A Solo Dev's GPT-Image Prompt Library Hit GitHub Trending #1

This is Cang He's 585th original article!

Hello everyone, I'm Cang He.

Brothers, today is a truly memorable moment.

My GitHub open-source project has hit No. 1 on the global trending chart.

GitHub trending page: https://github.com/trending
Project page: https://github.com/freestylefly/awesome-gpt-image-2

I really never imagined that a personal project built by an indie developer could have the chance to top the trending chart.

Competing alongside it are the world's top developers and teams, and a ton of awesome open-source projects.

And today's trending chart features an utterly ordinary Chinese developer.

Perhaps this is the AI era — anything is possible.

If Jiang Shu hadn't told me yesterday that my project had reached GitHub trending top 2, I wouldn't have paid attention; I only knew the stars were rising fast.

I looked, and it was true:

Then I posted about it, and many good friends helped me share it (kneeling thanks to the big brothers), and it quickly reached nearly 600,000 impressions.

GitHub gained nearly 1,700 stars in a single day, and the next day I saw it shoot straight to GitHub trending No. 1.

Everything felt so unreal.

You might think I'm showing off or something, but I don't mind anymore, because this moment is one of the few things in my otherwise unremarkable life that I can brag about to my kids.

Their dad, a lifelong programmer, never expected that through AI, he might be seen by developers around the world. Their dad really worked hard, even though hard work often doesn't pay off.

I started this open-source project in April this year, right when OpenAI released its strongest image model, GPT-Image-2.

I was thrilled and stayed up all night collecting a ton of prompts and making some templates.

Over these past few months, I've updated it almost every day.

I've lost count of how many versions the website has gone through. Although the final aesthetic isn't something I can claim is great, it has already burned through the few aesthetic cells a straight guy like me had.

The website can directly test image generation, but the relay service I bought previously shut down, so image generation still has some issues now.

Honestly, collecting is a tedious and time-consuming task. Many people can do it, but very few can keep doing the same thing over a long period.

Especially when that thing brings no financial return.

I think part of the reason I could persist is passion. When I saw people from all over the world using GPT-Image-2 to design such beautiful images, I was truly excited.

Many people also proactively submitted valuable, reference-worthy prompts. Their work got exposure, which also brought them growth.

It's more like a small plaza.

Some people put their work in, some find inspiration here, and some, through a single submission, are seen by more people for the first time.

I was just the first person to set up the table. Later, a group of people who have never met filled it up, bit by bit.

So, what truly makes me happy today goes far beyond the ranking of GitHub trending No. 1 itself.

The chart will change quickly, and the hype will definitely fade.

In a few days, probably not many people will remember that this project once topped the chart.

But this event at least confirmed one thing for me:

In the AI era, as long as an ordinary person is willing to persistently do something useful for others, they have a chance to bypass the limitations of education, company, city, and resources, and be seen directly by the world.

I used to always think that making a product usable by global users was something only big companies and genius programmers could do.

An ordinary developer, with no team, no funding, no resources, just managing their own little corner well was already good enough.

But AI is changing that.

It gives one person the capabilities that used to require a small team, and it allows an initially unremarkable idea to become a product people can actually use, at a much lower cost.

Of course, I don't want to sum this up as "as long as you work hard, you will definitely succeed."

That's too much like chicken soup for the soul.

This time reaching the top involved timing, luck, and help from many friends.

Hard work never guarantees results.

But before luck arrives, we at least need to first make something worth being seen, and keep ourselves at the table long enough.

AI can help you write code, build pages, translate content, and even help you do many things you couldn't do before.

But it cannot replace you continuing to update when no one is watching, it cannot replace you repeatedly polishing a small problem for months, and it cannot replace your genuine desire to create some value for others.

AI has lowered the barrier to creation, but it has not lowered the barrier to persistence.

And the real gap between people might be widening right here.

Most of us have experienced those moments:

The first article you wrote had no readers, the first product you made had no users, the first open-source project you started got no stars.

You don't know if what you're doing has any meaning, nor how long you need to persist before a result comes.

Just like when I first started writing my public account in obscurity, I kept daily updates for several months, rain or shine.

That feeling is like throwing a stone into a very deep well and waiting a long time without hearing an echo.

I've had many such moments too.

It's just that this time, the stone I'd been throwing for months finally sent back an echo.

So, if you are also doing something that currently has no profit, no applause, and maybe even no one understands, I want to give you this experience:

Don't doubt the sound you're making just because there's no echo yet.

First, finish it earnestly, keep improving it, and then openly hand it to the world.

You never know which update, which piece of work, will travel through the vast sea of people and be seen by a total stranger.

As for me, this No. 1 won't make me stop.

The chart is just for a day, but the project still has a long way to go.

Next, I will continue to add high-quality prompts, optimize the website experience, fix the image generation feature, and welcome more friends to participate and co-build this project.

Because what makes me happier than "topping GitHub" is that this project, started by an ordinary person, has truly helped more ordinary people.

Finally, thank you to every friend who starred the project, submitted work, offered suggestions, and helped share it.

This No. 1 belongs to every person willing to create and share.

Perhaps the most romantic thing about the AI era is that as large models become smarter and smarter, those ordinary people who were previously hard to see finally have a chance to present their work to the whole world.

I've already handed mine over.

I also hope that one day, you can too.