Git City 3d Github Visualization

Git City — 3D GitHub Profile Visualization

Skill by ara.so — Daily 2026 Skills collection.

Git City transforms GitHub profiles into a 3D pixel art city. Each user becomes a unique building: height from contributions, width from repos, window brightness from stars. Built with Next.js 16 (App Router), React Three Fiber, and Supabase.

Quick Setup

git clone https://github.com/srizzon/git-city.git
cd git-city
npm install

# Copy env template
cp .env.example .env.local   # Linux/macOS
copy .env.example .env.local  # Windows CMD
Copy-Item .env.example .env.local  # PowerShell

npm run dev
# → http://localhost:3001

Environment Variables

Fill in .env.local after copying:

# Supabase — Project Settings → API
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL=https://your-project.supabase.co
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY=your-anon-key
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY=your-service-role-key

# GitHub — Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens
GITHUB_TOKEN=github_pat_your_token_here

# Optional: comma-separated GitHub logins for /admin/ads access
ADMIN_GITHUB_LOGINS=your_github_login

Finding Supabase values: Dashboard → Project Settings → API Finding GitHub token: github.com → Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens (fine-grained recommended)

Project Structure

git-city/
├── app/                    # Next.js App Router pages
│   ├── page.tsx            # Main city view
│   ├── [username]/         # User profile pages
│   ├── compare/            # Side-by-side compare mode
│   └── admin/              # Admin panel
├── components/
│   ├── city/               # 3D city scene components
│   │   ├── Building.tsx    # Individual building mesh
│   │   ├── CityScene.tsx   # Main R3F canvas/scene
│   │   └── LODManager.tsx  # Level-of-detail system
│   ├── ui/                 # 2D overlay UI components
│   └── profile/            # Profile page components
├── lib/
│   ├── github.ts           # GitHub API helpers
│   ├── supabase/           # Supabase client + server utils
│   ├── buildings.ts        # Building metric calculations
│   └── achievements.ts     # Achievement logic
├── hooks/                  # Custom React hooks
├── types/                  # TypeScript type definitions
└── public/                 # Static assets

Core Concepts

Building Metrics Mapping

Buildings are generated from GitHub profile data:

// lib/buildings.ts pattern
interface BuildingMetrics {
  height: number;      // Based on total contributions
  width: number;       // Based on public repo count
  windowBrightness: number;  // Based on total stars received
  windowPattern: number[];   // Based on recent activity pattern
}

function calculateBuildingMetrics(profile: GitHubProfile): BuildingMetrics {
  const height = Math.log10(profile.totalContributions + 1) * 10;
  const width = Math.min(Math.ceil(profile.publicRepos / 10), 8);
  const windowBrightness = Math.min(profile.totalStars / 1000, 1);
  
  return { height, width, windowBrightness, windowPattern: [] };
}

3D Building Component (React Three Fiber)

// components/city/Building.tsx pattern
import { useRef } from 'react';
import { useFrame } from '@react-three/fiber';
import * as THREE from 'three';

interface BuildingProps {
  position: [number, number, number];
  metrics: BuildingMetrics;
  username: string;
  isSelected?: boolean;
  onClick?: () => void;
}

export function Building({ position, metrics, username, isSelected, onClick }: BuildingProps) {
  const meshRef = useRef<THREE.Mesh>(null);
  
  // Animate selected building
  useFrame((state) => {
    if (meshRef.current && isSelected) {
      meshRef.current.rotation.y = Math.sin(state.clock.elapsedTime) * 0.05;
    }
  });

  return (
    <group position={position} onClick={onClick}>
      {/* Main building body */}
      <mesh ref={meshRef}>
        <boxGeometry args={[metrics.width, metrics.height, metrics.width]} />
        <meshStandardMaterial color="#1a1a2e" />
      </mesh>
      
      {/* Windows as instanced meshes for performance */}
      <WindowInstances metrics={metrics} />
    </group>
  );
}

Instanced Meshes for Performance

Git City uses instanced rendering for windows — critical for a city with many buildings:

// components/city/WindowInstances.tsx pattern
import { useRef, useEffect } from 'react';
import { InstancedMesh, Matrix4, Color } from 'three';

export function WindowInstances({ metrics }: { metrics: BuildingMetrics }) {
  const meshRef = useRef<InstancedMesh>(null);
  
  useEffect(() => {
    if (!meshRef.current) return;
    
    const matrix = new Matrix4();
    const color = new Color();
    let index = 0;
    
    // Calculate window positions based on building dimensions
    for (let floor = 0; floor < metrics.height; floor++) {
      for (let col = 0; col < metrics.width; col++) {
        const isLit = metrics.windowPattern[index] > 0.5;
        
        matrix.setPosition(col * 1.1 - metrics.width / 2, floor * 1.2, 0.51);
        meshRef.current.setMatrixAt(index, matrix);
        meshRef.current.setColorAt(
          index,
          color.set(isLit ? '#FFD700' : '#1a1a2e')
        );
        index++;
      }
    }
    
    meshRef.current.instanceMatrix.needsUpdate = true;
    if (meshRef.current.instanceColor) {
      meshRef.current.instanceColor.needsUpdate = true;
    }
  }, [metrics]);

  const windowCount = Math.floor(metrics.height) * metrics.width;
  
  return (
    <instancedMesh ref={meshRef} args={[undefined, undefined, windowCount]}>
      <planeGeometry args={[0.4, 0.5]} />
      <meshBasicMaterial />
    </instancedMesh>
  );
}

GitHub API Integration

// lib/github.ts pattern
import { Octokit } from '@octokit/rest';

const octokit = new Octokit({ auth: process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN });

export async function fetchGitHubProfile(username: string) {
  const [userResponse, reposResponse] = await Promise.all([
    octokit.users.getByUsername({ username }),
    octokit.repos.listForUser({ username, per_page: 100, sort: 'updated' }),
  ]);

  const totalStars = reposResponse.data.reduce(
    (sum, repo) => sum + (repo.stargazers_count ?? 0),
    0
  );

  return {
    username: userResponse.data.login,
    avatarUrl: userResponse.data.avatar_url,
    publicRepos: userResponse.data.public_repos,
    followers: userResponse.data.followers,
    totalStars,
  };
}

export async function fetchContributionData(username: string): Promise<number> {
  // Use GitHub GraphQL for contribution calendar data
  const query = `
    query($username: String!) {
      user(login: $username) {
        contributionsCollection {
          contributionCalendar {
            totalContributions
            weeks {
              contributionDays {
                contributionCount
                date
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  `;
  
  const response = await fetch('https://api.github.com/graphql', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({ query, variables: { username } }),
  });
  
  const data = await response.json();
  return data.data.user.contributionsCollection.contributionCalendar.totalContributions;
}

Supabase Integration

// lib/supabase/server.ts pattern — server-side client
import { createServerClient } from '@supabase/ssr';
import { cookies } from 'next/headers';

export function createClient() {
  const cookieStore = cookies();
  return createServerClient(
    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL!,
    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY!,
    {
      cookies: {
        getAll: () => cookieStore.getAll(),
        setAll: (cookiesToSet) => {
          cookiesToSet.forEach(({ name, value, options }) =>
            cookieStore.set(name, value, options)
          );
        },
      },
    }
  );
}