---
layout: ../../layouts/UseCaseLayout.astro
title: "Build a Starred Repo Collection"
description: "Mirror your starred GitHub projects into a dedicated Gitea library so favorites remain available offline."
canonical: "https://gitea-mirror.com/use-cases/starred-repos-collection/"
---

# Build a Starred Repo Collection

## Curate without losing projects

Stars are a personal library—but they vanish when creators delete repos or your account is rate limited. Gitea Mirror can automatically capture every starred repository into a dedicated Gitea organization, complete with issues and releases, so your inspiration lives on.

## Requirements

- Gitea Mirror up and running (Docker, LXC, or Helm)
- GitHub PAT for the account whose stars you want mirrored
- Destination Gitea with a personal organization ready (e.g. `stars`)
- Optional: DNS entry for the mirror so friends can browse the collection

## Step-by-step

### 1. Enable starred owner tracking

1. In the onboarding wizard—or later under **Configuration → Connections**—add your GitHub username as an owner.
2. Enable **Mirror starred repositories** and set the **Starred repos organization** to a dedicated space such as `stars-jamie`.
3. Use the starred content selector to choose whether you want full metadata (issues, releases, PRs, wiki) or the lightweight code-only mode.

### 2. Categorize the collection

- Create sub-organizations in Gitea (e.g. `stars-iot`, `stars-ai`) if you want separate spaces you can curate manually.
- Starred mirrors always land in the dedicated starred org, so use repository labels or Gitea teams to slice the collection by language, topic, or priority.
- Tag repos in Gitea with labels like `language:rust`, `topic:homelab` for quick filtering.

<figure class="mt-8 flex flex-col items-center">
  <img
    src="/assets/organisation.png"
    alt="Organization view in Gitea Mirror highlighting starred GitHub repositories grouped in a dedicated Gitea org."
    class="w-full max-w-5xl rounded-xl border border-muted shadow-sm"
    loading="lazy"
  />
  <figcaption class="mt-3 text-sm text-muted-foreground text-center">
    Group starred GitHub repositories into curated Gitea organizations for easier browsing and long-term preservation.
  </figcaption>
</figure>

### 3. Keep the collection fresh

- Enable **Automatic syncing** in **Configuration → Automation** and pick an interval around `1h` so new stars appear quickly.
- Leave the scheduler running—auto-discovery pulls in new stars on each pass without additional configuration.
- If you want unstarred projects archived or removed, enable **Handle orphaned repositories automatically** and choose **Archive** (recommended) or **Delete** for strict mirroring.

### 4. Showcase the library

- Point a read-only Gitea user at the org so friends can browse without write access.
- Host the Gitea instance behind a reverse proxy with HTTPS, then link it on your blog.
- Export the repo list weekly and share it as a curated newsletter.

## Verify the collection works

1. Star a new repo on GitHub.
2. Wait for the star interval or run **Sync Repository** from the dashboard for an immediate refresh.
3. Confirm the repo appears in your `stars` org with issues/releases intact.
4. Unstar it on GitHub; if cleanup is set to **Archive**, verify the mirror is renamed with an `archived-` prefix and marked read-only. If you chose **Delete**, confirm it disappears on the next sync.

## Nice-to-haves

- Add a `README.md` in the Gitea org homepage explaining your tagging rules.
- Pair with [Preserve GitHub History](../preserve-github-history/) so you keep metadata, not just code.
- Use the [Helm deployment](../deploy-with-helm-chart/) if you want the collection available inside your cluster.

## Related playbooks

- [Backup GitHub Repositories](../backup-github-repositories/)
- [Automate GitHub Backups](../github-backup-automation/)

## FAQ

### Can I mirror only the code or include metadata?

Yes. Use the starred content selector to choose code-only or include issues, releases, pull requests, and wikis.

### What happens when I unstar a repository?

Enable Handle orphaned repositories automatically and choose Archive (recommended) to preserve history read-only, or Delete for a strict mirror.

### Can others browse my collection safely?

Create a read-only Gitea user or org members with no write permissions, then share the organization URL behind HTTPS.
