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🏆 GitHub Profile Achievements Collection

Complete guide to every GitHub Achievement badge, tier, hidden rules, earning methods, FAQs and troubleshooting.

📖 Introduction

GitHub Achievements are special badges displayed on your GitHub profile that recognize different types of contributions and activities.

This repository aims to become the most complete documentation available.

You'll find:

  • ✅ Every obtainable badge
  • ✅ Unobtainable badges
  • ✅ Testing badges
  • ✅ Badge tiers
  • ✅ Hidden rules
  • ✅ Exact earning methods
  • ✅ Common mistakes
  • ✅ FAQs
  • ✅ Troubleshooting
  • ✅ Progress tracker
  • ✅ Latest updates

📚 Table of Contents

  • 📖 Introduction
  • 🧪 Badges in Testing
  • 🏆 Obtainable Badges
  • ⛔ Retired Badges
  • 🥇 Badge Tiers
  • 🎨 Badge Variants
  • 📖 Step-by-Step Guides
  • ⚠️ Hidden Rules
  • 🚫 Common Mistakes
  • 🛠 Troubleshooting
  • ❓ FAQ
  • 📊 Progress Tracker
  • 📰 Changelog
  • 🤝 Contributing

📌 Repository Highlights

Feature Status
All GitHub Badges ✅
Updated for 2026 ✅
Hidden Rules ✅
Tier Images ✅
Step-by-Step Guides ✅
Troubleshooting ✅
FAQ ✅
Progress Tracker ✅

⚠️ Before You Start

GitHub Achievements only count qualifying activity.

Some badges:

  • require public repositories
  • require merged Pull Requests
  • require Discussions
  • require repository ownership
  • require collaborators

Reading the guide first can save you hours of confusion.

🧪 Badges Currently in Testing

These achievements have been discovered by the community but are not yet officially available to everyone.

Badge Name Description Status
❤️ Heart On Your Sleeve React to content using ❤️ 🟡 Testing
🧙 Open Sourcerer Multiple merged PRs across repositories 🟡 Testing

Note: GitHub may change or remove these achievements before public release.

🏆 Obtainable Achievements

These badges can currently be earned by any GitHub user.

Badge Difficulty Solo Money Tier
🔫 Quickdraw 🟢 Easy ✅ ❌ ❌
❤️ Public Sponsor 🟢 Easy ✅ ✅ ❌
🦈 Pull Shark 🟡 Medium ✅ ❌ 🥉🥈🥇
🤪 YOLO 🟡 Medium ✅ ❌ ❌
🧠 Galaxy Brain 🔴 Hard ✅ ❌ 🥉🥈🥇
👥 Pair Extraordinaire 🔴 Hard ❌ ❌ 🥉🥈🥇
⭐ Starstruck 🔴 Hard ❌ ❌ 🥉🥈🥇

📋 Badge Overview

Badge What You Need Estimated Time
🔫 Quickdraw Close an Issue/PR within 5 minutes 2 min
❤️ Public Sponsor Sponsor someone 5 min
🦈 Pull Shark Merge Pull Requests 15–30 min
🤪 YOLO Merge PR without review 15 min
🧠 Galaxy Brain Accepted Discussion answers Days
👥 Pair Extraordinaire Co-authored merged PR 30 min
⭐ Starstruck 16 Repository Stars Weeks

⛔ Retired Achievements

These achievements are no longer obtainable because they were tied to one-time GitHub events.

Badge Name Event
❄️ Arctic Code Vault Contributor GitHub Archive Program (2020)
🚁 Mars 2020 Contributor NASA Ingenuity Helicopter Mission

📊 Achievement Statistics

Category Count
Obtainable Badges 7
Badges in Testing 2
Retired Badges 2
Total Achievements 11

🎯 Difficulty Ranking

Difficulty Badges
🟢 Beginner Quickdraw, Public Sponsor
🟡 Intermediate Pull Shark, YOLO
🔴 Advanced Galaxy Brain, Pair Extraordinaire, Starstruck

