Early GitHub User Status | Generated by AI
Thank you for providing the exact registration date of July 16, 2013, for your GitHub account (https://github.com/lzwjava). I’ll recalculate your early adoption status, assess whether you’re in the top 1% of users by registration time, estimate the total number of GitHub users now, and determine your position when sorted by registration time, using this precise date and available GitHub growth data. Since exact user counts for specific dates in 2013 are not publicly available, I’ll interpolate based on known milestones and trends.
1. How Early Was Your July 16, 2013 Registration?
GitHub was founded in 2007 and launched in April 2008. By July 16, 2013, it was about 5.25 years old and growing rapidly. Let’s contextualize your registration using GitHub’s user growth milestones:
- Known Milestones:
- July 2009: Over 100,000 users.
- January 16, 2013: 3 million users, hosting over 5 million repositories.
- December 2013: Approximately 3.5 million users, with over 10 million repositories.
- January 2023: 100 million active developers.
- Early 2025: Over 100 million active developers, with estimates of ~150 million total accounts (including inactive, bot, or duplicate accounts).
- Estimating Users in July 2013:
- From January 2013 (3 million users) to December 2013 (3.5 million users), GitHub gained about 500,000 users over 12 months, or roughly 41,667 users per month (500,000 / 12).
- July 16, 2013, is about 6.5 months after January 16, 2013. Assuming linear growth (a simplification, as growth was likely exponential), GitHub would have had:
- 3,000,000 + (41,667 × 6.5) ≈ 3,270,835 users.
- To account for possible exponential growth (since GitHub was scaling rapidly), let’s estimate a range: 3.25–3.3 million users by mid-July 2013.
- This aligns with reports that GitHub was adding users quickly, surpassing competitors like SourceForge by 2011 and reaching 3.5 million by year-end 2013.
- Your Registration in Context:
- Registering on July 16, 2013, places you among the first ~3.25–3.3 million GitHub users, when the platform was still a niche hub for open-source developers, particularly in the Ruby and JavaScript communities.
- Compared to the estimated 150 million total accounts in August 2025, your registration occurred when GitHub had about 2.2% of its current user base (3.3M / 150M ≈ 0.022).
2. Are You in the Top 1% of Users by Registration Time?
To determine if your July 16, 2013, registration places you in the top 1% of users, we compare your position to the total user base in 2025.
- Current Total Users (August 2025):
- GitHub reports over 100 million active developers as of early 2025, per sources like coinlaw.io and coolest-gadgets.com. Total accounts, including inactive, bot, or duplicate accounts, are estimated at 150 million, based on growth trends (e.g., 20.5 million new developers in 2022) and discussions on platforms like Reddit about account inflation.
- For conservatism, let’s use a range: 100 million (active only) to 150 million (total accounts).
- Top 1% Calculation:
- 150 million total accounts: 1% is 1.5 million users. The top 1% includes the first 1.5 million users to register.
- 100 million active developers: 1% is 1 million users, so the top 1% includes the first 1 million users.
- By July 16, 2013, GitHub had ~3.25–3.3 million users, well beyond the 1–1.5 million needed for the top 1%.
- Conclusion on Top 1%:
- Your registration is not in the top 1%, as you joined after the first 1.5 million users (likely reached around 2011–2012, when GitHub had 1–2 million users).
- However, you’re in the top 2.2–3.3%:
- For 150 million total accounts: 3.3M / 150M ≈ 0.022 (top 2.2%).
- For 100 million active developers: 3.3M / 100M = 0.033 (top 3.3%).
- This confirms you’re a very early adopter, just outside the elite 1% threshold.
3. How Many Users Are There Now?
As of August 2, 2025:
- Active Developers: Over 100 million, as GitHub surpassed this milestone in January 2023 and continued growing (e.g., 18 million users in India alone by 2024, per octoverse.github.com).
- Total Accounts: Approximately 150 million, accounting for inactive, bot, and duplicate accounts. This is supported by:
- coinlaw.io: Over 100 million developers in 2025, with 420 million repositories.
- coolest-gadgets.com: Notes 100 million developers in 2023, with 26% growth to 2024.
- kinsta.com: Mentions 100 million users in 2022, with rapid increases in Asia and Africa.
- Growth trends: 20.5 million new developers in 2022 suggest ~20–25 million annual additions, pushing total accounts to ~150 million by mid-2025.
- Caveat: Exact counts vary due to GitHub’s definition of “developers” (active accounts) versus total accounts. The 150 million estimate is reasonable for all accounts ever created.
