Replace medals with fixed-width star pills (#69)

Medals suggested a judged ranking when the order is only star count. Every
entry now starts with a 46px star pill SVG under badges/stars/, generated
with the badges, so the names line up in one column and the trailing count
is gone. The site keeps its numeric rank and podium highlight.

Author: floatdrop

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ Thanks for helping keep this list short and honest. The whole point of the list
 - `README.md`, `docs/index.html`, `metadata.json` and everything under `badges/` are generated. CI rejects pull requests that touch them.
 - The generated `docs/` folder is published with GitHub Pages at [floatdrop.github.io/awesome-go](https://floatdrop.github.io/awesome-go/), with search, filtering and sorting over the same data.
 - A nightly job refreshes star counts, removes repositories that were archived or deleted, and regenerates the README and badges. Nobody has to remember to clean up.
-- Within each category the five most-starred projects are shown first, the top three with medals (🥇🥈🥉), and the rest are folded under a collapsed "More" block. Stars decide the order, humans decide who is on the list at all.
+- Within each category the five most-starred projects are shown first, each with its star count, and the rest are folded under a collapsed "More" block. Stars decide the order, humans decide who is on the list at all.
 
 ## Adding an entry
 

cmd/awesome/sync.go

@@ -185,15 +185,30 @@ func runGenerate(args []string) error {
 	if err := os.MkdirAll(dir, 0o755); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	old, _ := filepath.Glob(filepath.Join(dir, "*.svg"))
-	for _, f := range old {
-		if err := os.Remove(f); err != nil {
-			return err
+	stars := filepath.Join(dir, render.StarsDir)
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(stars, 0o755); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	for _, pattern := range []string{filepath.Join(dir, "*.svg"), filepath.Join(stars, "*.svg")} {
+		old, _ := filepath.Glob(pattern)
+		for _, f := range old {
+			if err := os.Remove(f); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
 		}
 	}
 	generated := 0
 	skipped := 0
 	for _, e := range l.Entries {
+		rm, known := meta.Repos[e.Repo]
+		title := "Stars not fetched yet"
+		if known {
+			title = fmt.Sprintf("%s has %d stars on GitHub", e.Repo, rm.Stars)
+		}
+		pill := badge.Stars(render.StarsText(rm.Stars, known), title)
+		if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(p.root, render.StarsPath(e.Repo)), pill, 0o644); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
 		if e.Added == "" {
 			skipped++ // refresh assigns the acceptance date; the badge title mentions it.
 			continue

internal/badge/badge.go

@@ -176,3 +176,28 @@ func textWidth(s string) int {
 	}
 	return int(total + 0.5)
 }
+
+// StarsWidth is the width of every star pill, so the names after them line
+// up regardless of how many digits the count has.
+const StarsWidth = 46
+
+// Stars renders the star pill that precedes each entry in the README: the
+// count in a fixed-width rounded box, in the same style as the badge, so the
+// list reads as a single column of numbers.
+func Stars(text, title string) []byte {
+	var b strings.Builder
+	w := func(format string, args ...any) { fmt.Fprintf(&b, format, args...) }
+	w(`<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="%d" height="20" role="img" aria-label="%s">`, StarsWidth, html.EscapeString(title))
+	w(`<title>%s</title>`, html.EscapeString(title))
+	w(`<linearGradient id="s" x2="0" y2="100%%"><stop offset="0" stop-color="#bbb" stop-opacity=".1"/><stop offset="1" stop-opacity=".1"/></linearGradient>`)
+	w(`<clipPath id="r"><rect width="%d" height="20" rx="3" fill="#fff"/></clipPath>`, StarsWidth)
+	w(`<g clip-path="url(#r)"><rect width="%d" height="20" fill="#555"/><rect width="%d" height="20" fill="url(#s)"/></g>`, StarsWidth, StarsWidth)
+	w(`<g fill="#fff" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Verdana,Geneva,DejaVu Sans,sans-serif" font-size="11">`)
+	cx := StarsWidth / 2
+	t := html.EscapeString(text)
+	w(`<text x="%d" y="15" fill="#010101" fill-opacity=".3">★ %s</text>`, cx, t)
+	w(`<text x="%d" y="14"><tspan fill="#dfb317">★</tspan> %s</text>`, cx, t)
+	w(`</g></svg>`)
+	b.WriteString("\n")
+	return []byte(b.String())
+}

internal/badge/badge_test.go

@@ -102,3 +102,15 @@ func TestColorIsStableAndVaried(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("expected several colours across seeds, got %d", len(seen))
 	}
 }
+
+func TestStarsPillHasFixedWidth(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, text := range []string{"120", "2.1k", "89k", "new"} {
+		svg := string(Stars(text, "x has stars"))
+		if !strings.Contains(svg, `width="46"`) {
+			t.Errorf("Stars(%q) must be %d wide:\n%s", text, StarsWidth, svg)
+		}
+		if !strings.Contains(svg, "★</tspan> "+text+"</text>") {
+			t.Errorf("Stars(%q) must show the count:\n%s", text, svg)
+		}
+	}
+}

internal/render/readme.go

@@ -11,12 +11,22 @@ import (
 	"github.com/floatdrop/awesome-go/internal/list"
 )
 
