# StarHunt > GitHub developer sourcing for technical recruiters. Find engineers by what they build on GitHub. ## What StarHunt does StarHunt indexes developers by what they actually build on GitHub: their public repositories, the languages they ship in, and the projects they contribute to. Hand-picked reference repositories for each technology anchor every ecosystem, but the index is not limited to their contributors: it spans developers across GitHub, each classified from their own public activity and enriched from their public profile. A recruiter pastes a job description, or simply describes who they are looking for in plain language. StarHunt extracts the search criteria from that text (technologies, role, location, keywords) and returns matching developers ranked by relevance, with the public email or LinkedIn each person chose to publish, so they can be contacted directly. ## Who it is for Technical recruiters, sourcers, engineering hiring managers and founders. Because the ecosystem knowledge is built into the index, a less technical recruiter gets the same quality of results as an expert. StarHunt is a sourcing and recruitment tool, not a job board, and it is not aimed at developers looking for work. ## How the index is built - Scale: more than 1,000,000 public repositories analyzed to date, across every major technology stack - Index size: 330,000+ public GitHub developer profiles - Reference repositories: more than 1,600 hand-picked reference repositories, up to 215 for a single technology, anchor each technology ecosystem, but the index is not limited to their contributors - Profile data: public GitHub information only (bio, location, followers, public repositories, public email, blog, company) - Technologies: inferred from what a developer actually builds, the languages in their own repositories and the projects they contribute to, not from a self-declared skill list - Location: each profile is normalized to a metro area (nearest city hub), a country and a continent from its free-text GitHub location. A city search returns that metro area only (suburbs fold into their hub), a country search returns the whole country, a continent search the whole continent - Coverage: worldwide, spanning 150+ countries and 1,000+ cities and metros, with the largest concentrations in North America and Europe, then Asia Results are ranked by real building signals from public GitHub activity: contributions over the last 12 months, the languages in a developer's own repositories, their most starred project, and recency, not by follower count. StarHunt does not publish a numeric profile score. ## Search criteria Roles: software engineering, infrastructure, data engineering, data science. Technologies: - Languages and runtimes: Python, Node.js, TypeScript, Java, Go, Rust, Ruby, C++, .NET, PHP, Swift, Kotlin, Scala - Frontend and mobile: React, Vue.js, Angular, Flutter, React Native - Data and infrastructure: Kubernetes, Terraform, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, GraphQL, AWS, GCP, Azure, OVH, Scaleway - AI and machine learning: PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX, Hugging Face, LLM, RAG, agents, inference, computer vision, NLP, reinforcement learning, generative media Location filtering is worldwide, by country and by continent. ## Using StarHunt from an AI assistant StarHunt runs a remote MCP server, so Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and Claude Code can search developers and reach out to them without leaving the conversation. Three tools: search_developers, save_candidate, list_pipeline. Endpoint: https://app.getstarhunt.com/mcp Authentication is OAuth 2.1: adding the connector opens a StarHunt sign-in, and no key has to be copied by hand. The server is registered in the official MCP registry as com.getstarhunt/starhunt. A free account can search from an assistant straight away, with the same 3 searches as on the web. Setup instructions for each client: https://www.getstarhunt.com/mcp.html ## REST API Bots, ATS integrations and internal agents that do not speak MCP can use the REST API: the same search and ranking as the app, JSON over HTTPS, 25 profiles per page with cursor pagination up to 1,000 profiles per search, authenticated with an API key. Available on the API and Scale plans, on request. Reference: https://www.getstarhunt.com/api.html ## Sending candidates to an ATS StarHunt pushes a developer straight into Ashby, with the GitHub evidence attached as a note: the languages they ship in, their most starred project, the reference repositories they contribute to, their last push. The integration is write only, it never reads the customer's talent pool, applications or pipeline. It needs a single Ashby permission, candidatesWrite, and works on the free plan. Setup: https://www.getstarhunt.com/ashby.html Ashby is the first ATS integration. Others follow demand. ## Key pages - Homepage: https://www.getstarhunt.com - GitHub sourcing (what it is, how to find developers by their work): https://www.getstarhunt.com/github-sourcing.html - GitHub recruiting (hire developers by their work): https://www.getstarhunt.com/github-recruiting.html - Pricing, what each plan costs and in which currency: https://www.getstarhunt.com/pricing.html - State of Developer Reachability, annual research