q: Is my GitHub token stored securely? A: By default, tokens are stored in text in config.json locally in your system. So there are no external threats.

Q: Can I use this with GitHub Enterprise? A: Currently, the app is designed for GitHub.com. Enterprise support can be added with minor modifications.

Q: What if I reach the API rate limit? A: The app automatically detects rate limits and pauses operations. It resumes automatically once the limit resets.

Q: How long does it take to export 5000+ stars? A: Initial fetch takes ~2-3 minutes depending on your connection. Exports are instantaneous.

Q: Can I remove all my stars at once? A: Yes! Use "Select All" and then "Remove Stars" to batch unstar repositories. Progress will be shown in real-time.

📞 Support & Feedback

🐛 Report Issues: GitHub Issues
💡 Feature Requests: Open an issue with the enhancement label
📧 Contact: [Your email or contact info]

🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with PySide6 – Python bindings for Qt6
Powered by GitHub REST API
Inspired by the need for better GitHub stars management

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Made with ❤️ by [Your Name/Team]

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Images		Images
.gitignore		.gitignore
README.md		README.md
api.py		api.py
clear_data.py		clear_data.py
config.py		config.py
gui.py		gui.py
main.py		main.py
models.py		models.py
utils.py		utils.py

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