Githubster guide

GitHub Followers vs Following: What’s the Difference?

GitHub exposes two different public relationship lists: followers and following. Comparing them gives you a clearer view of one-way and two-way connections.

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Enter a public GitHub username to compare followers, following, and mutual connections.

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Followers

Followers are GitHub accounts that follow a profile. They can see public activity more easily through GitHub’s social features, but a follower does not need to be followed back.

Following

Following is the list of accounts a profile chooses to follow. When an account is in following but not followers, that is a current one-way relationship rather than proof of a historical unfollow.

Compare the lists

Githubster turns the two public lists into followers, following, mutuals, not following back, and not followed back views. This is faster to review than switching between GitHub profile pages.

Frequently asked questions

Can someone follow me without me following them?

Yes. A follower relationship on GitHub can be one-way.

What is a mutual on GitHub?

A mutual is an account that both follows you and is followed by you.