report: https://www.getstarhunt.com/developer-reachability-report.html - How it works (full methodology): https://www.getstarhunt.com/how-it-works.html - GitHub user search builder, free tool: pick a language and a location, get the GitHub user search query, the Google X-ray string and the same search in StarHunt: https://www.getstarhunt.com/github-user-search.html - Worked example, AI product engineers in San Francisco, five real profiles read end to end: https://www.getstarhunt.com/ai-product-engineers-san-francisco.html - Using StarHunt from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Claude Code: https://www.getstarhunt.com/mcp.html - REST API reference, for bots and internal tools: https://www.getstarhunt.com/api.html - Sending candidates to Ashby: https://www.getstarhunt.com/ashby.html - Most active GitHub repositories by technology (updated weekly): https://www.getstarhunt.com/most-active-repos.html - Free aggregated dataset of GitHub developers by city, technology and role (CC BY 4.0, updated monthly): https://www.getstarhunt.com/developer-dataset.html - Blog: https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/ - App: https://app.getstarhunt.com - Legal notices: https://www.getstarhunt.com/legal-notices.html - Terms of service: https://www.getstarhunt.com/terms.html - Privacy policy: https://www.getstarhunt.com/privacy.html ## Open data StarHunt publishes a free, aggregated dataset of GitHub developers in the United States, France and the United Kingdom, broken down by metropolitan area, technology and engineering role. Each row gives the number of developers in the group, the share who publish an email address on their GitHub profile, and the share whose profile is flagged as available for hire. Groups smaller than 50 developers are excluded, and the file contains no individual records. Licensed CC BY 4.0: free to reuse, including commercially, with attribution and a link to StarHunt. Updated monthly. - Dataset page, with the method and the tables: https://www.getstarhunt.com/developer-dataset.html - CSV, all three markets: https://www.getstarhunt.com/data/starhunt-developers.csv - CSV, United States: https://www.getstarhunt.com/data/starhunt-developers-us.csv - CSV, France: https://www.getstarhunt.com/data/starhunt-developers-fr.csv - CSV, United Kingdom: https://www.getstarhunt.com/data/starhunt-developers-uk.csv ## Blog content Every article below is generated from the StarHunt index and states the date its figures were measured. The list is written by generate_llms.py from the pages themselves, so it cannot fall behind what is actually published. ### Comparisons and alternatives, with prices - AmazingHiring alternatives 2026: no annual seat, Alternatives to AmazingHiring for technical sourcing, what each one indexes and costs, and when aggregation across 50 sources is worth keeping. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/amazinghiring-alternatives.html - Best GitHub sourcing tools 2026: the full directory, with pricing, Every tool used to source engineers from GitHub, listed alphabetically with what each one indexes, what it costs, and where it beats StarHunt. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/best-github-sourcing-tools.html - hireEZ alternatives 2026: cheaper, more focused options, Alternatives to hireEZ for sourcing and outreach, what each costs, which ones replace the whole suite and which replace only the part you use. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/hireez-alternatives.html - Juicebox alternatives 2026: for engineers and for every role, Alternatives to Juicebox (PeopleGPT), what each costs, which ones go deeper on engineers, and when Juicebox is still the right tool. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/juicebox-alternatives.html - LinkedIn Recruiter alternatives 2026 for engineering, Six alternatives to LinkedIn Recruiter for technical hiring, what each one costs, and when LinkedIn Recruiter is still worth keeping. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/linkedin-recruiter-alternatives.html - SeekOut alternatives 2026: when you only need sourcing, Alternatives to SeekOut for technical sourcing, what each one costs, and an honest account of what you give up by leaving a talent intelligence platform. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/seekout-alternatives.html - StarHunt vs AmazingHiring: broader net or sharper one, AmazingHiring aggregates 50+ sources. StarHunt ranks GitHub contributors by what they build. Scope, ranking and price compared. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/starhunt-vs-amazinghiring.html - StarHunt vs GitMatcher: two GitHub-native approaches, Both rank developers by code rather than keywords. Where they differ: unit of analysis, access model, and what each publishes about its method. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/starhunt-vs-gitmatcher.html - StarHunt vs hireEZ: suite vs GitHub-native sourcing, How StarHunt and hireEZ compare for technical sourcing: contract model, what each one ranks on, outreach automation, and real cost. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/starhunt-vs-hireez.html - StarHunt vs Juicebox: which finds better engineers, An honest comparison of StarHunt and Juicebox for sourcing engineers: what each one searches, what the results are ranked on, and what they cost. