How it works

Short version: you submit a repo, a bot checks it, developers Like it, and the list sorts itself. Here's the slightly longer one.

Getting listed

Open a submit issue with the repo, a category and a line on what it does. A bot checks it against the quality bar: an open source licence, a README with real content, a description, a push in the last 90 days and an age of at least 30 days. Pass, and it's on the list. You can submit three repos a week.

Counting Likes

Every listed repo gets a Discussion. A thumbs-up there is a Like, as long as it comes from an account that's at least 30 days old with a public repo or a contribution in the last year. A sudden pile of Likes from brand-new accounts gets the repo flagged and kept out of Trending until someone checks it.

Leaving the list

Repos that stop getting pushes for a year, get archived or call themselves unmaintained get a 30-day warning, then move to the archive. Repos that disappear or drop their licence or README come off straight away.

The full docs

The quality bar, the trust rule and how reports work are all in the wiki.