Contributions to generative AI projects on GitHub grew 59% YoY from October 2023 to September 2024 and Python overtook JavaScript as the most popular language

In this year's Octoverse report, we study how public and open source activity on GitHub shows how AI is expanding as the global developer community surges in size.

The GitHub Blog 2024-10-30

Context & Ripple Effects

GitHub’s language rankings had previously placed JavaScript, Python and Java at the top; this report marks a shift from that earlier JavaScript-led ordering while showing rapid expansion in public generative-AI work.

The results also extend a coding-AI arc already visible when GitHub reported substantial code creation with Copilot: AI-assisted code production and open-source generative-AI development are now advancing together on the same platform.

First-order effects

Public generative-AI repositories receive a much larger flow of contributions, increasing the pace at which maintainers and contributors iterate on shared AI tooling and projects.
Python becomes GitHub’s most-used language for the period, displacing JavaScript in a closely watched indicator of developer activity.

Second-order effects

AI-project maintainers and developer-tool vendors have a stronger incentive to prioritize Python workflows, packages and documentation as more visible generative-AI activity concentrates there.
The growth in public AI work makes GitHub’s developer network more strategically important as a distribution and collaboration layer for coding-AI products, reinforcing the relevance of its existing Copilot footprint.

Third-order effects

If this pattern persists, the center of software development shifts further toward AI-native, open-source building blocks, with language ecosystems competing on their ability to support model development and deployment.
The combination of AI-assisted coding and expanding public AI projects could make repository platforms increasingly important infrastructure for how developer tools are adopted, governed and monetized.

The trend: Generative AI is becoming embedded in mainstream software production, reshaping both open-source contribution patterns and the language ecosystems developers choose.

Discussion

@benlesh Ben Lesh on x
Python developers congratulating themselves that the JavaScript community is split between TypeScript and JavaScript is the most data science facepalm I can think of.
@satyanadella Satya Nadella on x
Developers are the architects of the AI era. Our latest Octoverse report shows the diffusion of AI everywhere, and how it's enabling more people than ever to join our global developer community. https://github.blog/...
@shanselman Scott Hanselman on x
@ashtom [image]
@kennethreitz42 Kenneth Reitz on x
Python is officially GitHub's “top language” as the number of global developers surges https://github.blog/...
@zeeg David Cramer on x
Great example of data potentially telling the story you want, but not the story of truth. Is Python really larger than JavaScript? Because TypeScript _is_ JavaScript. I'm guessing (1) < (2)+(3). (awesome to see Python doing so well though!)
@ashtom Thomas Dohmke on x
Also: it's a big fucking deal that Python is now the number 1 language on GitHub. 🐍 AI creation is booming — GitHub is the world's largest creator network for the age of AI. https://github.blog/... [image]
@nitya Nitya Narasimhan, PhD on x
Going to refer to this as “Snakes on a Brain” 😍 But seriously, this is a positive shift. And, as many folks in AI are finding out, moving from JS to Python is easier than you think because the syntax and community are so friendly.
@brodriguesco Bruno Rodrigues on x
my genuine reaction to that image on the right (source: https://github.blog/...) [video]
@donvito Melvin Vivas on x
I used to tell our data engineering team that Go was better than Python—then ChatGPT dropped, I quietly pretended I didn't say anything. 😅 Now, I'm a Python fan! Octoverse: AI leads Python to top language https://github.blog/... [image]

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