> Is 'reading the code' really an option? You need a proxy.

100k is small, but you're right, it can be millions. I usually skim through the code tho, and it's not that hard. I don't need to fully read and understand the code.

What I look at is: high-level architecture (is there any, is it modular or one big lump of code, how modular it is, what kind of modules and components it has and how they interact), code quality (structuring, naming, aesthetics), bus factor (how many people contribute and understand the code base).

I don't think I have ever even considered using star count as a factor for picking from alternatives.

Looking at the commit history, closed vs open issues and pull requests provides a much more useful signal if you can't decide from the code.

Ask Claude to help. Read the dang code. You'll be more confident in your decision and better positioned to handle any issues you encounter.