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TL;DR

• Caveman Claude (61K stars) — cuts 65% tokens by speaking like caveman; viral hit this month
• MemPalace (52K stars) — best-benchmarked open-source AI memory system
• OpenMythos (13K stars) — theoretical reconstruction of Claude Mythos architecture
• Fireworks Tech Graph (6.8K stars) — generate SVG/PNG diagrams from natural language
• Claude Obsidian (5.1K stars) — persistent AI knowledge vault for Obsidian
• Terax AI (3.7K stars) — lightweight 7MB AI terminal emulator in Rust

Every month, the open-source AI community releases incredible tools that redefine how we build software. Here are the 10 most-starred AI repositories on GitHub this May 2026, hand-picked and analyzed by the ECOA AI engineering team.

1. Caveman Claude — JuliusBrussee/caveman (61,466 stars)

This Claude Code skill went viral, slashing token usage by 65% by forcing the model to communicate in caveman-speak. Perfect for cost-sensitive teams.

Key Features:

• 65% average token reduction
• Compatible with Claude Code CLI
• Open-source JavaScript implementation
• 300+ contributors

2. MemPalace — MemPalace/mempalace (52,392 stars)

The best-benchmarked open-source AI memory system. MemPalace gives AI agents persistent, searchable memory that compounds across sessions.

• Vector-based semantic memory
• Session persistence across conversations
• OpenAI + Anthropic model support
• Python SDK with TypeScript bindings

3. OpenMythos — kyegomez/OpenMythos (13,113 stars)

A theoretical reconstruction of the Claude Mythos architecture from first principles. Provides insights into routing, speculative decoding, and hierarchical attention.

4. Fireworks Tech Graph (6,804 stars)

Generate production-quality SVG and PNG technical diagrams from natural language. Supports 7 styles, UML diagrams, and AI agent workflow patterns.

5. Claude Obsidian (5,131 stars)

A Claude + Obsidian knowledge companion based on Karpathy’s LLM Wiki pattern. Builds a persistent, compounding wiki vault.

6. Terax AI — Rust Terminal Emulator (3,695 stars)

A lightweight (7MB) AI terminal emulator built with Rust, Tauri, and React.

7. Text-to-CAD (2,998 stars)

Generate 3D models from natural language. Bridging the gap between software and hardware AI.

8. Design Extract (2,678 stars)

Extract any website’s complete design system with one command. DTCG tokens, Figma variables, Tailwind v4.

9. Yao Open Prompts (2,137 stars)

Comprehensive Chinese AI prompt library covering work, learning, content creation, and marketing.

10. Design MD Chrome (1,989 stars)

Chrome extension that extracts styles from any website and generates DESIGN.md files for AI coding agents.

Quick Comparison Table

Key Takeaways

1. Token optimization is hot — Caveman Claude shows devs care deeply about API costs
2. AI memory is infrastructure — MemPalace proves persistent agent memory is a solved problem
3. Design meets AI — 3 of top 10 repos bridge design systems and AI tooling
4. Rust is rising — Terax AI proves Rust + Tauri is powerful for lightweight AI apps

FAQ

How do you find trending AI repos?

GitHub search: created:>2026-04-01+topic:ai&sort=stars, manually verified.

Which repo saves the most money?

Caveman Claude — 65% token reduction. For a team spending $1,000/month on Claude API, that is $650 saved.

Which is best for enterprise teams?

MemPalace or Design Extract. Both solve real enterprise problems.

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Published: May 18, 2026 — ECOA AI Engineering Team