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/starhunt-vs-juicebox.html - StarHunt vs Metaview: two ways to source engineers, Metaview sources from profile data and your ATS, then writes your interview notes. StarHunt ranks engineers on GitHub work. Where each wins. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/starhunt-vs-metaview.html ### Answers, the questions asked before choosing a sourcing method - Are GitHub stars a good hiring signal? What a star actually measures, why it survives long after the work stopped, and the four signals that hold up when you rank engineers on public activity. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/are-github-stars-a-good-hiring-signal.html - GitHub sourcing vs LinkedIn Recruiter, What each index is made of, what that does to a shortlist, what each costs, and the roles where LinkedIn is still the only answer. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/github-sourcing-vs-linkedin-recruiter.html - How to reach developers who publish no email address, How large the gap really is, measured on 83,081 active developers, which routes exist, and which one you should never use. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/how-to-contact-developers-with-no-public-email.html - How to find a developer's email on GitHub, and what not to use, Where developers publish an address on GitHub, the technical routes that expose one without their consent, and which of them to never use. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/how-to-find-a-developers-email-on-github.html - How to find candidates on GitHub, step by step, Source developers on GitHub: turn the job into repositories, pull recent contributors, run boolean and X-ray searches, shortlist candidates. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/how-to-find-developers-on-github.html - How to read a GitHub profile as a recruiter, What each part of a GitHub profile tells you, the signals that hold up, the ones that mislead, and a ten-minute reading order. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/how-to-read-a-github-profile-as-a-recruiter.html - Is emailing a developer from their GitHub profile spam? Where the line actually sits between a message a developer answers and one that gets you blocked, including the one address you should never use. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/is-cold-email-to-developers-on-github-spam.html - Is it legal to source developers from GitHub? GDPR, GitHub's terms and CAN-SPAM applied to public GitHub profiles: what you may do, what you owe the person, where the line sits. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/is-it-legal-to-source-developers-on-github.html - Message templates for developers you found on GitHub, Five short templates for email and LinkedIn, the line each one must contain, and the openings that get a message ignored. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/recruiter-message-templates-for-developers.html - Sourcing engineers on GitHub without being technical, The three judgments that need ecosystem knowledge, what you can read without reading code, and the four traps that make GitHub look hard. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/sourcing-on-github-without-being-technical.html ### Talent pool by technology - Hiring AI engineers: where they are and what they build, 80,000+ AI engineers in StarHunt's GitHub index: their stack, the countries where they weigh most, and how many you can contact directly. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/hiring-ai-engineers.html - Hiring data engineers: where they are and what they build, 8,600+ data engineers in StarHunt's GitHub index: their stack, the countries where they weigh most, and how many you can contact directly. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/hiring-data-engineers.html - Hiring Java developers: what the talent pool looks like, Seoul leads. 26% list a public email, 43% pushed code in the last 90 days. Where Java developers are and what they pair it with. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/hiring-java-developers.html - Hiring Node.js developers: what the talent pool looks like, San Francisco leads. 27% list a public email, 53% pushed code in the last 90 days. Where Node.js developers are and what they pair it with. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/hiring-nodejs-developers.html - Hiring Python developers: what the talent pool looks like, San Francisco leads. 27% list a public email, 58% pushed code in the last 90 days. Where Python developers are and what they pair it with. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/hiring-python-developers.html - Hiring React developers: what the talent pool looks like, London leads. 33% list a public email, 59% pushed code in the last 90 days. Where React developers are and what they pair it with. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/hiring-react-developers.html - Hiring Rust developers: what the talent pool looks like, San Francisco leads. 34% list a public email, 66% pushed code in the last 90 days. Where Rust developers are and what they pair it with. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/hiring-rust-developers.html - Hiring TypeScript developers: what the talent pool looks like, San Francisco leads. 