GStars
    sharkdp

    sharkdp/bat

    A cat(1) clone with wings.

    cli
    command-line
    git
    hacktoberfest
    rust
    syntax-highlighting
    Rust
    Apache-2.0
    61.2K stars
    3.1K forks
    266 GitHub watchers
    Updated Nov 7, 2026
    View on GitHub

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    Where it stands

    Rank, growth pace and release cadence relative to everything GStars tracks.

    No releases in the last 90 days; the most recent was 339 days ago, with 410 contributors on GitHub.

    Peaked at #18 in the weekly ranking the week of Oct 19, its best in the past year.

    Use Cases & Benefits

    • Provides a cat command clone with syntax highlighting and Git integration for enhanced terminal file viewing.
    • Delivers rich syntax highlighting and Git modification markers directly in the terminal, improving readability over standard cat.
    • Use for viewing source code files with automatic syntax highlighting in various programming languages.
    • Use for previewing Git changes and diffs with inline syntax-highlighted context in terminal workflows.
    • Use for integrating with tools like fzf, ripgrep, or tail to display colorized file previews and logs interactively.

    Should you depend on it?

    License terms, project hygiene and risks, from GitHub metadata and GStars' snapshots.

    License

    Apache 2.0

    Permissive: commercial use, modification and redistribution are allowed with attribution; includes an explicit patent grant from contributors.

    Community files

    • README: present
    • Contributing guide: present

    Watch-outs

    No watch-outs from GStars' checks.

    General guidance from repository metadata, not legal advice. How we score

    From the README

    A cat(1) clone with syntax highlighting and Git integration.

    Excerpt from the sharkdp/bat README on GitHub (Apache-2.0 license). © its authors.Read the full README on GitHub

    Daily snapshots

    Stars gained per day, and how forks and open issues moved, from GStars' daily snapshots

    Aug 10: +27Aug 11: +10Aug 15: -59

    +1,047 stars over 90 days across 11 snapshot days; best day +27 on Aug 10.

    Forks

    3.1K+1.4K

    Open issues

    563+138

    Compared with peers in CLI

    Fastest-growing repositories GStars tracks in this cohort for the week of Nov 8, by 7-day star growth

    View category →
    sharkdp/bat compared with CLI repositories by stars, 7-day star growth, health score and last release
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    stablyai/orca121.4K+6.7K75today
    vercel-labs/agent-browser49.2K+3.8K751 day ago
    sharkdp/bat61.2K—41339 days ago
    Category median121.4K+8.7K75—
    Compare bat with rea, skills, agent-desktop →

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