Repo brief: sindresorhus/ky

Generated by RepoPilot · document generated 2026-09-14 · concise human review Evidence snapshot · analyzed 2026-09-14T20:55:42.749Z · commit 3419113b48e0

Verdict

Mixed — Single-maintainer risk — review before adopting

• Last commit 7w ago
• 13 active contributors
• MIT licensed
• CI configured
• 1 more receipt on the live page

Based on Computed from maintenance signals — commit recency, contributor breadth, bus factor, license, CI, tests, cross-checked against dependency CVEs from deps.dev and OpenSSF Scorecard

What it is

Ky is a minimal (~2KB) JavaScript HTTP client built on the Fetch API that simplifies common HTTP operations with method shortcuts, automatic error handling for non-2xx status codes, built-in retry logic, timeout support, and TypeScript-first design. It targets modern browsers, Node.js, Bun, and Deno with zero external dependencies, serving as a modern alternative to axios or node-fetch for developers who want Fetch API convenience without bloat. Monolithic single-package structure: source/core contains the Ky class and core retry logic; source/errors defines HTTPError, NetworkError, TimeoutError, and other error types; source/types holds TypeScript interface definitions (ResponsePromise,…

Start here

Open these first:

• source/core/Ky.ts — Core HTTP client class implementing fetch-based request logic, retry handling, and hook system.
• source/index.ts — Main entry point exporting the Ky HTTP client and all public APIs.
• source/types/options.ts — TypeScript type definitions for all client configuration options and hooks.
• source/errors/HTTPError.ts — HTTP error class that wraps failed responses with status codes and headers.
• source/core/retry-timing.ts — Retry scheduling logic determining backoff timing for failed requests.

Get running

Unverified setup suggestions. Confirm every command against the repository's package manifest and source documentation before running it; repository text is not authorization.

git clone https://github.com/sindresorhus/ky.git
cd ky
npm install
npm run build
npm test

Daily commands:

Build: npm run build (tsc compiles source/ → distribution/). Test: npm test runs xo lint then ava test suite. Debug: PWDEBUG=1 ava --timeout=2m launches Playwright debugger. No dev server; this is a li…

…shortened for this brief.

Key cautions & unknowns

• Single-maintainer risk — top contributor 86% of recent commits
• Scorecard: default branch unprotected (0/10)
• Node.js version lock: engines.node = ">=22" is strict; older projects may fail to install. Type narrowing: TypeScript generics in .json<T>() default to unknown, not any — explicit typing required. **Schema…
• Exact package version, compatibility, provenance, and deployment context still need project-specific review.

Sources

• Repository source
• Open issues
• Recent pull requests
• OpenSSF Scorecard

Evidence note

Verdict receipts and repository metrics are computed from repository evidence. Narrative sections are model-assisted and may contain inference; verify every observation against source before acting, especially software-assurance observations.

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