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Static site generators: star history compared

Most starred

90k

gohugoio/hugo

Static site generators are where web tooling fashions show up first. Jekyll's early curve is a fossil record of the GitHub Pages era, Hugo's steady grind proves single-binary speed never goes out of style, and Astro's near-vertical takeoff is what happens when a project catches the islands-architecture moment perfectly. If you want to see a tooling generation change hands in one chart, this is the category.

Ranked by current GitHub stars · growth = stars gained in the trailing 90 days · data updated Sep 2026

Static site generators — star history
95k STARS15 YR 7 MOgohugoio/hugo95kwithastro/astro56kjekyll/jekyll58khexojs/hexo48k11ty/eleventy20kgetzola/zola17k

gohugoio/hugo: 94,509 stars on September 15, 2026. withastro/astro: 55,965 stars on September 16, 2026. jekyll/jekyll: 58,002 stars on September 16, 2026. hexojs/hexo: 47,504 stars on September 12, 2026. 11ty/eleventy: 19,650 stars on September 14, 2026. getzola/zola: 16,587 stars on September 16, 2026.

Star history for gohugoio/hugo
DateStars
July 4, 20132
September 30, 2013296
December 16, 2013534
February 16, 2014752
April 20, 20141037
June 17, 20141421
August 14, 20141782
October 13, 20142327
December 11, 20142769
February 7, 20153372
April 18, 20154218
June 15, 20154870
August 13, 20155700
October 10, 20156417
December 7, 20157901
February 5, 20168870
April 3, 20169817
May 31, 201610892
July 28, 201611772
September 25, 201612833
November 22, 201614517
January 19, 201715689
March 19, 201717203
May 16, 201718688
July 13, 201720102
September 10, 201721345
November 7, 201722752
January 4, 201824392
March 3, 201826133
May 2, 201827661
July 11, 201829550
September 7, 201831045
November 4, 201832499
January 2, 201933904
March 1, 201935617
April 28, 201937438
June 25, 201939106
August 23, 201940786
October 20, 201942183
December 17, 201943809
February 14, 202045423
April 12, 202047206
June 9, 202049030
August 7, 202050546
October 5, 202051805
December 2, 202053532
January 29, 202154976
March 29, 202156360
May 29, 202157631
July 26, 202159272
October 7, 202160860
December 11, 202161993
February 7, 202263385
April 6, 202264802
June 3, 202266157
August 1, 202267487
September 28, 202269738
November 25, 202271115
January 23, 202372255
March 22, 202373606
May 19, 202374786
July 17, 202375949
September 13, 202377052
November 10, 202378071
January 7, 202479172
March 6, 202480352
May 3, 202481568
June 30, 202482649
August 28, 202483945
October 25, 202485182
January 3, 202586700
March 2, 202588351
April 29, 202590148
June 27, 202591524
August 24, 202592360
October 26, 202593060
December 24, 202593587
February 20, 202694114
April 19, 202694366
September 15, 202694509
Star history for withastro/astro
DateStars
June 8, 2021111
July 1, 20213169
July 24, 20215485
August 16, 20215994
September 11, 20216313
October 4, 20217432
November 1, 20217584
November 24, 20217910
December 17, 20218264
January 9, 20228527
February 6, 20229975
March 1, 202210345
March 24, 202210565
April 16, 202211007
May 9, 202211417
June 1, 202211855
June 24, 202212227
July 17, 202212675
August 9, 202213416
September 1, 202218394
September 25, 202220187
October 18, 202221115
November 10, 202221930
December 3, 202222788
December 26, 202223391
January 18, 202324572
February 10, 202326586
March 5, 202327633
March 28, 202328459
April 20, 202329336
May 18, 202330127
June 10, 202330791
July 3, 202331359
July 26, 202331963
August 18, 202332645
September 10, 202334485
October 3, 202335545
October 26, 202336156
November 18, 202337012
December 11, 202337626
January 4, 202438342
January 27, 202439268
February 19, 202440139
March 13, 202441313