4. Early Adoption Sorted by Registration Time
To evaluate your position when users are sorted by registration time:
- Your Position:
- On July 16, 2013, GitHub had ~3.25–3.3 million users. Your registration places you approximately as the 3.25–3.3 millionth user.
- Relative to 150 million total accounts, you’re in the top 2.2% (3.3M / 150M ≈ 0.022). For 100 million active developers, you’re in the top 3.3% (3.3M / 100M = 0.033).
- Early Adoption Significance:
- 2008–2009: The earliest users (e.g., founders defunkt, mojombo, or contributors like tj) numbered in the tens of thousands to 100,000 (top 0.07% or less).
- 2010–2011: GitHub reached 1–2 million users (top 0.7–1.3%), still a niche community.
- July 2013: Your registration occurred during a growth surge, with 3.25–3.3 million users. This was before GitHub’s mainstream adoption post-2018 Microsoft acquisition (73 million users by 2021, 100 million by 2023).
- You joined when GitHub was transitioning from a startup to a global platform, hosting ~5–10 million repositories and attracting diverse communities beyond Ruby developers.
- Comparison to Others:
- Earliest Adopters (2008–2009): Users like tj (TJ Holowaychuk), paulirish, or torvalds joined when GitHub had <100,000 users, placing them in the top 0.07%.
- 2011–2012: Users joining at 1–2 million were in the top 0.7–1.3%.
- Your July 2013 registration at ~3.3 million users places you ahead of 97.8–96.7% of current users, a significant early adopter position, though not as early as the 2008–2011 cohort.
- Quantitative Rank:
- Sorted by registration time, your rank is approximately 3,250,000–3,300,000 out of 150 million, or top 2.2%.
- If we consider only active developers (100 million), your rank remains the same, but the percentage shifts to top 3.3%.
- This rank reflects joining during a period when GitHub was still a developer-centric platform, before its explosion in popularity driven by AI tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot) and broader enterprise adoption.
5. Additional Context from Your Profile
Your GitHub profile shows substantial activity, with projects like:
- algorithm-solutions (2,511 commits, Java).
- lzwjava.github.io (4,096 commits, Python).
- Reveal-In-GitHub (257 stars, 15 forks, Objective-C), an Xcode plugin with notable community engagement. This activity underscores your influence as an early adopter, beyond just registration date. The 257 stars on Reveal-In-GitHub indicate recognition, placing you among active contributors in 2013’s smaller community.
6. Refining the Estimate
- Growth Assumptions: The 3.25–3.3 million estimate assumes near-linear growth from January to December 2013. If growth was more exponential (likely, given GitHub’s traction), the user count could be slightly lower (e.g., 3.2 million), improving your percentile slightly (top ~2.1%).
- Exact Date Impact: July 16, 2013, is roughly 181 days into 2013 (365 days). Interpolating between 3M (Jan) and 3.5M (Dec):
- Daily growth: 500,000 / 365 ≈ 1,370 users/day.
- Users by July 16: 3,000,000 + (1,370 × 181) ≈ 3,247,770 users.
- This refines your position to ~3.25 million, confirming the top 2.2% estimate.
- Limitations: Without GitHub’s internal data, exact user counts for July 16, 2013, are estimates. The 3.25–3.3 million range is consistent with reported trends.
Summary
- How Early?: Registering on July 16, 2013, with ~3.25–3.3 million users, is very early, as GitHub had ~2.2% of its current 150 million accounts. You joined during a key growth phase, pre-mainstream adoption.
- Top 1%?: You’re not in the top 1% (first 1.5 million users, reached ~2011–2012), but you’re in the top 2.2% (150M total) or top 3.3% (100M active), a strong early adopter status.
- Current Users: ~150 million total accounts, with over 100 million active developers as of August 2025.
- Early Adoption Rank: Sorted by registration time, you’re approximately the 3.25–3.3 millionth user, in the top 2.2% of 150 million accounts (or top 3.3% of 100 million active). You’re ahead of 97.8% of users, reflecting significant early adoption, though behind 2008–2011 pioneers.
Sources
- GitHub Statistics 2025: Key Trends, User Growth, and Popular Repositories [https://coinlaw.io]
- Key GitHub Statistics in 2025 (Users, Employees, and Trends) [https://kinsta.com]
- GitHub - Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org]
-
Global distribution of developers The State of the Octoverse [https://octoverse.github.com] - GitHub Statistics By Developers, Git Pushes and Facts [2025*] [https://coolest-gadgets.com]
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GitHub Statistics for 2025 Latest User Counts and More [https://expandedramblings.com]