I was recently watching a video on “How InnerSource can accelerate culture change” that really got me thinking about the often overlooked challenges of maintaining open source software projects. What exactly is the work that open source maintainers have to shoulder? Why does this crucial role frequently get overshadowed?

From browsers and operating systems to data science libraries and cloud infrastructure, crucial chunks of code that power our tech ecosystem are created and maintained by communities of developers contributing their time and expertise. However, as open source has become embedded into nearly every facet of technology, a major issue has emerged - the maintainers who keep these critical projects viable are overworked, underpaid, and often underappreciated for the immense effort they put in.

The Unsung Heroes of Open Source

What exactly does an open source maintainer do? They are the dedicated programmers who manage all aspects of a project - reviewing and merging code contributions, ensuring tests pass, fixing bugs, releasing new versions, updating documentation, managing issue trackers, and herding the community of contributors.

While coding new features gets all the glory, the thankless maintenance work happening behind the scenes is what keeps open source projects stable, secure, and usable for the millions who depend on them. It requires immense patience, discipline, and sustained effort over years or even decades as the codebase grows.

Maintainers: The Forgotten Developers

Part of the problem is that maintainers tend to get less recognition and visibility compared to developers who create hot new apps or contribute shiny new features to open source codebases.

Let’s be honest - it’s much easier to get thrilled about an exciting new tool or eye-catching UI versus behind-the-scenes work like fixing integration tests, shoring up documentation, or merging pull requests. But maintaining code is just as critical to get right. It’s not glamorous, but it’s utterly essential.

A Bottleneck?

I wonder if the maintainer shortage will reach a crisis point. Core maintainers leaving projects en masse due to burnout can put the availability of crucial open source components we all rely on at risk. Even large companies that depend heavily on open source struggle to properly invest in supporting the maintainers doing this critical work.

Without sustainable funding models and shared maintenance responsibilities, open source software could hit a ceiling. We need more programs and incentives for maintainers, better tooling to streamline maintenance tasks, and a mindset shift to recognize their immense value.

If open source falls into disrepair, it will bottleneck the entire tech industry’s ability to keep innovating rapidly. We can’t take maintainers for granted if we want open source to keep thriving and pushing software to new frontiers.