Skip to content

/ Blog

Try GitHub Copilot See what's new

AI & ML
- AI & ML
  Learn about artificial intelligence and machine learning across the GitHub ecosystem and the wider industry.
  - Generative AI
    Learn how to build with generative AI.
  - GitHub Copilot
    Change how you work with GitHub Copilot.
  - LLMs
    Everything developers need to know about LLMs.
  - Machine learning
    Machine learning tips, tricks, and best practices.
- How AI code generation works
  Explore the capabilities and benefits of AI code generation and how it can improve your developer experience.
  Learn more
Developer skills
- Developer skills
  Resources for developers to grow in their skills and careers.
  - Application development
    Insights and best practices for building apps.
  - Career growth
    Tips & tricks to grow as a professional developer.
  - GitHub
    Improve how you use GitHub at work.
  - GitHub Education
    Learn how to move into your first professional role.
  - Programming languages & frameworks
    Stay current on what’s new (or new again).
- Get started with GitHub documentation
  Learn how to start building, shipping, and maintaining software with GitHub.
  Learn more
Engineering
- Engineering
  Get an inside look at how we’re building the home for all developers.
  - Architecture & optimization
    Discover how we deliver a performant and highly available experience across the GitHub platform.
  - Engineering principles
    Explore best practices for building software at scale with a majority remote team.
  - Infrastructure
    Get a glimpse at the technology underlying the world’s leading AI-powered developer platform.
  - Platform security
    Learn how we build security into everything we do across the developer lifecycle.
  - User experience
    Find out what goes into making GitHub the home for all developers.
- How we use GitHub to be more productive, collaborative, and secure
  Our engineering and security teams do some incredible work. Let’s take a look at how we use GitHub to be more productive, build collaboratively, and shift security left.
  Learn more
Enterprise software
- Enterprise software
  Explore how to write, build, and deploy enterprise software at scale.
  - Automation
    Automating your way to faster and more secure ships.
  - CI/CD
    Guides on continuous integration and delivery.
  - Collaboration
    Tips, tools, and tricks to improve developer collaboration.
  - DevOps
    DevOps resources for enterprise engineering teams.
  - DevSecOps
    How to integrate security into the SDLC.
  - Governance & compliance
    Ensuring your builds stay clean.
- GitHub recognized as a Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for AI Code Assistants
  Learn why Gartner positioned GitHub as a Leader for the second year in a row.
  Learn more
News & insights
- News & insights
  Keep up with what’s new and notable from inside GitHub.
  - Company news
    An inside look at news and product updates from GitHub.
  - Product
    The latest on GitHub’s platform, products, and tools.
  - Octoverse
    Insights into the state of open source on GitHub.
  - Policy
    The latest policy and regulatory changes in software.
  - Research
    Data-driven insights around the developer ecosystem.
  - The library
    Older news and updates from GitHub.
- Unlocking the power of unstructured data with RAG
  Learn how to use retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) to capture more insights.
  Learn more
Open Source
- Open Source
  Everything open source on GitHub.
  - Git
    The latest Git updates.
  - Maintainers
    Spotlighting open source maintainers.
  - Social impact
    How open source is driving positive change.
  - Gaming
    Explore open source games on GitHub.
- An introduction to innersource
  Organizations worldwide are incorporating open source methodologies into the way they build and ship their own software.
  Learn more
Security
- Security
  Stay up to date on everything security.
  - Application security
    Application security, explained.
  - Supply chain security
    Demystifying supply chain security.
  - Vulnerability research
    Updates from the GitHub Security Lab.
  - Web application security
    Helpful tips on securing web applications.
- The enterprise guide to AI-powered DevSecOps
  Learn about core challenges in DevSecOps, and how you can start addressing them with AI and automation.
  Learn more