26% list a public email, 67% pushed code in the last 90 days. Where TypeScript developers are and what they pair it with. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/hiring-typescript-developers.html ### Developer populations by country - GitHub developers in Canada: cities and technologies, Analysis of the Canadian GitHub developer community: top cities by engineer concentration, most popular technologies, and how many list a public email. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/developers-canada.html - GitHub developers in France: cities and technologies, Analysis of the French GitHub developer community: top cities by engineer concentration, most popular technologies, and average profile quality. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/developers-france.html - GitHub developers in Germany: cities and technologies, Analysis of the German GitHub developer community: top cities by engineer concentration, most popular technologies, and how many list a public email. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/developers-germany.html - GitHub developers in Spain: cities and technologies, Analysis of the Spanish GitHub developer community: top cities by engineer concentration, most popular technologies, and how many list a public email. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/developers-spain.html - GitHub developers in the UK: cities and technologies, Analysis of the UK GitHub developer community: top cities by engineer concentration, most popular technologies, and how many list a public email. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/developers-uk.html - GitHub developers in the US: cities and technologies, Analysis of the US GitHub developer community: top cities by engineer concentration, most popular technologies, and average profile quality. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/developers-usa.html ### Where to find a given stack in a given city - How many Go developers are in Amsterdam? Go is 7.1% of Amsterdam developers, 1x the Netherlands rate. 48% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/golang-developers-amsterdam.html - How many Go developers are in Austin? Go is 6.3% of Austin developers, 1.1x the United States rate. 34% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/golang-developers-austin.html - How many Go developers are in Toronto? Go is 6.5% of Toronto developers, 0.9x the Canada rate. 37% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/golang-developers-toronto.html - How many Java developers are in Amsterdam? Java is 6.1% of Amsterdam developers, 1x the Netherlands rate. 40% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/java-developers-amsterdam.html - How many Java developers are in Austin? Java is 6.8% of Austin developers, 1.5x the United States rate. 36% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/java-developers-austin.html - How many Java developers are in Bangalore? Java is 6.9% of Bangalore developers, 1.1x the India rate. 53% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/java-developers-bangalore.html - How many Java developers are in Barcelona? Java is 10% of Barcelona developers, 0.9x the Spain rate. 45% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/java-developers-barcelona.html - How many Java developers are in Madrid? Java is 12% of Madrid developers, 1x the Spain rate. 43% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/java-developers-madrid.html - How many Java developers are in Munich? Java is 11% of Munich developers, 1x the Germany rate. 30% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/java-developers-munich.html - How many Node.js developers are in Bordeaux? Node.js is 18% of Bordeaux developers, 1.1x the France rate. 35% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/nodejs-developers-bordeaux.html - How many Node.js developers are in Munich? Node.js is 9.7% of Munich developers, 0.9x the Germany rate. 36% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/nodejs-developers-munich.html - How many Node.js developers are in Nantes? Node.js is 24% of Nantes developers, 1.4x the France rate. 27% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/nodejs-developers-nantes.html - How many Node.js developers are in Stockholm? Node.js is 13% of Stockholm developers, 1.1x the Sweden rate. 42% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/nodejs-developers-stockholm.html - How many Node.js developers are in Toulouse? Node.js is 16% of Toulouse developers, 0.9x the France rate. 35% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/nodejs-developers-toulouse.html - How many Python developers are in Bordeaux? Python is 24% of Bordeaux developers, 1x the France rate. 36% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/python-developers-bordeaux.html - How many Python developers are in Dublin? Python is 28% of Dublin developers, 1x the Ireland rate. 41% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/python-developers-dublin.html - How many Python developers are in Lyon? Python is 23% of Lyon developers, 0.9x the France rate. 32% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/python-developers-lyon.html - How many Python developers are in Paris? Python is 29% of Paris