diff --git a/website/fetch_github_stars.py b/website/fetch_github_stars.py
index 4f9b50a3..ea9105b2 100644
--- a/website/fetch_github_stars.py
+++ b/website/fetch_github_stars.py
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ from pathlib import Path
 
 import httpx
 
-from build import extract_github_repo
+from build import extract_github_repo, load_stars
 
 CACHE_MAX_AGE_DAYS = 7
 DATA_DIR = Path(__file__).parent / "data"
@@ -30,17 +30,6 @@ def extract_github_repos(text: str) -> set[str]:
     return repos
 
 
-def load_cache() -> dict:
-    """Load the star cache from disk. Returns empty dict if missing or corrupt."""
-    if CACHE_FILE.exists():
-        try:
-            return json.loads(CACHE_FILE.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
-        except json.JSONDecodeError:
-            print(f"Warning: corrupt cache at {CACHE_FILE}, starting fresh.", file=sys.stderr)
-            return {}
-    return {}
-
-
 def save_cache(cache: dict) -> None:
     """Write the star cache to disk, creating data/ dir if needed."""
     DATA_DIR.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
@@ -114,7 +103,7 @@ def main() -> None:
     current_repos = extract_github_repos(readme_text)
     print(f"Found {len(current_repos)} GitHub repos in README.md")
 
-    cache = load_cache()
+    cache = load_stars(CACHE_FILE)
     now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
 
     # Prune entries not in current README
diff --git a/website/tests/test_fetch_github_stars.py b/website/tests/test_fetch_github_stars.py
index 2465899f..3d52b6aa 100644
--- a/website/tests/test_fetch_github_stars.py
+++ b/website/tests/test_fetch_github_stars.py
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ sys.path.insert(0, os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), ".."))
 from fetch_github_stars import (
     build_graphql_query,
     extract_github_repos,
-    load_cache,
     parse_graphql_response,
     save_cache,
 )
@@ -65,27 +64,6 @@ class TestExtractGithubRepos:
         assert result == {"org/repo"}
 
 
-class TestLoadCache:
-    def test_returns_empty_when_missing(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
-        monkeypatch.setattr("fetch_github_stars.CACHE_FILE", tmp_path / "nonexistent.json")
-        result = load_cache()
-        assert result == {}
-
-    def test_loads_valid_cache(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
-        cache_file = tmp_path / "stars.json"
-        cache_file.write_text('{"a/b": {"stars": 1}}', encoding="utf-8")
-        monkeypatch.setattr("fetch_github_stars.CACHE_FILE", cache_file)
-        result = load_cache()
-        assert result == {"a/b": {"stars": 1}}
-
-    def test_returns_empty_on_corrupt_json(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
-        cache_file = tmp_path / "stars.json"
-        cache_file.write_text("not json", encoding="utf-8")
-        monkeypatch.setattr("fetch_github_stars.CACHE_FILE", cache_file)
-        result = load_cache()
-        assert result == {}
-
-
 class TestSaveCache:
     def test_creates_directory_and_writes_json(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
         data_dir = tmp_path / "data"