Search Repos

Search Repositories on Gitee

Search for open source repositories with advanced filters. After finding interesting projects, optionally explore them in depth.

Prerequisites

• Gitee MCP Server configured
• Required tool: search_open_source_repositories
• Optional: repo-explorer skill for deep dives

When to Use This Skill

Use search-repos when the user wants to:

• Find repositories by language (Go, Python, Java, etc.)
• Discover projects by keywords or categories
• Compare multiple repositories
• Explore without immediate forking intent

Not for: Forking repositories (use search-and-fork instead)

Supported Filters

| Parameter | Type | Description | Example | |-----------|------|-------------|---------| | q | string | Required. Search keywords | "web framework", "ORM" | | language | string | Filter by programming language | "Go", "Python", "JavaScript" | | sort | string | Sort field: stars_count, forks_count, watches_count, created_at, last_push_at | stars_count | | order | string | Sort direction: desc (default), asc | desc | | owner | string | Filter by namespace/organization | "oschina", "alibaba" | | fork | boolean | Include forked repositories | false (default) |

Workflow

Step 1: Gather Requirements

Ask the user:

1. Keywords - What functionality? (e.g., "web framework", "database ORM")
2. Language - Programming language preference? (Go / Python / Java / JavaScript / TypeScript / Rust / etc.)
3. Sort by - Popularity (stars_count) or recent activity (last_push_at)?
4. Filters - Include forks? Specific organization?

Step 2: Build Search Queries

Try multiple keyword variations for better coverage:

• English: "web framework"
• Chinese: "web 框架"
• Related terms: "HTTP router", "REST API framework"

Step 3: Execute Search

Call search_open_source_repositories with parameters:

{
  q: "web framework",
  language: "Go",           // If specified
  sort: "stars_count",      // or "last_push_at"
  order: "desc",
  per_page: 20
}

Step 4: Present Results

Format output as:

## 🔍 Search Results: [keywords] ([language])

Found N repositories (sorted by [criteria]):

| # | Repository | ⭐ Stars | 🍴 Forks | Language | Updated |
|---|------------|---------|----------|----------|---------|
| 1 | owner/repo | 1.2k | 150 | Go | 2 days ago |
| 2 | owner/repo | 890 | 98 | Go | 1 week ago |
| 3 | owner/repo | 650 | 75 | Go | 3 weeks ago |

---

### 📋 Detailed Information

**#1: [Full Repository Name]**
- **URL**: https://gitee.com/owner/repo
- **Description**: [Full description from API]
- **License**: [license type if available]
- **Tags**: [topics if available]

**#2: [Full Repository Name]**
[Same format...]

Step 5: Offer Next Actions

After presenting results:

What would you like to do next?

1. 🔍 **Refine search** - Try different keywords/filters
2. 🔎 **Deep dive** - Explore a specific repository (requires repo-explorer skill)
3. 📊 **Compare** - View side-by-side comparison
4. ✅ **Done** - End the session

If user chooses "Deep dive":

• Ask which repository (by number or name)
• Check if repo-explorer skill is available
• If yes: "I'll use the repo-explorer skill to analyze [owner/repo]"
• If no: Use get_file_content to manually read README and key files

Step 6: Iterative Refinement

If results are unsatisfactory, adjust:

• Broader or more specific keywords
• Different language filter
• Change sort criteria
• Toggle fork inclusion

Example Conversations

Example 1: Language-specific search

User: Find me Python machine learning libraries

→ search_open_source_repositories(
  q="machine learning",
  language="Python",
  sort="stars_count"
)

Example 2: Active projects

User: Show me recently updated Go web frameworks

→ search_open_source_repositories(
  q="web framework",
  language="Go",
  sort="last_push_at"
)

Example 3: Discovery without specific goal

User: What are popular JavaScript UI libraries?

→ search_open_source_repositories(
  q="UI component",
  language="JavaScript",
  sort="stars_count"
)

→ User: Can you explore the first one?
→ Check for repo-explorer skill and use it

Comparison with Related Skills

| Task | Use This | Instead Of | |------|----------|------------| | Search without fork intent | search-repos ✅ | search-and-fork | | Search + Fork in one flow | search-and-fork ✅ | search-repos | | Deep exploration after search | Both can lead to repo-explorer | - |

Notes

• Results limited to public repositories on Gitee
• Language names use GitHub conventions (e.g., "Go", not "Golang")
• Keyword variations yield different results - experiment with synonyms
• Consider both English and Chinese keywords for broader coverage
• The repo-explorer skill provides detailed analysis; this skill focuses on discovery

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: oschina
• Source: oschina/gitee-agent-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.