Announcing a Contributor Summit Virtual Event (September 11, 2026)
We are excited to announce the Contributor Summit Virtual Event happening on September 11, 2026.
The Contributor Summit is an opportunity for Jenkins contributors, users, and enthusiasts to come together, share knowledge, and collaborate on the future of Jenkins. Mark your calendars and join us for a day of insightful sessions, networking, and community building.
Event Details
The summit will be entirely online. Join us for all the sessions or just a few.
Jenkins Contributor Summit 2026: The virtual hackathon
We will be hosting a virtual hackathon on September 11, 2026, from 08:30 to 19:30 CEST. The event will be conducted online, allowing participants from around the world to join and contribute.
It will be structured into two main blocks:
Morning Block: The APAC-EMEA Connection
Focus: Catching APAC before they sign off for the weekend.
| Time (CEST) | Session | Activity |
|---|---|---|
08:30 |
Tech Prep |
Moderator opens the Zoom/Teams bridge and pins the GitHub Repo link. |
09:00 |
Opening Plenary |
Livestream: Welcome, 2026 Roadmap, and “How to use the Repo” tutorial. |
09:30 |
Squad Formation |
Breakout rooms of 4 people. Each squad picks a GitHub Issue to “own.” |
09:45 |
Interactive Intro |
Squad Task: 15 mins of personal intros + creating their Google Doc (linked in their GitHub Issue). |
10:15 |
Working Session A |
Hackathon: Live coding/doc writing. Moderator “visits” rooms to unblock squads. |
12:00 |
Showcase 1 |
Squads post their progress/PR links in the GitHub Issue. Quick 2-min demos. |
12:30 |
Mid-Day Sync |
Moderator Note: Label issues as [Status: In Progress] or [Status: Needs Handover]. |
The “Moderator’s Siesta” (12:30 – 15:00 CEST)
The bridge remains open for EMEA contributors, but the formal moderation pauses.
Afternoon Block: The EMEA-Americas Connection
Focus: Bringing the US/LATAM online and finishing what started in the morning.
| Time (CEST) | Session | Activity |
|---|---|---|
15:00 |
Re-Opening |
Moderator summarizes morning wins. Introduce the “Handover” issues for newcomers. |
15:30 |
Squad Formation |
New squads of 4 people. Mix of fresh Americas faces and lingering EMEA contributors. |
15:45 |
Interactive Intro |
Squad Task: Intros + “Adopting” an Issue. If it’s a handover, they read the previous squad’s Google Doc. |
16:15 |
Working Session B |
Hackathon: Deep work. Americas morning energy meets EMEA afternoon focus. |
18:00 |
Final Sprint |
“Last call” for Pull Requests. Moderator helps with training and reviews. |
19:00 |
Global Showcase |
Final demos of the day’s achievements. Credits and closing remarks. |
19:30 |
Hard Stop |
Moderator closes the bridge. |
The “Squad of 4” Workflow
Every squad will have this 3-Step Checklist to complete in their breakout room:
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The Personal Connect (15 min)
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Intros: Name, location, and “One thing I love/hate about Jenkins.”
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Roles: Assign a Driver (shares screen), a Scribe (updates Google Doc or GitHub issue), and two Reviewers.
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The GitHub “Claim”
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Talk about the Issue you want to work on and how you plan to tackle it or create a new one.
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Squad comments on a GitHub Issue: “Squad 4 (Alice, Bob, Charlie, Dana) is taking this!”
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They paste their Google Doc link directly into that GitHub Issue comment so you can track them.
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The Documentation
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All working notes go in the Google Doc or in a GitHub issue.
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Final output (Code or Text) is submitted as a Pull Request referencing the Issue number.
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The GitHub Repo Structure
On the day of the event, we will use a GitHub Project Board (Kanban style). It will give everyone a “God’s eye view” of every squad’s progress without you having to ask them for updates constantly.
We might have issues for pure knowledge sharing, like "See my cool new plugin", or "Let us create a small documentation update for this specific jenkins.io page" or "Let’s create a new plugin for this specific use case." The goal is to have a mix of coding, documentation, and knowledge sharing for the day. So that new contributors can get a taste of the Jenkins ecosystem and learn how to contribute and more experienced contributors can work on more complex issues.
Call for Participation
The whole day is about collaboration, learning, and contributing to the Jenkins ecosystem. We encourage everyone to join, whether you’re a seasoned contributor or new to Jenkins.
If you’re interested in:
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Attending the summit, please fill out the registration form: Register Here.
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Having an idea for a GitHub Issue to work on or talk about, please submit it here: Submit Here.
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Remarks or questions, please use the discourse thread at the bottom.
About the author
I started contributing regularly in 2019, with a focus on improving quality. I’m also keeping up with some older plugins that are still really popular, like the Thin Backup Plugin and the Job Configuration History Plugin. The community helped me to bring these back up to standard and I learned a lot along the way. Furthermore, I use these lessons to make regular improvements to the developer documentation.
In my day job, I’m a solution architect in a central team that provides Jenkins and DevOps consulting within a big automotive and industrial company.
