GitHubViewsCounter

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About

GitHubViewsCounter is an open-source, lightweight tool to track and display the total views of GitHub repositories or profiles in real-time. It is designed to work seamlessly in GitHub README files and dynamically updates every time someone visits your repository or profile.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Live Demo and Examples
• Getting Started
• Usage
  • Repository View Counter
  • Profile View Counter
• Customization
• Technology Stack
• Challenges and Design Decisions
• Acknowledgments
• Bug Reporting
• License
• Code of Conduct
• Contact

Features

1. Dynamic Total Views Counter:

   • Automatically updates when someone accesses your GitHub README.md.

2. Valid Repository Verification:

   • Ensures valid repositories and usernames by sending an HTTP HEAD request to verify repository existence.

3. Customizable Themes:

   • Offers light, dark, and fully customizable themes (background, text, and border colors).

4. Responsive Design:

   • Works on any screen size and aligns perfectly in GitHub README files.

5. Sorted Repositories:

   • Displays repositories sorted by views (highest to lowest).

6. Protected Data:

   • Uses IP-based proxy-safe tracking, compatible with GitHub's camo system.

7. Live Counter for Users:

   • Tracks the total number of users utilizing GitHubViewsCounter, displayed on counters.

Live Demo and Examples

Live Demos

• Repository View Counter (Light Theme):

  ![GitHubViewsCounter](https://openlabx.com/githubviewscounter/api/gitvcr.php?username=openlab-x&repository=OpenQRCode&theme=light)

  Preview:

• Repository View Counter if the repository doesn't exist:

  ![GitHubViewsCounter](https://openlabx.com/githubviewscounter/api/gitvcr.php?username=openlab-x&repository=OpenQRCode&theme=light)

  Preview:

• Profile View Counter (Dark Theme):

  ![GitHubViewsCounter](https://openlabx.com/githubviewscounter/api/gitvcmp.php?username=openlab-x&theme=dark)

  Preview:

• Profile View Counter if the username doesn't exist:

  ![GitHubViewsCounter](https://openlabx.com/githubviewscounter/api/gitvcmp.php?username=CuttyGirl69&theme=dark)

  Preview:

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Getting Started

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/openlab-x/GitHubViewsCounter.git
cd GitHubViewsCounter

2. Set Up a Local Server

• Use PHP’s built-in server:

  php -S localhost:8000 -t api/

• Alternatively, deploy on Apache/Nginx or use XAMPP.

3. Adjust Permissions

Ensure the data/ directory is writable:

chmod -R 755 data/

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Usage

Repository View Counter

To add a view counter for a specific repository, use the following Markdown:

![GitHubViewsCounter](https://openlabx.com/githubviewscounter/api/gitvcr.php?username=yourusername&repository=yourrepo&theme=light)

Example:

![GitHubViewsCounter](https://openlabx.com/githubviewscounter/api/gitvcr.php?username=openlab-x&repository=OpenQRCode&theme=dark)

• Made With GitHubViewsCounter

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Profile View Counter

To display total views across all repositories:

![GitHubViewsCounter](https://openlabx.com/githubviewscounter/api/gitvcmp.php?username=yourusername&theme=dark)

Example:

![GitHubViewsCounter](https://openlabx.com/githubviewscounter/api/gitvcmp.php?username=openlab-x&theme=light)

• Made With GitHubViewsCounter

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Customization

Themes

• theme=light: Default light theme.
• theme=dark: A darker theme.

Custom Colors

You can define custom colors using hex values for the following parameters:

Parameter	Description
bgColor	Background color (e.g., bgColor=222222)
textColor	Text color (e.g., textColor=FFFFFF)
borderColor	Border color (e.g., borderColor=FF0000)

Example:

![GitHubViewsCounter](https://openlabx.com/githubviewscounter/api/gitvcr.php?username=openlab-x&repository=OpenQRCode&bgColor=333333&textColor=00FF00&borderColor=FF0000)

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Technology Stack

• PHP: Core backend logic for real-time tracking and dynamic image generation.
• GD Library: Creates visually appealing and customizable counters.
• GitHub Proxy Handling: Ensures compatibility with GitHub’s camo.githubusercontent.com proxy for image requests.
• cURL: Validates repositories and usernames by sending an HTTP HEAD request.
• JSON: Lightweight storage for tracking data.
• HTML/Markdown: For embedding counters into GitHub README files.
• Custom Theming: Allows developers to specify colors and styles dynamically via URL parameters.

Challenges and Design Decisions

1. No Country-Based Tracking

   • GitHub proxies images, masking visitor IPs. As a result, geolocation is impossible, as we wanted to display the views as based on country locations and show more details.
   • To maintain simplicity and privacy, GitHubViewsCounter focuses solely on view counts.

2. Repository and Username Validation

   • Ensures users cannot add repositories or usernames they don’t own by sending HTTP HEAD requests to validate the URLs.

3. Dynamic Calculations

   • Total views and repository-specific views are recalculated dynamically for accuracy.

4. Modular Design

   • Separate scripts handle profile-wide counters (gitvcmp.php) and repository-specific counters (gitvcr.php).

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Here's how you can help:

1. Give the project a STAR.
2. Follow us on Github.
3. Follow us on Social Media.
4. Fork the repository.
5. Create a new branch for your feature or bug fix.
6. Make your changes.
7. Submit a pull request.
8. Please make sure to update tests as appropriate.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to the OpenLabX Team for developing this project and to all contributors.

Bug Reporting

If you encounter a bug:

1. Create an issue in the GitHub Repository.
2. Provide a detailed description, including steps to reproduce the issue.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Code of Conduct

We aim to maintain a welcoming environment. Please follow our Code of Conduct.

Contact

For inquiries, reach out to the OpenLabX Team:

• Website: https://openlabx.com
• Email: contact@openlabx.com

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