anuraghazra/github-readme-stats

A serverless service that generates dynamic SVG stat cards for GitHub profile READMEs — embed your stars, contribution graphs, top languages, and PR streaks.

What it is

A Vercel-hosted serverless function that renders SVG images on the fly with a user's GitHub stats: stars, total contributions, top languages, PRs, issues. Embeddable in any Markdown via image URL. Drove the popularization of "GitHub profile READMEs" — the per-user repo named after the username that GitHub renders at the top of the profile page.

Key features

Dynamic SVG generation for: overall stats, top languages, contributions, PRs, repository cards, and more.
Themed presets (dark, radical, dracula, gruvbox, etc.) plus customization parameters.
Self-hostable for higher rate limits.
Many "card" variants — pin a repo as a card, language usage bar, etc.
MIT-licensed.

Tech stack

JavaScript primary.
Node.js serverless functions on Vercel.
GitHub REST + GraphQL APIs for data fetching.

When to reach for it

You're customizing your GitHub profile README and want dynamic stat cards.
You're a content creator showing GitHub presence on a personal site.

When not to reach for it

You want real-time, sub-minute updates — the service is cache-driven for rate-limit reasons.
You don't want a third-party dependency in your README — self-host for sovereignty.

Maturity signal

79k stars, 34k forks, MIT, actively maintained. The 34k forks reflect self-hosting deployments. Open-issues count of 285 tracks theme requests + rate-limit reports.

Alternatives

Self-hosted alternatives via the same code.
Other profile-README enhancers (vercel/og-image, custom serverless functions).

Wiki: anuraghazra/github-readme-stats