fix(github-stars): centralize fallback via initialData, remove stale constants

Move the placeholder star count into useGitHubStars as initialData with
initialDataUpdatedAt: 0 so `data` is always a narrowed string while still
refetching on mount. Fixes two Bugbot issues: stale '25.8k' in chat.tsx
(vs '27.8k' in navbar) and empty-string return in fetchGitHubStars that
bypassed `??` fallbacks in consumers.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: waleedlatif1

apps/sim/app/(landing)/components/navbar/components/github-stars.tsx

@@ -3,8 +3,6 @@
 import { GithubOutlineIcon } from '@/components/icons'
 import { useGitHubStars } from '@/hooks/queries/github-stars'
 
-const INITIAL_STARS = '27.8k'
-
 /**
  * Client component that displays GitHub stars count.
  *
@@ -13,18 +11,17 @@ const INITIAL_STARS = '27.8k'
  */
 export function GitHubStars() {
   const { data: stars } = useGitHubStars()
-  const displayStars = stars ?? INITIAL_STARS
 
   return (
     <a
       href='https://github.com/simstudioai/sim'
       target='_blank'
       rel='noopener noreferrer'
       className='flex h-[30px] items-center gap-2 self-center rounded-[5px] px-3 transition-colors duration-200 group-hover:bg-[var(--landing-bg-elevated)]'
-      aria-label={`GitHub repository — ${displayStars} stars`}
+      aria-label={`GitHub repository — ${stars} stars`}
     >
       <GithubOutlineIcon className='h-[14px] w-[14px]' />
-      <span aria-live='polite'>{displayStars}</span>
+      <span aria-live='polite'>{stars}</span>
     </a>
   )
 }

apps/sim/app/chat/[identifier]/chat.tsx

@@ -47,8 +47,6 @@ const DEFAULT_VOICE_SETTINGS = {
   voiceId: 'EXAVITQu4vr4xnSDxMaL', // Default ElevenLabs voice (Bella)
 }
 
-const INITIAL_STARS = '25.8k'
-
 /**
  * Converts a File object to a base64 data URL
  */
@@ -423,7 +421,7 @@ export default function ChatClient({ identifier }: { identifier: string }) {
   return (
     <div className='dark fixed inset-0 z-[100] flex flex-col bg-[var(--landing-bg)] text-[var(--landing-text)]'>
       {/* Header component */}
-      <ChatHeader chatConfig={chatConfig} starCount={starCount ?? INITIAL_STARS} />
+      <ChatHeader chatConfig={chatConfig} starCount={starCount} />
 
       {/* Message Container component */}
       <ChatMessageContainer

apps/sim/hooks/queries/github-stars.ts

@@ -8,6 +8,12 @@ export const githubStarsKeys = {
   count: () => [...githubStarsKeys.all, 'count'] as const,
 }
 
+/**
+ * Fallback star count shown before the first fetch resolves. Centralized here
+ * so every consumer of `useGitHubStars` renders the same placeholder.
+ */
+export const GITHUB_STARS_FALLBACK = '27.8k'
+
 async function fetchGitHubStars(signal?: AbortSignal): Promise<string> {
   const response = await fetch('/api/stars', {
     signal,
@@ -17,18 +23,24 @@ async function fetchGitHubStars(signal?: AbortSignal): Promise<string> {
     throw new Error('Failed to fetch GitHub stars')
   }
   const data = await response.json()
-  return (data?.stars as string) ?? ''
+  const value = data?.stars
+  return typeof value === 'string' && value.length > 0 ? value : GITHUB_STARS_FALLBACK
 }
 
 /**
  * Loads the formatted GitHub star count for the Sim repository.
  * The `/api/stars` endpoint caches upstream for 1 hour, so a 1-hour
  * staleTime keeps the client cache aligned with the server cache.
+ * `initialData` + `initialDataUpdatedAt: 0` gives `data` a narrowed
+ * `string` type from the first render while still triggering a refetch
+ * on mount, so consumers never need a fallback or undefined check.
  */
 export function useGitHubStars() {
   return useQuery({
     queryKey: githubStarsKeys.count(),
     queryFn: ({ signal }) => fetchGitHubStars(signal),
     staleTime: 60 * 60 * 1000,
+    initialData: GITHUB_STARS_FALLBACK,
+    initialDataUpdatedAt: 0,
   })
 }