⏳ Estimated Completion Time

Badge Time
Quickdraw ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Public Sponsor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pull Shark ⭐⭐⭐⭐
YOLO ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pair Extraordinaire ⭐⭐⭐
Galaxy Brain ⭐⭐
Starstruck ⭐

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ = Fastest to earn

🚀 Recommended Order

If you're starting from zero, earn them in this order:

  1. 🔫 Quickdraw
  2. ❤️ Public Sponsor
  3. 🦈 Pull Shark
  4. 🤪 YOLO
  5. 👥 Pair Extraordinaire
  6. 🧠 Galaxy Brain
  7. ⭐ Starstruck

💡 Tips Before You Start

✅ Enable Public Contributions

✅ Learn how Pull Requests work

✅ Keep repositories Public

✅ Enable GitHub Discussions

✅ Own at least one repository

✅ Learn branching basics

These six things will make earning achievements much easier.

🥇 Achievement Tiers

Some GitHub achievements can be upgraded by completing additional milestones.

Instead of earning a completely new badge, GitHub upgrades your existing badge through four different tiers.

Tier Level Description
⚪ Default First achievement unlocked
🥉 Bronze Increased milestone
🥈 Silver Significant contribution
🥇 Gold Highest achievement tier

⭐ Starstruck

Earned by receiving GitHub Stars on repositories you personally own.

Badge Requirement
⚪ Default 16 Stars
🥉 Bronze 128 Stars
🥈 Silver 512 Stars
🥇 Gold 4,096 Stars

Tips

  • Own the repository personally
  • Write a professional README
  • Add screenshots & GIFs
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Twitter/X
  • Submit to Hacker News
  • Post on Dev.to
  • Keep improving your project

🦈 Pull Shark

Awarded for merged Pull Requests.

Badge Requirement
⚪ Default 2 PRs
🥉 Bronze 16 PRs
🥈 Silver 128 PRs
🥇 Gold 1,024 PRs

Tips

  • Merge your own PRs
  • Contribute to Open Source
  • Keep PRs small
  • Write meaningful commit messages

🧠 Galaxy Brain

Earned by receiving accepted answers in GitHub Discussions.

Badge Requirement
⚪ Default 2 Accepted Answers
🥉 Bronze 8 Answers
🥈 Silver 16 Answers
🥇 Gold 32 Answers

Tips

  • Answer beginner questions
  • Write detailed explanations
  • Add screenshots
  • Include code examples
  • Be respectful

👥 Pair Extraordinaire

Awarded for co-authoring merged Pull Requests.

Badge Requirement
⚪ Default 1 Co-authored PR
🥉 Bronze 10 PRs
🥈 Silver 24 PRs
🥇 Gold 48 PRs

Tips

  • Work with friends
  • Join Hackathons
  • Contribute together
  • Use Co-authored-by

📊 Tier Comparison

Achievement Default Bronze Silver Gold
⭐ Starstruck ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
🦈 Pull Shark ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
🧠 Galaxy Brain ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
👥 Pair Extraordinaire ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

🎨 Achievement Variants

GitHub currently supports multiple visual variants for some achievements.

Supported variants include:

  • Default
  • Light Skin Tone
  • Medium-Light Skin Tone
  • Medium Skin Tone
  • Medium-Dark Skin Tone
  • Dark Skin Tone

These variants are automatically selected based on your Emoji Skin Tone Preference in GitHub settings.

🎨 Change Emoji Skin Tone

  1. Open GitHub Settings.
  2. Click Appearance.
  3. Scroll to Emoji Skin Tone.
  4. Choose your preferred tone.
  5. Save changes.

GitHub will automatically update supported achievement icons.

🏅 Tier Color Reference

Tier Color
⚪ Default White
🥉 Bronze #F9BFA7
🥈 Silver #E1E4E4
🥇 Gold #FAE57E

📈 Progress Difficulty

📖 Step-by-Step Badge Guides

This section explains exactly how to earn every GitHub achievement.

Each guide includes:

  • 🎯 Requirements
  • ⏱ Estimated Time
  • 👤 Solo or Team
  • 💰 Cost
  • 📈 Difficulty
  • ❌ Common Mistakes
  • 💡 Pro Tips

🔫 Quickdraw

Difficulty Time Solo Cost
🟢 Easy 2 Minutes ✅ Yes Free

🎯 Requirement

Close an Issue or Pull Request within 5 minutes after creating it.