-var medals = []string{"🥇", "🥈", "🥉"}
+// StarsDir is the directory under badges/ that holds one star pill per entry.
+const StarsDir = "stars"
 
-// blank pads podium entries without a medal so the names line up with the
-// medalled ones above them. Emoji render about a third wider than one em, so
-// an em space plus a three-per-em space is the closest text-only match.
-const blank = "  "
+// StarsPath is the README-relative path of an entry's star pill.
+func StarsPath(repo string) string {
+	return "badges/" + StarsDir + "/" + list.Slug(repo) + ".svg"
+}
+
+// StarsText is what the star pill shows: the rounded count, or "new" for an
+// entry whose stars have not been fetched yet.
+func StarsText(stars int, known bool) string {
+	if !known {
+		return "new"
+	}
+	return FormatStars(stars)
+}
 
 // Header is the first line of the generated README; CI uses it to recognise
 // the file as generated.
@@ -105,13 +115,13 @@ func README(l *list.List, m *list.Metadata, now time.Time) []byte {
 		if podium <= 0 || podium >= len(rs) {
 			podium = len(rs)
 		}
-		for i, r := range rs[:podium] {
-			w("- %s\n", item(r, medal(i, l.Meta.Podium)))
+		for _, r := range rs[:podium] {
+			w("- %s\n", item(r))
 		}
 		if rest := rs[podium:]; len(rest) > 0 {
 			w("\n<details>\n<summary>More (%d)</summary>\n\n", len(rest))
 			for _, r := range rest {
-				w("- %s\n", item(r, ""))
+				w("- %s\n", item(r))
 			}
 			w("\n</details>\n")
 		}
@@ -147,28 +157,14 @@ func README(l *list.List, m *list.Metadata, now time.Time) []byte {
 	return []byte(b.String())
 }
 
-func medal(i, podium int) string {
-	if podium <= 0 {
-		return ""
-	}
-	if i >= len(medals) {
-		return blank
-	}
-	return medals[i]
-}
-
-// item renders one entry line. The star and the count are joined by a
-// non-breaking space so a narrow page never wraps between them.
-func item(r ranked, prefix string) string {
-	var b strings.Builder
-	if prefix != "" {
-		b.WriteString(prefix + " ")
-	}
-	fmt.Fprintf(&b, "[%s](%s) - %s", r.entry.DisplayName(), r.entry.URL(), r.entry.Description)
+// item renders one entry line. Every line starts with the entry's star pill,
+// a fixed-width image, so the names line up in one column.
+func item(r ranked) string {
+	alt := "new"
 	if r.known {
-		fmt.Fprintf(&b, " ★&nbsp;%s", FormatStars(r.stars))
+		alt = FormatStars(r.stars) + " stars"
 	}
-	return b.String()
+	return fmt.Sprintf("![%s](%s) [%s](%s) - %s", alt, StarsPath(r.entry.Repo), r.entry.DisplayName(), r.entry.URL(), r.entry.Description)
 }
 
 // FormatStars renders 1234 as "1.2k" and 80123 as "80k".

internal/render/readme_test.go

@@ -38,9 +38,9 @@ func TestREADMEOrderAndPodium(t *testing.T) {
 		"# Awesome Go\n\n> Curated.\n",
 		"## Contents\n\n- [Web & HTTP](#web--http)\n",
 		"## Web & HTTP\n\nServers.\n\n",
-		"- 🥇 [big](https://github.com/b/big) - Big. ★ 46k\n",
-		"- 🥈 [middle](https://github.com/c/mid) - Mid. ★ 2.1k\n",
-		"<summary>More (2)</summary>\n\n- [small](https://github.com/a/small) - Small. ★&nbsp;120\n- [unknown](https://github.com/d/unknown) - Unknown.\n",
+		"- ![46k stars](badges/stars/b--big.svg) [big](https://github.com/b/big) - Big.\n",
+		"- ![2.1k stars](badges/stars/c--mid.svg) [middle](https://github.com/c/mid) - Mid.\n",
+		"<summary>More (2)</summary>\n\n- ![120 stars](badges/stars/a--small.svg) [small](https://github.com/a/small) - Small.\n- ![new](badges/stars/d--unknown.svg) [unknown](https://github.com/d/unknown) - Unknown.\n",
 		"last refreshed on 2026-09-12",
 		"An entry earns its place by covering something no listed project does, or by doing it better.",
 		"Search, filter and sort the full list at [x.github.io/y](https://x.github.io/y/).",
@@ -52,16 +52,16 @@ func TestREADMEOrderAndPodium(t *testing.T) {
 	if strings.Contains(out, "## Empty") || strings.Contains(out, "#empty") {
 		t.Errorf("empty category should be skipped")
 	}
-	if strings.Contains(out, "🥉") {
-		t.Errorf("podium of 2 must not award bronze")
+	if strings.Contains(out, "🥇") || strings.Contains(out, "★") {
+		t.Errorf("medals and inline star counts were replaced by star pills")
 	}
 }
 
