sindresorhus/awesome

The canonical meta-index of "awesome lists" — curated topic lists themselves curated into one root.

What it is

A list of lists. Each entry points to a topic-specific awesome-* repo (Node.js, React Native, Rust, security, databases, etc.). Maintained by Sindre Sorhus and a network of co-maintainers, it functions as the entry point for the awesome-list ecosystem: a reader who wants "what's awesome in X" lands here, follows the link to the topic list, then drills into individual projects from there.

Key features

27 top-level categories spanning platforms, languages, front-end, back-end, computer science, theory, books, gaming, databases, security, hardware, networking, and more.
Every entry links out to its own dedicated awesome-list repo — this README never duplicates a topic list's content.
Strict contribution guidelines (awesome.md, contributing.md, create-list.md) define what qualifies as "awesome" and how to add or create new lists.
CC0-1.0 licensed, so individual lists and pointers can be freely copied, mirrored, or re-indexed by downstream tools and search engines.
Sub-categorization via nested bullets keeps related topics together (e.g. JavaScript → Promises, ESLint, Functional Programming).

Tech stack

Markdown only — the entire list is a single README.md plus three short policy documents.
No build tooling, package manifest, or generator.
PRs go through the contribution guide checklist before merge.

When to reach for it

You don't know which awesome-list to start with for a given topic.
You want a license-clean starting point for building a derivative directory or search index over OSS topics.
You're evaluating ecosystems ("what does the open-source landscape for Elixir look like?") and want a community-vetted entry point.

When not to reach for it

You want depth on a specific topic — you'll bounce to a sub-list within one click anyway.
You want fresh news or trending projects. Awesome lists optimize for canonical resources, not recency.
You're looking for evaluations or comparisons. Entries are flat one-liners — there's no scoring, no "best in class" call-out.

Maturity signal

472k stars, 35k forks, last push May 2026 — actively curated for over a decade. CC0-1.0 with explicit contribution and creation guides signals an institutional list, not a personal scratchpad. Open-issues count near 80 is low for a list of this size and follower count, which suggests maintainers triage steadily.

Alternatives

codecrafters-io/build-your-own-x — use when you want hands-on implementation tutorials rather than topic indices.
Topic-specific awesome lists directly — use when you already know your domain and want depth, not breadth.
ossu/computer-science — use when you want a structured curriculum, not a directory.

Notes

The README's top section is heavily sponsor-themed (Supercharge, Depot, Circleback) but does not editorialize entries — sponsorship and inclusion are separated. CC0-1.0 license is rare for a list of this scale; most awesome-lists ship under non-licensed README defaults, which makes this one safer to redistribute or train against.

Wiki: sindresorhus/awesome