✅ Step-by-Step

Method 1 (Easiest)

  1. Open one of your repositories.

  2. Click Issues.

  3. Click New Issue.

  4. Enter any title.

Example:

Test Issue

  1. Click Submit new issue.

  2. Immediately click

Close Issue

within 5 minutes.

That's it!

Method 2

Instead of an Issue,

Create a Pull Request.

Merge or Close it within 5 minutes.

💡 Tips

✅ Use your own repository.

✅ No collaborators required.

✅ Public repository recommended.

❌ Common Mistakes

❌ Waiting longer than 5 minutes.

❌ Closing someone else's issue.

❌ Repository permissions preventing closure.

🎉 Badge Earned!

GitHub usually awards it within a few minutes.

Sometimes it may take 24 hours.

❤️ Public Sponsor

Difficulty Time Solo Cost
🟢 Easy 5 Minutes ✅ Yes $

🎯 Requirement

Sponsor any GitHub developer.

✅ Step-by-Step

  1. Visit a profile that supports GitHub Sponsors.

  2. Click

❤️ Sponsor
  1. Select any available plan.

Even the cheapest plan works.

  1. Complete payment.

  2. Badge unlocked.

💰 Cost

Usually

$1/month

or more depending on the creator.

💡 Tips

✅ The badge is permanent.

✅ Cancel the sponsorship later if you want.

❌ Common Mistakes

❌ Sponsoring outside GitHub.

❌ Expecting free sponsorship.

🦈 Pull Shark

Difficulty Time Solo Cost
🟡 Medium 15–30 Minutes ✅ Yes Free

🎯 Requirement

Merge

2 Pull Requests

✅ Step-by-Step

Step 1

Create a repository.

Step 2

Create a new branch.

git checkout -b feature-1

Step 3

Edit any file.

Example

README.md

Step 4

Commit changes.

git add .

git commit -m "Update README"

Step 5

Push branch.

git push origin feature-1

Step 6

Open a Pull Request.

Step 7

Merge it.

Repeat everything once more.

Total merged PRs:

2

Badge unlocked.

💡 Pro Tips

✅ Keep PRs small.

✅ Merge them yourself.

✅ Public repositories work best.

❌ Common Mistakes

❌ Closing PR without merging.

❌ Creating Draft PR only.

❌ Deleting branch before merge.

📈 Progress

Default

2 PRs

Bronze

16 PRs

Silver

128 PRs

Gold

1024 PRs

📌 Summary

Badge Time Solo Cost
🔫 Quickdraw ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✅ Free
❤️ Public Sponsor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✅ Paid
🦈 Pull Shark ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✅ Free

📖 Advanced Badge Guides

This section covers the remaining GitHub achievements with detailed instructions, common mistakes, and pro tips.

🤪 YOLO

Difficulty Time Solo Cost
🟡 Medium 15–20 Minutes ✅ Yes* Free

Solo works only if your repository does not require code reviews.

🎯 Requirement

Merge a Pull Request without any code review.

✅ Method 1 (Recommended)

  1. Create a repository.
  2. Create a new branch.
git checkout -b feature-yolo
  1. Make any change.
echo "YOLO Badge" >> README.md
  1. Commit it.
git add .
git commit -m "YOLO Badge"
  1. Push the branch.
git push origin feature-yolo

  1. Open a Pull Request.

  2. Do NOT request a review.

  3. Merge immediately.

🎉 Badge unlocked.

Method 2

Use another GitHub account.

Open a PR.

Merge it without requesting a review.

❌ Common Mistakes

❌ Requesting code review.

❌ Repository has branch protection enabled.

❌ PR closed instead of merged.

💡 Pro Tips

  • Disable "Require Reviews" in Branch Protection.
  • Small PRs are easier.
  • Public repositories are recommended.

🧠 Galaxy Brain

Difficulty Time Solo Cost
🔴 Hard Days–Weeks ✅ Yes Free

🎯 Requirement

Receive 2 accepted answers in GitHub Discussions.

