diff --git a/lib/class-projects.php b/lib/class-projects.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3969cd5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/class-projects.php
@@ -0,0 +1,139 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * Project helper for the ks-portfolio theme.
+ *
+ * Thin wrapper around the projects-portfolio plugin's provider-aware
+ * helpers. Templates should call these methods instead of branching on
+ * provider, so the theme stays decoupled from GitHub/Gitea implementation
+ * details.
+ *
+ * Every accessor is safe to call whether the plugin is active or not: when
+ * the underlying function is missing or repo data is unavailable, defaults
+ * that match the documented data contract are returned.
+ *
+ * @package KsPortfolio
+ */
+
+namespace KsPortfolio;
+
+class Projects {
+
+	/**
+	 * Whether the projects-portfolio plugin is active.
+	 *
+	 * @return bool
+	 */
+	public static function is_plugin_active(): bool {
+		return function_exists( 'projects_portfolio_get_provider' );
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Provider label for a project (e.g. 'GitHub', 'Gitea', or 'Unknown').
+	 *
+	 * @param int $post_id Project post ID.
+	 * @return string
+	 */
+	public static function get_provider_label( int $post_id ): string {
+		if ( ! self::is_plugin_active() ) {
+			return 'Unknown';
+		}
+		$provider = projects_portfolio_get_provider( $post_id );
+		return method_exists( $provider, 'get_label' ) ? (string) $provider->get_label() : 'Unknown';
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Release ZIP URL (or empty string).
+	 *
+	 * @param int $post_id Project post ID.
+	 * @return string
+	 */
+	public static function get_release_url( int $post_id ): string {
+		if ( ! self::is_plugin_active() ) {
+			return '';
+		}
+		return (string) projects_portfolio_get_release_url( $post_id );
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Public repository browse URL (or empty string).
+	 *
+	 * @param int $post_id Project post ID.
+	 * @return string
+	 */
+	public static function get_repo_browse_url( int $post_id ): string {
+		if ( ! self::is_plugin_active() ) {
+			return '';
+		}
+		$provider = projects_portfolio_get_provider( $post_id );
+		return method_exists( $provider, 'get_repo_browse_url' ) ? (string) $provider->get_repo_browse_url() : '';
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Normalized repository data array (or null).
+	 *
+	 * @param int $post_id Project post ID.
+	 * @return array<string,mixed>|null
+	 */
+	public static function get_repo_data( int $post_id ) {
+		if ( ! self::is_plugin_active() ) {
+			return null;
+		}
+		$data = projects_portfolio_get_repo_data( $post_id );
+		return is_array( $data ) ? $data : null;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Owner data (avatar/login/html_url) or null.
+	 *
+	 * @param int $post_id Project post ID.
+	 * @return array<string,mixed>|null
+	 */
+	public static function get_owner_data( int $post_id ) {
+		$data = self::get_repo_data( $post_id );
+		if ( ! $data || empty( $data['owner']['login'] ) ) {
+			return null;
+		}
+		return $data['owner'];
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Latest release tag, or 'Unknown'.
+	 *
+	 * @param int $post_id Project post ID.
+	 * @return string
+	 */
+	public static function get_latest_version( int $post_id ): string {
+		if ( ! self::is_plugin_active() ) {
+			return 'Unknown';
+		}
+		$provider = projects_portfolio_get_provider( $post_id );
+		return method_exists( $provider, 'get_latest_version' ) ? (string) $provider->get_latest_version() : 'Unknown';
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Local download endpoint URL for the project.
+	 *
+	 * @param int $post_id Project post ID.
+	 * @return string
+	 */
+	public static function get_download_url( int $post_id ): string {
+		return home_url( '/download/' . $post_id . '/' );
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Render a stat-card-safe integer with optional formatting.
+	 *
+	 * @param mixed $value Raw repo stat value.
+	 * @return string Display-safe string ('1.2k', '12,345', etc.) or '—' when empty.
+	 */
+	public static function format_stat( $value ): string {
+		if ( null === $value || '' === $value ) {
+			return '—';
+		}
+		$value = (int) $value;
+		if ( $value >= 10000 ) {
+			return number_format( $value / 1000, 1 ) . 'k';
+		}
+		return number_format( $value );
+	}
+}