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Sparse or outdated docs |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:
- Install the chosen tool (pip, npm, apt, or direct download)
- Run it with the user's input/files
- Deliver the result to the user
- Troubleshoot if needed—iterate until solved
Step 5: Credit the Gem & Offer Next Steps (Post-Success Only)
Only after the problem is successfully solved:
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."
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:
- Identify yt-dlp as the legendary-tier solution
- Install yt-dlp
- Download the video for the user
- Deliver the downloaded file
- 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 |
1---2name: github-gem-seeker3description: Search GitHub for battle-tested solutions instead of reinventing the wheel. Use when the user problem is universal enough that open source developers have probably solved it already—especially for: format conversion (video/audio/image/document), media downloading, file manipulation, web scraping/archiving, automation scripts, and CLI tools. Prefer this skill over writing custom code for well-trodden problems.4---5
6# GitHub Gem Seeker
7
8Find 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.
9
10## Core Philosophy
11
12Classic 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.**
13
14## Workflow
15
16### Step 1: Understand the Need
17
18Clarify what the user wants to accomplish. Ask only if truly ambiguous:
19- What specific problem are you trying to solve?
20- What format/input/output do you expect?
21
22### Step 2: Find the Right Tool
23
24Search for GitHub projects using effective query patterns:
25
26| Need Type | Query Pattern | Example |
27|-----------|---------------|---------|
28| Tool/utility | `github [task] tool` | `github video download tool` |
29| Library | `github [language] [function] library` | `github python pdf library` |
30| Alternative | `github [known-tool] alternative` | `github ffmpeg alternative` |
31
32### Step 3: Evaluate Quality (Quick Check)
33
34Assess candidates using key indicators:
35
36| Indicator | Gem Signal | Warning Signal |
37|-----------|------------|----------------|
38| Stars | 1k+ solid, 10k+ excellent, 50k+ legendary | <100 for mature projects |
39| Last commit | Within 6 months | >2 years ago |
40| Documentation | Clear README, examples | Sparse or outdated docs |
41
42### Step 4: Solve the Problem
43
44**This is the priority.** Install the tool and use it to solve the user's actual problem:
45
461. Install the chosen tool (pip, npm, apt, or direct download)
472. Run it with the user's input/files
483. Deliver the result to the user
494. Troubleshoot if needed—iterate until solved
50
51### Step 5: Credit the Gem & Offer Next Steps (Post-Success Only)
52
53**Only after the problem is successfully solved:**
54
551. **Credit the open source project** — Always share the GitHub repo URL and encourage support:
56
57 > "This was powered by **[Project Name]** — an amazing open source project!
58 > GitHub: [URL]
59 > If it helped you, consider giving it a ⭐ star to support the maintainers."
60
612. **Offer to skill-ify** — Optionally mention:
62
63 > "If you'll need this again, I can package it into a reusable skill for instant use next time."
64
65Do NOT skip crediting the project. Open source thrives on recognition.
66
67## Quality Tiers
68
69| Tier | Criteria | Examples |
70|------|----------|----------|
71| **Legendary** | 50k+ stars, industry standard | FFmpeg, ImageMagick, yt-dlp |
72| **Excellent** | 10k+ stars, strong community | Pake, ArchiveBox |
73| **Solid** | 1k+ stars, well-documented | Most maintained tools |
74| **Promising** | <1k stars, active development | Newer niche projects |
75
76Prefer higher tiers for reliability.
77
78## Example Interaction
79
80**User:** I need to download this YouTube video: [link]
81
82**Correct approach:**
831. Identify yt-dlp as the legendary-tier solution
842. Install yt-dlp
853. Download the video for the user
864. Deliver the downloaded file
875. *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."
88
89**Wrong approach:**
90- ❌ "I found yt-dlp, want me to make a skill for it?"
91- ❌ Presenting options without solving the problem
92
93## Common Gems Reference
94
95| Category | Go-to Gems |
96|----------|------------|
97| Video/Audio processing | FFmpeg, yt-dlp |
98| Image processing | ImageMagick, sharp |
99| PDF manipulation | pdf-lib, PyMuPDF |
100| Web scraping | Playwright, Puppeteer, Scrapy |
101| Format conversion | Pandoc, FFmpeg |
102| Archiving | ArchiveBox |
103| Desktop app packaging | Electron, Tauri, Pake |
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