developers, 1.2x the France rate. 29% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/python-developers-paris.html - How many Python developers are in Stockholm? Python is 18% of Stockholm developers, 1x the Sweden rate. 34% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/python-developers-stockholm.html - How many Python developers are in Toulouse? Python is 28% of Toulouse developers, 1.1x the France rate. 28% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/python-developers-toulouse.html - How many Python developers are in Warsaw? Python is 24% of Warsaw developers, 1x the Poland rate. 35% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/python-developers-warsaw.html - How many React developers are in Amsterdam? React is 5.3% of Amsterdam developers, 1x the Netherlands rate. 48% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/react-developers-amsterdam.html - How many React developers are in Barcelona? React is 18% of Barcelona developers, 1.2x the Spain rate. 38% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/react-developers-barcelona.html - How many React developers are in London? React is 5.1% of London developers, 1x the United Kingdom rate. 41% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/react-developers-london.html - How many React developers are in Lyon? React is 11% of Lyon developers, 1.6x the France rate. 31% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/react-developers-lyon.html - How many React developers are in Paris? React is 7.1% of Paris developers, 1x the France rate. 37% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/react-developers-paris.html - How many React developers are in San Francisco? React is 2.6% of San Francisco developers, 0.8x the United States rate. 43% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/react-developers-san-francisco.html - How many React developers are in Seattle? React is 3.2% of Seattle developers, 0.9x the United States rate. 40% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/react-developers-seattle.html - How many Rust developers are in Amsterdam? Rust is 5.9% of Amsterdam developers, 0.9x the Netherlands rate. 46% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/rust-developers-amsterdam.html - How many Rust developers are in Austin? Rust is 4.9% of Austin developers, 1x the United States rate. 44% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/rust-developers-austin.html - How many TypeScript developers are in Lisbon? TypeScript is 27% of Lisbon developers, 1x the Portugal rate. 38% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/typescript-developers-lisbon.html - How many TypeScript developers are in Munich? TypeScript is 14% of Munich developers, 0.8x the Germany rate. 38% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/typescript-developers-munich.html - How many TypeScript developers are in Nantes? TypeScript is 20% of Nantes developers, 1x the France rate. 30% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/typescript-developers-nantes.html - How many TypeScript developers are in Stockholm? TypeScript is 21% of Stockholm developers, 0.9x the Sweden rate. 46% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/typescript-developers-stockholm.html - How many TypeScript developers are in Toulouse? TypeScript is 23% of Toulouse developers, 1.1x the France rate. 22% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/typescript-developers-toulouse.html - How many TypeScript developers are in Warsaw? TypeScript is 20% of Warsaw developers, 0.8x the Poland rate. 30% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/typescript-developers-warsaw.html - How many TypeScript developers are in Zurich? TypeScript is 19% of Zurich developers, 1x the Switzerland rate. 31% publish an email. How to reach them. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/typescript-developers-zurich.html ### Other articles - GitHub developers by country: which technologies lead where, Which technologies lead among GitHub developers in 22 countries, by count and by share, so the largest country does not win every row. https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/github-developers-by-country.html The blog index is at https://www.getstarhunt.com/blog/ and every indexable page is listed in https://www.getstarhunt.com/sitemap.xml ## Pricing Billing currency follows the customer's country, and each price below is the one actually charged there. - Free: 3 searches, no credit card required. Public contact details, search by job description, CSV export and candidate tracking are all included, exactly as on Pro. The number of searches is the only difference between the two plans. - Pro: unlimited searches. 49 USD per month, 39 EUR in the euro area, 39 GBP in the United Kingdom, 59 CAD in Canada, 65 AUD in Australia. - Pro, billed yearly: two months free. 489 USD per year (40.75 USD per month), 389 EUR in the euro area (32.42 EUR per month), 389 GBP in the United Kingdom, 589 CAD in Canada, 649 AUD in Australia. Nothing is metered except searches. Exports are unlimited on every plan and there are no credits. ## Company StarHunt, published by Lucas Lavielle, sole trader registered in France, SIRET 999 676 836 00011, 64 bis Avenue de la Milady, 64200 Biarritz, France. ## Contact contact@getstarhunt.com