Step-by-Step

  1. Find a repository with Discussions enabled.

  2. Open the Discussions tab.

  3. Answer questions with:

  • Detailed explanation
  • Code examples
  • Screenshots (optional)
  1. Wait for the author to mark your answer as:
✔ Accepted Answer

Repeat until you have two accepted answers.

Good Repositories

  • Popular Open Source Projects
  • Framework repositories
  • Tool repositories
  • Documentation repositories

❌ Common Mistakes

❌ Answering GitHub Community discussions.

❌ Giving one-line answers.

❌ Self-answering.

❌ Spam replies.

💡 Pro Tips

  • Help beginners.
  • Include examples.
  • Explain why, not just what.
  • Be respectful and patient.

Progress

Tier Requirement
Default 2
Bronze 8
Silver 16
Gold 32

👥 Pair Extraordinaire

Difficulty Time Team Cost
🔴 Hard 30 Minutes Yes Free

🎯 Requirement

Co-author a merged Pull Request.

Step-by-Step

Create a commit normally.

Then edit the commit message:

Co-authored-by: Friend Name <friend@email.com>

Example

Co-authored-by: John Doe <john@example.com>

Commit.

Push.

Open PR.

Merge.

Done.

Using GitHub Desktop

GitHub Desktop automatically supports co-authors.

❌ Common Mistakes

❌ Wrong email.

❌ Wrong GitHub account.

❌ PR not merged.

❌ Invalid Co-authored-by format.

💡 Pro Tips

  • Join Hackathons.
  • Work with friends.
  • Contribute to Open Source.

Tier Progress

Tier Requirement
Default 1
Bronze 10
Silver 24
Gold 48

⭐ Starstruck

Difficulty Time Community Cost
🔴 Hard Weeks–Months Required Free

🎯 Requirement

Receive 16 GitHub Stars on one of your repositories.

How to Get Stars

Build Something Useful

Examples:

  • CLI Tool
  • VS Code Extension
  • Portfolio
  • API
  • Cheat Sheet
  • GitHub Guide
  • Templates

Write a Great README

Include:

  • Banner
  • GIF
  • Screenshots
  • Installation
  • Usage
  • Features

Share Your Repository

Places to share:

  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter / X
  • Dev.to
  • Hashnode
  • Hacker News
  • Discord
  • Facebook Groups

Improve Continuously

  • Fix bugs.
  • Add features.
  • Respond to issues.
  • Merge PRs.
  • Write documentation.

❌ Common Mistakes

❌ Buying stars.

❌ Using fake accounts.

❌ Spamming communities.

❌ Inactive repository.

Tier Progress

Tier Stars
Default 16
Bronze 128
Silver 512
Gold 4096

📊 Badge Comparison

Badge Solo Money Difficulty Time
🔫 Quickdraw ✅ ❌ 🟢 Minutes
❤️ Public Sponsor ✅ ✅ 🟢 Minutes
🦈 Pull Shark ✅ ❌ 🟡 Minutes
🤪 YOLO ✅ ❌ 🟡 Minutes
🧠 Galaxy Brain ✅ ❌ 🔴 Days
👥 Pair Extraordinaire ❌ ❌ 🔴 Hours
⭐ Starstruck ❌ ❌ 🔴 Months

🏅 Badge Priority Roadmap

Quickdraw
     │
     ▼
Public Sponsor
     │
     ▼
Pull Shark
     │
     ▼
YOLO
     │
     ▼
Pair Extraordinaire
     │
     ▼
Galaxy Brain
     │
     ▼
Starstruck

🎯 Final Advice

If you're new to GitHub:

  1. Earn Quickdraw first.
  2. Learn Pull Requests.
  3. Contribute to Open Source.
  4. Help people in Discussions.
  5. Build projects people love.
  6. The achievements will come naturally.

🚨 Hidden Rules & Things GitHub Doesn't Tell You

Many achievements have hidden conditions. Keep these in mind to avoid frustration.

🔒 Public vs Private Repositories

  • Most achievements count public activity by default.
  • Private activity can count if "Include private contributions on my profile" is enabled.

