Open Source Summit India 2026

Open source projects often attract many new contributors, but only a small percentage stay long enough to become long-term community members. What makes some communities different?

In this talk, I share lessons from my journey from a first-time contributor to a maintainer and community manager in the CircuitVerse ecosystem. Through mentoring contributors, reviewing pull requests, and helping grow a community used by hundreds of thousands of learners, I discovered that retention in open source is less about technical complexity and more about belonging.

This session explores practical strategies for building communities where contributors feel welcomed, supported, and empowered. From responsive communication and mentorship to giving contributors ownership and encouraging collaboration, small actions can significantly impact contributor retention.

Attendees will leave with actionable practices that maintainers and community leaders can apply to build open source communities where contributors not only participate, but choose to stay.