Celebrate new stars — email the team and log the milestone
Each time someone stars your GitHub repository, this workflow emails your team who starred it and the new star count, then logs the star in a Google Sheets row so you can track growth over time.
GitHub
Email
Google Sheets3 steps Setup ~5 min Used on 2.7k sites Developer & DevOps Free to import
What this workflow does
Stars are a small, public signal that people find your project useful. Most maintainers only notice them when they happen to open the repository page. This workflow tells the whole team about each one and keeps a record you can chart later.
The GitHub trigger, New Star, starts a run when your repository gets a star. The Email step then sends a message through FlowMattic's Email module, using WordPress mail or your SMTP account. As imported, it goes to the placeholder address [email protected], with the repository name in the subject and a body naming the GitHub user who starred it and the repository's current star count. Finally, the Google Sheets step adds a row to the spreadsheet you pick.
Every star runs all three steps. There is no threshold, so the "milestone" in the title is each new star and its running total, not only round numbers. The Google Sheets step ships unmapped, so you choose its columns after import.
Open-source project morale
A small group of maintainers gets an email whenever a stranger stars the project, a regular reminder that the work is being noticed.
Launch week tracking
After posting a new library on a forum, the team watches the emails come in and uses the sheet to see how many stars arrived each day.
Developer relations reporting
A DevRel team keeps the Google Sheet as a log of stargazers and totals, which feeds a monthly community growth report.
How this workflow runs
What happens at each step once the workflow is on, and what you need before you import it.
GitHub New StarStarts a run when someone stars your GitHub repository. The event carries the repository details, its star count and the user who starred it.
Email Send EmailSends an email through FlowMattic's Email module with the repository name, the GitHub user and the current star count. Change the placeholder recipient [email protected] to your own address.
- Google Sheets Add New Row
Logs the star as a new row in the spreadsheet you pick. Map columns such as the date, the stargazer's login and the star count from the GitHub event.
What you need
- FlowMatticCore
- GitHub AccountAccount
- Google Sheets AccountAccount
After importing, map your own data. To keep the template universal, not every step is pre-filled. Open each step in the builder and connect your accounts and fields (channels, lists, sheets, recipients) before you switch the workflow on.
Make it yours
Changes worth making after you import it.
- Replace [email protected] in the Email step before you turn the workflow on. Otherwise the messages go to an address you don't own.
- GitHub star events include an action value. Check a test run, and if unstarring also starts a run, add a Filter after the trigger so only new stars continue.
- Map the star count into its own sheet column. A simple line chart on that column then shows how the repository grew.
Questions about this workflow
Does every GitHub star send an email, or only milestones like 100 or 1,000?
Every star. The template has no condition on the count, so each new star emails the team and adds a row with the current total.
Can I send the star email through Gmail?
The step is FlowMattic's Email module, which sends with WordPress mail or your SMTP settings. Put Gmail's SMTP server and an app password into those settings, or replace the step with the Gmail app's Send Email action.
Does the workflow watch all my GitHub repositories?
It reacts to the repository the trigger is set up for. Connect GitHub on import and test with a star to confirm events arrive from the repository you expect.
What goes in the Google Sheets log of GitHub stars?
Whatever you map. The sheet step ships without columns set, so map fields from the New Star event, such as the stargazer's login and the star count.
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