# github/Rebel

Cocoa framework for improving AppKit

Repository: https://github.com/github/Rebel
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/rebel
Language: Objective-C
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Archived: true
Last push: 2015-12-10T01:03:55+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5148, "days_push": 3920, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: archived, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1119, forks 112 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:39.460817+00:00)

## What it is
Rebel is an Objective-C Cocoa framework that improves AppKit on macOS by adding categories to fix bugs and make APIs nicer, plus new classes for common tasks. It was developed by GitHub and is explicitly alpha quality with breaking changes expected.

## Use cases
- make AppKit APIs easier to work with
- fix AppKit bugs without subclassing
- add helper classes for common macOS UI tasks
- extend Cocoa controls with convenient categories
- speed up Mac desktop app development

## When to choose
- you are maintaining a legacy Objective-C macOS app already using Rebel
- you want to study how AppKit can be extended via categories

## When to avoid
- starting a new macOS project, since it is abandoned and alpha quality
- you need Swift-first or actively maintained UI tooling
- you require long-term support or compatibility with modern macOS SDKs

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: abandoned
- function: ui-components, developer-tools
- domain: desktop-applications, apple-ecosystem, developer-tools
- platform: -
- tags: appkit, cocoa, objective-c, categories, alpha-quality, macos

## Member repositories
- github/Rebel (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:39.460817+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T06:41:11.429359+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/github/Rebel (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:39.460817+00:00, sha cd4e6e0238f3)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.