It seems like a pretty easy feature to build. No database changes required, and I wouldn't be surprised if the API already returns the star count for the repo so it's client-side only. I'd guess somebody could do it in a couple of hours (famous last words lol). I'd guess adding that feature would be less time/effort than restoring httpie's stars. A/B testing might be a little harder since conditions like OP's don't happen often, but you could at least do some testing.