If there&#x27;s an IRC channel, mailing list, issue tracker, etc., I have a look at it.  Active communities are bonus points regardless of the bug list.<p>I also look at how friendly the project is to pull requests and outside development.  If a bug is important to me, I will spend the time to code a fix, but if there&#x27;s no hope for getting any changes made, that represents a large risk to me. It&#x27;s not a bad thing if the team in charge pushes back for higher quality code, code style, or solutions practical for wider audiences.<p>If there&#x27;s continuous integration in place with automated testing and static code analysis that is fantastic.  It&#x27;s not a deal breaker if it&#x27;s not, but having it in place is a good sign.<p>Depending on the project, I may have a look at the source itself.  I certainly don&#x27;t look the source of every application I use.<p>I have found that online recommendations in developer communities are not always good.  More than once I&#x27;ve tried out projects based on people evangelizing them only to find out that they are pretty far from acceptable.<p>There are differences in how I judge things that will be customer facing or that I&#x27;m going to have to support operationally.  I&#x27;m a lot more critical at that point, but my top 3 points are:<p>1. Can I put it in a container. 
2. Are the developers committed to long term support.
3. Will they give me a t-shirt.