Open-source projects thrive on community engagement. But sometimes, popular GitHub repositories become overwhelmed with low-quality comments like “+1” or “Me too.” These comments, while well-intentioned, often drown out meaningful discussions and make it harder for maintainers to track actual issues.
So, what can you do? A simple solution has emerged to help reclaim some sanity in your GitHub notifications.
Filtering the Noise with a Google Apps Script
A clever Google Apps Script offers a way to automatically filter these noisy comments from your Gmail inbox. The script scans incoming emails triggered by GitHub notifications. If the email contains a comment matching certain unhelpful patterns, it automatically sends the email straight to the trash. This allows you to focus on the notifications that actually require your attention.
The script leverages the flexibility of Google Apps Script and is readily adaptable to your specific needs. You can customize the list of “noisy” phrases to filter and tweak other settings to align with your workflow.
Check out the script here: https://gist.github.com/freakynit/1f472c92e01f7e77287c6d
Taming the Chaos Directly in Your Browser
But what about when you’re browsing GitHub directly? There’s a solution for that too. A accompanying browser console script offers another approach to managing this comment overload. This script allows you to dim or completely hide these less helpful comments directly within the GitHub interface.
This provides a way to declutter the conversation threads and quickly identify the comments that contain valuable feedback or actionable suggestions. No more wading through countless “+1″s to find the real discussion.
You can adapt the provided script to your preferred level of filtering, giving you control over how much of the noise you see.
Taking Back Control of Your GitHub Notifications
These simple yet effective scripts empower you to take back control of your GitHub notification experience. Whether you choose to filter emails or dim comments directly within the browser, these tools provide a welcome respite from the deluge of unhelpful noise. They allow you to focus on the valuable contributions and participate in the discussions that truly matter.
This conversation originated from a discussion on filtering noise in GitHub comments: https://github.com/cline/cline/discussions/581