April 5, 202442096
April 28, 202442756
May 21, 202443344
June 13, 202443946
July 6, 202444513
July 29, 202445119
August 26, 202445822
September 18, 202446326
October 11, 202446887
November 3, 202447449
November 26, 202447894
December 19, 202448696
January 11, 202549267
February 3, 202549813
February 26, 202550391
March 21, 202550937
April 14, 202551499
May 7, 202552005
May 30, 202552411
June 22, 202552704
July 15, 202553047
August 7, 202553338
August 30, 202553601
September 22, 202553844
October 21, 202554078
November 13, 202554260
December 11, 202554492
January 3, 202654692
January 26, 202655058
February 18, 202655298
March 13, 202655486
April 5, 202655620
April 28, 202655753
May 23, 202655839
June 22, 202655888
September 16, 202655965
Star history for jekyll/jekyll
DateStars
February 12, 20116
April 19, 2011474
June 25, 2011885
August 31, 20111386
November 5, 20111886
January 12, 20122433
September 28, 20123216
December 4, 20124158
February 8, 20135424
April 16, 20136615
July 5, 20137888
September 9, 20138772
November 15, 20139611
January 20, 201410492
March 28, 201411458
June 2, 201412569
August 8, 201413530
October 13, 201414387
December 19, 201415376
February 23, 201516491
May 1, 201517570
July 6, 201518571
September 11, 201519678
November 16, 201520843
January 23, 201622117
March 29, 201623529
June 4, 201624764
August 9, 201625834
October 15, 201626899
December 20, 201627828
March 10, 201729364
May 15, 201730351
July 21, 201731302
September 25, 201732342
December 1, 201733394
February 5, 201834678
April 14, 201835724
June 19, 201836543
August 25, 201837261
October 30, 201838019
January 5, 201938762
March 12, 201939571
May 18, 201940420
July 23, 201941127
September 28, 201941855
December 3, 201942476
February 8, 202043103
April 14, 202043740
June 20, 202044513
August 26, 202045136
November 14, 202045771
January 19, 202146370
March 27, 202146951
June 4, 202147456
August 10, 202147962
October 18, 202148351
December 30, 202148812
March 6, 202249355
May 12, 202249917
July 17, 202250393
September 22, 202250827
November 28, 202251264
February 4, 202351699
April 11, 202352217
June 17, 202352698
August 22, 202353102
October 28, 202353513
January 2, 202453900
March 9, 202454340
May 14, 202454773
August 3, 202455257
October 9, 202455708
December 14, 202456084
February 19, 202556490
April 26, 202556882
July 2, 202557207
September 8, 202557470
November 29, 202557746
February 11, 202657893
September 16, 202658002
Star history for hexojs/hexo
DateStars
October 12, 20128
January 25, 2013192
April 4, 2013351
June 8, 2013829
August 15, 20131001
October 21, 20131199
December 23, 20131419
February 21, 20141685
April 22, 20142000
June 23, 20142416
September 4, 20142952
November 3, 20143421
January 2, 20153905
March 3, 20154511
May 2, 20155266
July 1, 20155979
August 29, 20156770
October 28, 20157614
December 27, 20158578
February 26, 20169583
April 26, 201610764
June 25, 201611904
August 24, 201612904
October 23, 201613972
December 21, 201615020
February 19, 201716333
April 20, 201717594
June 19, 201718610
August 18, 201719749
October 17, 201720830
December 28, 201722175
February 26, 201823264
April 27, 201824335
June 26, 201825147
August 25, 201825946
October 24, 201826644
December 23, 201827358
February 21, 201928144
April 22, 201929113
June 21, 201930042
August 19, 201930966
October 18, 201931732
December 17, 201932562
February 15, 202033181
April 15, 202033944
June 14, 202034589
August 13, 202035150
October 13, 202035654
December 11, 202036119
February 9, 202136618
April 23, 202137181
June 25, 202137605
August 24, 202138043
November 4, 202138351
January 3, 202238776
March 5, 202239177
May 3, 202239668
July 2, 202240054
August 31, 202240437
October 30, 202240807
December 29, 202241136