🔀 Pull Requests Must Be Merged

Creating a Pull Request is not enough.

❌ Closed PR → Doesn't count

✅ Merged PR → Counts

⭐ Starstruck

  • Repository must be personally owned.
  • Organization repositories don't count.
  • Buying stars or using fake accounts violates GitHub's rules.

🤪 YOLO

  • Branch protection requiring reviews will prevent earning this badge.
  • Merge the PR without requesting or approving a review.

🧠 Galaxy Brain

GitHub Community Discussions no longer award this badge.

Instead, earn accepted answers in repository Discussions.

👥 Pair Extraordinaire

The commit message must contain:

Co-authored-by: Name <email@example.com>

GitHub won't recognize any other format.

🔧 Troubleshooting

Badge isn't appearing

Try these steps:

  • Refresh your profile.
  • Wait up to 48 hours.
  • Check if the repository is public.
  • Confirm the activity meets the badge requirements.

Pull Shark not awarded

Check:

  • PR was merged.
  • PR wasn't just closed.
  • Repository isn't a fork.

YOLO not awarded

Verify:

  • No code review was requested.
  • Branch protection didn't require reviews.

Galaxy Brain not awarded

Possible reasons:

  • Discussion wasn't in a repository.
  • Your answer wasn't accepted.
  • You answered in GitHub Community instead of repository Discussions.

Starstruck not awarded

Check:

  • Repository is owned by you.
  • Repository actually reached the required star count.
  • Stars are from real users.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Can achievements disappear?

No.

Once earned, achievements stay on your profile unless GitHub changes its system.

Can I hide achievements?

Yes.

Go to:

Settings → Public Profile → Achievements

Do private repositories count?

Only if private contributions are enabled.

Can organization repositories earn Starstruck?

No.

Only repositories you personally own count.

Can I earn multiple tiers at once?

Yes.

If you skip directly to a higher milestone, GitHub awards the highest tier you've reached.

Can I lose a badge?

No.

Achievements are permanent.

How long do badges take?

Usually a few minutes.

Sometimes up to 48 hours.

Do archived repositories count?

Existing achievements remain.

Future progress may not.

📊 Personal Progress Tracker

Copy this section into your own notes.

Achievement Status Tier
🔫 Quickdraw ⬜ Default
❤️ Public Sponsor ⬜ Default
🦈 Pull Shark ⬜ Default
🤪 YOLO ⬜ Default
🧠 Galaxy Brain ⬜ Default
👥 Pair Extraordinaire ⬜ Default
⭐ Starstruck ⬜ Default

Legend:

⬜ Not Earned

🟢 In Progress

✅ Earned

🥉 Bronze

🥈 Silver

🥇 Gold

📰 Changelog

Version 2.0

  • Added detailed earning guides.
  • Added troubleshooting.
  • Added hidden rules.
  • Added progress tracker.
  • Added FAQs.
  • Improved tables.
  • Updated badge requirements.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome!

If you'd like to improve this repository:

  1. Fork the repository.
  2. Create a feature branch.
git checkout -b feature/my-update
  1. Commit your changes.
git commit -m "Improve badge guide"
  1. Push the branch.
git push origin feature/my-update
  1. Open a Pull Request.

Please make sure your information is accurate and well-documented.

💡 Found Something Incorrect?

GitHub occasionally changes achievement requirements.

If you notice outdated information:

  • Open an Issue.
  • Submit a Pull Request.
  • Share supporting documentation.

📜 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

You're free to use, modify, and distribute it.

🙏 Credits

Special thanks to:

  • GitHub
  • Open Source Community
  • Repository contributors
  • Everyone who helped document GitHub Achievements

⭐ Support the Project

If this repository helped you:

  • ⭐ Star this repository
  • 🍴 Fork it
  • 📢 Share it with others
  • 💬 Suggest improvements

Every contribution helps the community.

🌐 Connect With Me

🎉 Thank You!

⭐ Happy Coding & Happy Collecting GitHub Achievements! ⭐

Made with ❤️ for the GitHub Community.

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