-func TestREADMEPadsPodiumEntriesWithoutMedal(t *testing.T) {
+func TestREADMEPodiumWithoutMore(t *testing.T) {
 	l, m := fixture(4)
 	out := string(README(l, m, time.Now()))
-	if !strings.Contains(out, "- 🥉 [small](") || !strings.Contains(out, "- &emsp;&#8196; [unknown](") {
-		t.Fatalf("fourth podium entry must be padded:\n%s", out)
+	if !strings.Contains(out, "- ![120 stars](badges/stars/a--small.svg) [small](") || !strings.Contains(out, "- ![new](badges/stars/d--unknown.svg) [unknown](") {
+		t.Fatalf("every podium entry must carry a star pill:\n%s", out)
 	}
 	if strings.Contains(out, "<details>") {
 		t.Fatalf("no More block expected when every entry is on the podium")
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ func TestREADMELinkSections(t *testing.T) {
 func TestREADMEFlatWithoutPodium(t *testing.T) {
 	l, m := fixture(0)
 	out := string(README(l, m, time.Now()))
-	if strings.Contains(out, "<details>") || strings.Contains(out, "🥇") {
+	if strings.Contains(out, "<details>") {
 		t.Fatalf("podium disabled but rendered:\n%s", out)
 	}
 	big := strings.Index(out, "[big]")

internal/render/site.go

@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ type siteCategory struct {
 
 type siteEntry struct {
 	Rank        int
-	Medal       string
+	Podium      bool
 	Slug        string
 	Name        string
 	Repo        string
@@ -117,9 +117,7 @@ func Site(l *list.List, m *list.Metadata, now time.Time) ([]byte, error) {
 		})
 		for i := range sc.Entries {
 			sc.Entries[i].Rank = i + 1
-			if l.Meta.Podium > 0 && i < len(medals) && i < l.Meta.Podium {
-				sc.Entries[i].Medal = medals[i]
-			}
+			sc.Entries[i].Podium = l.Meta.Podium > 0 && i < l.Meta.Podium
 		}
 		page.Categories = append(page.Categories, sc)
 	}

internal/render/site.tmpl

@@ -67,8 +67,8 @@ footer{margin:48px 0 40px;color:var(--muted);font-size:.9rem;border-top:1px soli
 <h2><a href="#{{.ID}}">{{.Name}}</a></h2>
 {{with .Description}}<p class="desc">{{.}}</p>{{end}}
 <ol class="entries">
-{{range .Entries}}<li class="entry{{if .Medal}} podium{{end}}" id="{{.Slug}}" data-name="{{.Name}}" data-stars="{{.Stars}}" data-added="{{.Added}}" data-search="{{.Search}}">
-<span class="rank">{{if .Medal}}{{.Medal}}{{else}}{{.Rank}}{{end}}</span>
+{{range .Entries}}<li class="entry{{if .Podium}} podium{{end}}" id="{{.Slug}}" data-name="{{.Name}}" data-stars="{{.Stars}}" data-added="{{.Added}}" data-search="{{.Search}}">
+<span class="rank">{{.Rank}}</span>
 <div class="body"><a class="name" href="{{.URL}}">{{.Name}}</a><span class="repo">{{.Repo}}</span><p>{{.Description}}</p></div>
 <span class="stars" title="GitHub stars">★ {{.StarsText}}</span>
 </li>

internal/render/site_test.go

@@ -45,7 +45,8 @@ func TestSite(t *testing.T) {
 		`<option value="web">Web &amp; HTTP</option>`,
 		`<section class="category" id="web" data-id="web">`,
 		`id="b--big" data-name="big" data-stars="45678" data-added=""`,
-		`<span class="rank">🥇</span>`,
+		`<li class="entry podium"`,
+		`<span class="rank">1</span>`,
 		`<span class="rank">4</span>`,
 		"Small &lt;b&gt;&amp;&lt;/b&gt; escaped.",
 		"stars refreshed 2026-09-12",