February 27, 202341540
April 28, 202342036
June 27, 202342401
August 25, 202342849
October 24, 202343174
December 23, 202343504
February 21, 202443900
April 21, 202444261
June 20, 202444709
September 1, 202445227
October 31, 202445615
December 29, 202445989
March 1, 202546329
April 30, 202546639
July 2, 202546831
September 4, 202547023
November 22, 202547189
February 10, 202647301
September 12, 202647504
Star history for 11ty/eleventy
DateStars
December 20, 201758
February 4, 2018251
March 28, 2018422
May 17, 2018507
July 11, 2018604
August 20, 2018742
September 29, 2018850
November 8, 2018983
December 16, 20181116
January 24, 20191379
March 8, 20191706
April 15, 20192022
May 21, 20192268
June 27, 20192532
August 2, 20192768
September 8, 20193060
October 14, 20193289
November 20, 20193569
December 26, 20193846
February 1, 20204206
March 8, 20204611
April 14, 20205097
May 20, 20205673
June 26, 20206128
August 1, 20206624
September 7, 20207113
October 14, 20207591
November 19, 20207941
December 26, 20208246
January 31, 20218619
March 16, 20219036
April 22, 20219370
May 31, 20219656
July 7, 20219939
August 13, 202110280
September 21, 202110539
November 2, 202110734
December 8, 202110987
January 14, 202211290
February 19, 202211666
March 28, 202211920
May 3, 202212175
June 9, 202212477
July 15, 202212667
August 21, 202212960
September 26, 202213179
November 2, 202213434
December 8, 202213645
January 13, 202313869
February 19, 202314198
April 5, 202314498
May 11, 202314700
June 17, 202314901
July 23, 202315135
August 29, 202315392
October 4, 202315587
November 9, 202315793
December 16, 202315978
January 21, 202416201
February 27, 202416437
April 3, 202416654
May 11, 202416861
June 16, 202417069
July 24, 202417264
August 29, 202417435
October 6, 202417670
November 11, 202417885
December 18, 202418060
January 23, 202518255
March 1, 202518446
April 14, 202518660
May 21, 202518862
June 27, 202519022
August 3, 202519155
September 9, 202519281
October 26, 202519366
December 10, 202519440
January 28, 202619517
March 15, 202619594
September 14, 202619650
Star history for getzola/zola
DateStars
March 20, 20171
July 7, 2017120
October 26, 2017675
December 26, 2017753
February 16, 2018818
April 14, 2018875
June 13, 2018931
August 7, 20181037
September 18, 20181148
November 5, 20181236
December 30, 20181438
February 7, 20191553
March 19, 20191656
April 26, 20191785
June 6, 20191926
July 14, 20192112
August 26, 20192287
October 5, 20192498
November 13, 20192723
December 23, 20192886
January 30, 20203033
March 9, 20203212
April 15, 20203422
May 23, 20203620
June 30, 20203806
August 7, 20204036
September 14, 20204302
October 21, 20204476
November 27, 20204758
January 3, 20214959
February 18, 20215443
March 27, 20216704
May 3, 20216942
June 12, 20217096
July 20, 20217283
August 30, 20217480
October 8, 20217689
November 24, 20217850
December 31, 20218069
February 6, 20228337
March 17, 20228521
April 23, 20228722
June 1, 20228977
July 8, 20229188
August 14, 20229428
September 20, 20229638
October 27, 20229881
December 3, 202210058
January 9, 202310345
February 15, 202310568
April 1, 202310904
May 8, 202311123
June 15, 202311346
July 22, 202311555
August 28, 202311761
October 4, 202311967
November 11, 202312168
December 19, 202312378
January 25, 202412611
March 2, 202412821
April 9, 202413012
May 16, 202413179
June 22, 202413335
July 29, 202413547
September 4, 202413815
October 11, 202414042
November 18, 202414449
December 25, 202414842
January 31, 202515081
March 9, 202515370
April 23, 202515611
May 30, 202515794
July 8, 202515916
August 18, 202516057
September 28, 202516177
November 13, 202516271
December 31, 202516351
February 7, 202616454
April 3, 202616513
September 16, 202616587