Categories

AI & ML
- AI & ML
  Learn about artificial intelligence and machine learning across the GitHub ecosystem and the wider industry.
  - Generative AI
    Learn how to build with generative AI.
  - GitHub Copilot
    Change how you work with GitHub Copilot.
  - LLMs
    Everything developers need to know about LLMs.
  - Machine learning
    Machine learning tips, tricks, and best practices.
- How AI code generation works
  Explore the capabilities and benefits of AI code generation and how it can improve your developer experience.
  Learn more
Developer skills
- Developer skills
  Resources for developers to grow in their skills and careers.
  - Application development
    Insights and best practices for building apps.
  - Career growth
    Tips & tricks to grow as a professional developer.
  - GitHub
    Improve how you use GitHub at work.
  - GitHub Education
    Learn how to move into your first professional role.
  - Programming languages & frameworks
    Stay current on what’s new (or new again).
- Get started with GitHub documentation
  Learn how to start building, shipping, and maintaining software with GitHub.
  Learn more
Engineering
- Engineering
  Get an inside look at how we’re building the home for all developers.
  - Architecture & optimization
    Discover how we deliver a performant and highly available experience across the GitHub platform.
  - Engineering principles
    Explore best practices for building software at scale with a majority remote team.
  - Infrastructure
    Get a glimpse at the technology underlying the world’s leading AI-powered developer platform.
  - Platform security
    Learn how we build security into everything we do across the developer lifecycle.
  - User experience
    Find out what goes into making GitHub the home for all developers.
- How we use GitHub to be more productive, collaborative, and secure
  Our engineering and security teams do some incredible work. Let’s take a look at how we use GitHub to be more productive, build collaboratively, and shift security left.
  Learn more
Enterprise software
- Enterprise software
  Explore how to write, build, and deploy enterprise software at scale.
  - Automation
    Automating your way to faster and more secure ships.
  - CI/CD
    Guides on continuous integration and delivery.
  - Collaboration
    Tips, tools, and tricks to improve developer collaboration.
  - DevOps
    DevOps resources for enterprise engineering teams.
  - DevSecOps
    How to integrate security into the SDLC.
  - Governance & compliance
    Ensuring your builds stay clean.
- GitHub recognized as a Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for AI Code Assistants
  Learn why Gartner positioned GitHub as a Leader for the second year in a row.
  Learn more
News & insights
- News & insights
  Keep up with what’s new and notable from inside GitHub.
  - Company news
    An inside look at news and product updates from GitHub.
  - Product
    The latest on GitHub’s platform, products, and tools.
  - Octoverse
    Insights into the state of open source on GitHub.
  - Policy
    The latest policy and regulatory changes in software.
  - Research
    Data-driven insights around the developer ecosystem.
  - The library
    Older news and updates from GitHub.
- Unlocking the power of unstructured data with RAG
  Learn how to use retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) to capture more insights.
  Learn more
Open Source
- Open Source
  Everything open source on GitHub.
  - Git
    The latest Git updates.
  - Maintainers
    Spotlighting open source maintainers.
  - Social impact
    How open source is driving positive change.
  - Gaming
    Explore open source games on GitHub.
- An introduction to innersource
  Organizations worldwide are incorporating open source methodologies into the way they build and ship their own software.
  Learn more
Security
- Security
  Stay up to date on everything security.
  - Application security
    Application security, explained.
  - Supply chain security
    Demystifying supply chain security.
  - Vulnerability research
    Updates from the GitHub Security Lab.
  - Web application security
    Helpful tips on securing web applications.
- The enterprise guide to AI-powered DevSecOps
  Learn about core challenges in DevSecOps, and how you can start addressing them with AI and automation.
  Learn more

See what's new Try GitHub Copilot

Home / News & insights / The library

Octocat Nerd Merit Badges For Sale

Nerd Merit Badges bring the fun of collecting merit badges to those of us with a penchant for late night coding sessions and weekends poring over esoteric nerd folklore. Get…

Tom Preston-Werner·@mojombo

February 17, 2011 | Updated January 4, 2019

Share:

Nerd Merit Badges bring the fun of collecting merit badges to those of us with a penchant for late night coding sessions and weekends poring over esoteric nerd folklore. Get yours now in the GitHub Shop!

You can proudly display this badge if you are a contributor to an open source project. Displaying the Octocat will demonstrate to your friends and enemies that you love open source and have the code to prove it!

Each merit badge is 1.5 inches in diameter, fully embroidered, and Velcro-backed. Attach to your jacket, your backpack, or the lid of your over-clocked, battle-scarred laptop.

Written by

Related posts

GitHub availability report: February 2026

In February, we experienced six incidents that resulted in degraded performance across GitHub services.

Illustration of a chemistry lab setup with interconnected glassware and tubing. Beakers, flasks, test tubes, and a large central reaction vessel contain glowing green and blue liquids. A pressure gauge, condenser coil, funnels, and heating plates appear along a blue tiled lab wall, with fluids flowing through tubes between the containers.

Addressing GitHub’s recent availability issues

GitHub recently experienced several availability incidents. We understand the impact these outages have on our customers and are sharing details on the stabilization work we’re prioritizing right now.

GitHub availability report: January 2026

In January, we experienced two incidents that resulted in degraded performance across GitHub services.