# Lookalike Repo Finder (`ianymu/lookalike-repo-finder`) Actor Given a seed GitHub repo, return top-N similar repos ranked by topic overlap, language, recent activity, and popularity. Replaces hours of manual GitHub browsing. - **URL**: https://apify.com/ianymu/lookalike-repo-finder.md - **Developed by:** [Yanlong Mu](https://apify.com/ianymu) (community) - **Categories:** AI, Developer tools - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per usage This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## Lookalike Repo Finder > **Find the top 20 most similar GitHub repos to any seed repo in under 30 seconds. Stop spending an afternoon clicking through GitHub topics, "you might also like" lists, and search results — get a ranked, current dataset.** ### What does Lookalike Repo Finder do? You have a repo you love. Maybe it's the AI agent framework your team picked, or a library you want to evaluate alternatives for, or your own project (and you want to find competitors and adjacent communities). You want a list of repos that are *actually* similar — not the random results from a keyword search. GitHub doesn't provide this. "Related repos" don't exist as a feature. You can manually pivot through topics, languages, and stars — but it takes hours and the result is biased toward whatever you noticed first. This Actor: 1. Fetches the seed repo's metadata (topics, primary language, description) 2. Builds a candidate pool by searching GitHub for repos sharing the seed's topics + keywords + language 3. Scores every candidate on 4 dimensions: topic overlap (40 pts), language match (20 pts), recency (20 pts), popularity (20 pts) — max 100 4. Returns the top-N ranked dataset The output is a single, current, decision-ready table. ### Why use Lookalike Repo Finder? - **Competitor research**: building an open-source library? Find what you're up against in 30 seconds - **Tech stack evaluation**: comparing Next.js, Remix, Astro, Nuxt? Auto-discover the full landscape - **Investor / market research**: see who else is operating in a category you're tracking - **Curation**: build a "best of" list with objective ranking instead of vibes - **Job hunting**: find every active company building products similar to one you admire ### How to use Lookalike Repo Finder 1. Enter a seed repo in the form `owner/repo` (e.g. `vercel/next.js`) 2. Set **Max results** (default 20) 3. Optionally set **Min stars** (default 50) to filter out abandoned projects 4. Click **Start** 5. Download the dataset as JSON, CSV, or Excel ### Input - **`seedRepo`** *(required)* — A public GitHub repo to find lookalikes for. Example: `vercel/next.js`. - **`maxResults`** *(optional, default 20)* — How many top lookalikes to return. Max 100. - **`minStars`** *(optional, default 50)* — Filter out repos with fewer stars. ### Output Each row: ```json { "fullName": "remix-run/remix", "url": "https://github.com/remix-run/remix", "description": "Build Better Websites. Create modern, resilient user experiences with web fundamentals.", "stars": 30200, "language": "TypeScript", "topics": ["react", "remix", "ssr", "framework"], "lastPushed": "2026-05-18T21:14:33Z", "lookalikeScore": 88, "scoreBreakdown": { "topicOverlap": 30, "language": 20, "recency": 20, "popularity": 18 } } ```` You can download in JSON, HTML, CSV, or Excel from the **Storage** tab. ### Quality scoring (4 dimensions, max 100 points) | Dimension | Max | What it measures | |---|---|---| | Topic overlap | 40 | Shared GitHub topics with the seed | | Language match | 20 | Same primary language as seed | | Recency | 20 | Pushed in last 30d=20, 90d=15, 180d=10, 365d=5 | | Popularity | 20 | Log-scaled stars (avoids over-rewarding mega-repos) | ### Pricing - **Per-search rate**: $0.10 per seed repo (one full lookalike search) - **Bulk plan**: $5 for 100 seed searches (great for org-wide audits) - **Custom**: contact for white-label ### Tips - The seed repo must have **GitHub topics** for best results. If it has none, the Actor falls back to language + description keywords (less precise). - For niche repos (under 100 stars), set `minStars` low (10 or 0) — otherwise the candidate pool will be empty. - The Actor uses **anonymous GitHub API** (60 req/hour). For bulk runs, space them out or upgrade Apify proxy. ### FAQ #### Why are the results different from GitHub's "explore"? GitHub's explore is editorial and platform-curated. This Actor is algorithmic and based on objective signals (topics, language, recency, popularity). The two complement each other. #### Can this find private repos? No. The Actor uses anonymous GitHub API. For private-repo lookalike search across your org, contact for a custom version with token support. #### Why does the score sometimes seem off? Topics are the strongest signal. If a repo doesn't use GitHub topics (~30% of repos don't), it'll score poorly even if it's a great match. This is a GitHub data quality issue, not an Actor bug. ### Support Issues / feature requests: open in the **Issues** tab on the Apify console. Built by Ian Mu — [github.com/ianymu](https://github.com/ianymu) — author of [`verify-before-stop`](https://github.com/ianymu/claude-verify-before-stop), the Stop hook that blocks Claude Code session-end if files changed but no verification log exists. # Actor input Schema ## `seedRepo` (type: `string`): Public GitHub repo to find lookalikes for. Example: 'vercel/next.js'. ## `maxResults` (type: `integer`): How many top lookalikes to return. ## `minStars` (type: `integer`): Filter out candidates with fewer than this many stars. ## Actor input object example ```json { "seedRepo": "vercel/next.js", "maxResults": 20, "minStars": 50 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "seedRepo": "vercel/next.js" }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("ianymu/lookalike-repo-finder").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "seedRepo": "vercel/next.js" } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("ianymu/lookalike-repo-finder").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "seedRepo": "vercel/next.js" }' | apify call ianymu/lookalike-repo-finder --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=ianymu/lookalike-repo-finder", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Lookalike Repo Finder", "description": "Given a seed GitHub repo, return top-N similar repos ranked by topic overlap, language, recent activity, and popularity. Replaces hours of manual GitHub browsing.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "5X4TKv3KFScdHpNrO" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/ianymu~lookalike-repo-finder/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-ianymu-lookalike-repo-finder", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/ianymu~lookalike-repo-finder/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-ianymu-lookalike-repo-finder", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/ianymu~lookalike-repo-finder/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-ianymu-lookalike-repo-finder", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "seedRepo" ], "properties": { "seedRepo": { "title": "Seed repo (owner/repo)", "pattern": "^[^/\\s]+/[^/\\s]+$", "type": "string", "description": "Public GitHub repo to find lookalikes for. Example: 'vercel/next.js'." }, "maxResults": { "title": "Max results", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 100, "type": "integer", "description": "How many top lookalikes to return.", "default": 20 }, "minStars": { "title": "Minimum stars", "minimum": 0, "type": "integer", "description": "Filter out candidates with fewer than this many stars.", "default": 50 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```