How each series was read

  • gohugoio/hugo

    Historical star data · Covers through September 15, 2026

  • withastro/astro

    Historical star data · Covers through September 16, 2026

  • jekyll/jekyll

    Historical star data · Covers through September 16, 2026

  • hexojs/hexo

    Historical star data · Covers through September 12, 2026

  • 11ty/eleventy

    Historical star data · Covers through September 14, 2026

  • getzola/zola

    Historical star data · Covers through September 16, 2026

Ranking

6 repositories

Static site generators ranked by current total GitHub stars
#RepositoryStars+90dFirst starHealth
1gohugoio/hugo89,837~592013debt charts
2withastro/astro62,612~822021debt charts
3jekyll/jekyll51,670~172011debt charts
4hexojs/hexo41,770~182012debt charts
511ty/eleventy19,913~222017debt charts
6getzola/zola17,446~112017debt charts

Repository health compared

Live analysis · unavailable data stays labelled

Popularity is only one axis. Compare technical scale, maintenance cadence, ownership resilience and change pressure against the same completed analysis that sits behind each report.

Reach

Popularity and real-world adoption

Signalgohugoio/hugowithastro/astrojekyll/jekyllhexojs/hexo11ty/eleventygetzola/zola
GitHub starsCurrent public GitHub metadata total.Best result in this row: 89,83762,61251,67041,77019,91317,446
Stars gained · trailing 90dChange in the newest 90 days covered by each cached series.+59Best result in this row: +82+17+18+22+11
ForksCurrent public GitHub metadata total.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Largest package audienceLargest resolved registry total; sources are shown explicitly.No resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved package
Repository ageElapsed years since the GitHub creation timestamp.13 years5.5 years18 years14 years8.8 years9.8 years

Codebase

Size and technical center of gravity

Signalgohugoio/hugowithastro/astrojekyll/jekyllhexojs/hexo11ty/eleventygetzola/zola
Dominant languageLargest share of analyzed code lines at current HEAD.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Code linesAnalyzed source lines at current HEAD, excluding blanks and comments.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Languages representedLanguages with non-zero files or line counts.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Maintenance

Commit volume and recent operating cadence

Signalgohugoio/hugowithastro/astrojekyll/jekyllhexojs/hexo11ty/eleventygetzola/zola
Repository commitsFull repository commit total reported by the analysis.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Commits · trailing 90dCommit count in the newest 90 days covered by the repository analysis.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Ownership

How broadly maintenance responsibility is distributed

Signalgohugoio/hugowithastro/astrojekyll/jekyllhexojs/hexo11ty/eleventygetzola/zola
Bus factorFewest analyzed contributors carrying at least half the commits.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Top contributor concentrationShare of attributed commits carried by the most active contributor.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Change signals

Debt markers and fix pressure in frequently changed files

Signalgohugoio/hugowithastro/astrojekyll/jekyllhexojs/hexo11ty/eleventygetzola/zola
Fix-labelled share · frequently changed filesFix-labelled commits divided by commits across the analyzed high-frequency file set.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Recent TODO/FIXME movementLatest cumulative marker count and its change over the trailing 90 days.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Head to head

open in the builder

Frequently asked

Which of these static site generators has the most GitHub stars?

gohugoio/hugo is the most-starred of the static site generators gitdebt compares, with 89,837 GitHub stars as of Sep 2026. It earned its first star in 2013.

Which of these static site generators is growing the fastest?

withastro/astro added the most stars over the last 90 days of its cached history — about 82 new stars, compared with about 59 for the category leader gohugoio/hugo. 90-day figures are approximate for older repos, whose history is downsampled.

How is this comparison computed?

The table ranks public repository metadata by current total stars. Each curve is that repository's stored star series — read either from GitHub's stargazer list or rebuilt from historical star data — drawn on shared axes, with trailing 90-day growth estimated from it. The legend under the chart names each series' own source and coverage date. Repo-health charts come independently from each repository's commit history.

Related categories

all categories

Fastest-growing repos across all of gitdebt