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Guide · Open source

How to use the-gan-zoo: browse named GAN papers and code

Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data

The GAN Zoo is an open-source list, hosted on GitHub under the MIT licence, of research papers that propose named variants of GANs (generative adversarial networks), a type of machine learning model that learns to generate realistic data such as images. Each entry links to the paper and, where the author provided one, to the code. This guide shows you how to get the list, search it by title, filter it by year and find the paper or code for a specific GAN name.

The GAN Zoohindupuravinash/the-gan-zoo · ★ 14.7k · MIT

Quick start

  1. 1Clone the repository. Run the git clone command to copy the-gan-zoo to your computer.
  2. 2Open gans.tsv. Open the tab-separated file in the cloned folder or view it on GitHub.
  3. 3Search by title. Look for the GAN name or part of a paper title you need.
  4. 4Filter by year. Narrow the table to a year range when you want papers from a specific period.
  5. 5Follow the links. Open the paper link, and the github link if the author provided one.
  6. 6Contribute back. If you find a missing or wrong entry, make a pull request to gans.tsv or open an issue.

What the-gan-zoo is and what it is not

The GAN Zoo is a curated list of named GANs. It is a list of links rather than software, so there is nothing to run in the usual sense. Each line names a GAN, gives the paper title as a link to the paper, and where available adds a link to the code, labelled github.

  • Good for: researchers tracking named GAN variants, students looking for GAN papers to read, and engineers searching for a paper or code by GAN name.
  • Not for: people who want a ready-to-run tool, or readers who want a beginner explanation of how GANs work, because the list only names and links papers.

Get a copy of the list with git clone

The README gives one install command: cloning the repository. This copies the list and its data files to your computer. The README lists no other prerequisites.

git clone https://github.com/hindupuravinash/the-gan-zoo

Find a GAN by name in gans.tsv

The same data is available as a tab-separated file called gans.tsv. The README says this table can be filtered by year or searched quickly by title. You can open it in a spreadsheet program that reads tab-separated files, or use it directly on GitHub through the link in the README.

If you cloned the repository, open gans.tsv in your editor or spreadsheet. Search for the GAN name you need, such as AttnGAN or BiGAN, and read the paper title and links on that row.

  • Open gans.tsv from the cloned folder or from the GitHub page.
  • Search by title for a specific variant name.
  • Filter by year to see the papers from a given period.

Read the list in the main README

The README itself is a bulleted list. Each bullet has the form name, a dash, then the paper title linked to its paper, and sometimes a second link labelled github that points to the author's code. Some entries have only the paper link, which means the source did not provide code.

  • Entries with a github link have author code you can read or run.
  • Entries without one have only the paper link.
  • Some names appear more than once, for example BCGAN, because different papers used the same label.

Add or correct an entry

The README welcomes contributions. To add a link, make a pull request that edits gans.tsv in the same format. To report something missing or start a discussion, create an issue in the repository.

  • Edit gans.tsv and keep the same format as the existing rows.
  • Open a pull request with your change.
  • Use an issue for corrections or discussion instead of an edit.

What people use it for

  • A researcher checking whether a named GAN variant already exists before proposing a new name.
  • A student building a reading list of GAN papers from the list.
  • An engineer looking up the paper and author code for a GAN variant they saw mentioned by name.
  • A maintainer adding a missing paper through a pull request to gans.tsv.

Frequently asked questions

How do I install the-gan-zoo?

The README gives one command: git clone https://github.com/hindupuravinash/the-gan-zoo. This copies the repository, including the gans.tsv data file, to your computer. There is no other installation step because the project is a list of links.

What are the requirements for the-gan-zoo?

The README lists no prerequisites. You need git to run the clone command, and a text or spreadsheet editor to open gans.tsv. You can also view the table on GitHub without cloning.

Is the-gan-zoo free and what is its licence?

Yes. The project is licensed under the MIT licence. The list itself is free to read, clone and use.

Is the-gan-zoo a tool I can run?

No. The analysis and README describe it as a list of links to papers, not software. It does not generate images or train models, so you need separate code from the linked papers to run any GAN.

Are there alternatives to the-gan-zoo?

The source does not name comparable projects, so this guide cannot recommend a specific alternative. For a broader overview, you can search for GAN paper lists, but check any list you find against its own source.

Why can't I find a GAN I expected in the list?

The list is maintained by contributors and grows as papers come out. If an entry is missing, add it by pull request to gans.tsv in the same format, or open an issue to report it.

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Our verdict

Use the-gan-zoo if you need to look up a named GAN variant, find its paper, or find the author's code. Pick something else if you want software you can run or a beginner explanation of how GANs work, since this list only names and links papers.

Install options & downloads