maintaine.rs

Unveiling the Open Source heroes that power our digital infrastructure

The maintaine.rs book is a curated collection of stories from top Open Source maintainers. These stories are a testament to the quiet heroism at the heart of Open Source. Behind every project we rely on are people who choose to show up—not for profit or fame, but for the love of building, solving problems, and sharing solutions. Their work ripples outward, enabling innovation across industries and connecting communities across the globe.

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Featured Maintainers

Camila Maia

Camila Maia

@camilamaia

I’m the founder of Cumbuca Dev, a community-driven educational initiative focused on helping people from underrepresented groups gain real experience in tech, especially through Open Source. I’ve seen firsthand how Open Source can break barriers, provide opportunities, and allow people from all walks of life to shine.

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Jonathan Desrosiers

Jonathan Desrosiers

@desrosj

My name is Jonathan Desrosiers. I’ve been a credited contributor to the WordPress project since 2013, a Core Committer since 2018, and a maintainer of several components throughout that time. Open Source is about coming together despite our differences to accomplish a shared goal and publishing it for the benefit of the world.

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Kriti Godey

Kriti Godey

@kgodey

I’m Kriti Godey, project lead and one of the maintainers of Mathesar, an intuitive UI that makes Postgres databases easier for non-technical users to work with. We set up Mathesar Foundation (with generous support from Reid Hoffman) and now I’m both the project lead of Mathesar and CEO of the foundation.

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Celebrate Maintainers

Maintainers not only write code, review issues, and merge pull requests—they also navigate community dynamics, mentor new contributors, and increasingly adopt security best practices to protect their code and users. They literally keep the digital infrastructure up and running for the benefit of all.

In a world often driven by short-term gains, maintainers remind us of the enduring power of generosity, collaboration, and purpose. Whether you're a maintainer yourself or someone who benefits from their work, may these stories help you see the people behind the code—and inspire you to celebrate and support them.

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Support the maintainers featured in this book through Open Collective and help sustain their vital work.

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Companies can sponsor branded print editions of the book to share with their teams and community.

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Share Your Story

Are you a maintainer with a story to tell? We'd love to feature your journey in future editions.

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