The Idea 💡
GitHub Pixel Art is a web application that transforms your GitHub contribution graph into a creative canvas. It allows users to design custom pixel art patterns that can be implemented through a strategic commit schedule, turning your GitHub contribution history into visual expression.
Origin 🌱
During my role interviewing engineering candidates, I found myself routinely examining GitHub profiles to assess technical capabilities and project history. While browsing one candidate’s profile, I noticed their contribution graph formed what appeared to be a letter. This serendipitous observation sparked curiosity—could the GitHub contribution graph be intentionally manipulated to create visual designs?
What started as a simple observation evolved into a creative challenge. Despite having limited practical application, the concept presented an intriguing technical exercise that combined visual design with programming logic in an unexpected way.
GitHub Contribution Graphs 📊
GitHub profiles display contribution activity through a grid of colored squares—lighter squares indicating fewer contributions and darker green representing more active days. This standardised visualisation inadvertently creates a pixel-based canvas where each day represents a potential “pixel” in a 52×7 grid (representing weeks and days of the week).
Most developers use this graph as a passive representation of their coding activity. However, I saw potential for transformation—turning this productivity tracker into an intentional artistic medium.
Implementation Approach 🛠️
I built GitHub Pixel Art as a React TypeScript application with a simple, intuitive interface that:
- Converts text to pixel patterns - Users can input text that automatically generates the corresponding commit pattern
- Provides a visual editor - A grid interface allows users to “paint” custom patterns by clicking or dragging across days
- Generates commit schedules - The app calculates exactly when and how many commits are needed each day to create the desired pattern
- Enables sharing via URL - Designs can be encoded in the URL for easy sharing and collaboration
- Supports data export - Users can download their commit schedule as a CSV file for implementation
The different shades of green are achieved by varying commit frequency on specific days—from light green (few commits) to dark green (many commits)—creating a 5-level grayscale palette.
Future Enhancements 🚀
The current implementation is functional but has room for expansion:
- Canvas painting interface - Enhancing the mouse-based pixel editing experience
- Pattern library - Creating a gallery of pre-designed patterns users can modify
- Implementation scripts - Providing automation tools to help execute the commit schedules
- Community features - Building functionality for users to share and extend each other’s designs
- Mobile optimisation - Improving the experience on smaller screens