For the XWiki team, FOSDEM is more than just a conference. It has become a tradition, marking the start of our year with a weekend full of ideas, connections, and inspiration. It is the first time of the year when many of us get to meet in person, reconnecting not just with the open-source community but also with each other. This is where we share what we have been working on, learn from others, and set the stage for another year of open-source collaboration.
On February 1st and 2nd, thousands of developers, contributors, and organizations gathered in Brussels for one of the biggest open-source events in the world. XWiki was there once again, ready to showcase our latest advancements, host meaningful discussions, and strengthen our connections with the people who make open source what it is.
We were involved in a mix of technical discussions, community interactions, and presentations. Attendees had the chance to visit our stand, where they could explore live demos, ask questions, and get hands-on experience with XWiki and CryptPad. It has become a tradition for us to also host the Collaboration and Content Management devroom, bringing together experts to discuss the future of open-source collaboration. On top of that, we organized the second XWiki & friends meetup, a relaxed gathering where contributors, users, and open-source enthusiasts shared ideas over drinks.
A packed "Collaboration and Content Management" devroomEdit
This year was our biggest devroom yet. We were thrilled to see the high interest from participants, with the room almost always at capacity. The lineup of talks covered a wide range of topics, from document collaboration and decentralized applications to privacy-focused tools and interoperability. Here’s what was on the agenda:
- What's new in Nextcloud?
- Open Cloud Mesh
- Why don't we have `libsync` yet?
- CryptPad: Recent Advances in Privacy and Collaboration
- Ethersync – Real-time Collaboration in Your Text Editor!
- NextGraph: Build collaborative, local-first and decentralized apps
- Panel: Integration between collaborative applications
- Collabora Online – richer collaboration
- OpenProject: A Review of the Latest Features and Innovations
- Cristal – A flexible wiki UI
- Collaborative editing in a MediaWiki environment
- From Open Collaboration to Customized Control: Transitioning from Wikidata to Wikibase
- Cypht integration in Tiki: Email as a first-class citizen
- A wiki as shared collaboration arena for humans and artificial agents?
- Secure credential collaboration with Passbolt
- End-to-end Entreprise Search with Datafari Community Edition
- How hard is it to bring a professional level, sustainable, advanced CMS to market?
- Rethinking the Web CMS and Finding the Excitement
- Consent-based Secure Collaboration with Spritely Goblins Object-Capabilities
What's new in Nextcloud?
Jos Poortvliet took the audience through everything that happened at Nextcloud in 2024. From expanding secure collaboration with Nextcloud Files & Office to introducing privacy-friendly AI, the focus remained on providing powerful, on-premises alternatives to Big Tech.
Open Cloud Mesh
Michiel de Jong introduced Open Cloud Mesh, explaining how federated cloud storage is enabling secure, seamless file sharing across organizations without centralizing data.
Why don't we have `libsync` yet?
Victor Grishchenko explored why a universal file synchronization library still doesn’t exist. His talk examined the technical hurdles preventing a simple, standardized solution.
CryptPad: Recent Advances in Privacy and Collaboration
Fabrice Mouhartem shared the latest privacy enhancements in CryptPad, showing how real-time collaboration can remain secure and user-friendly, even as new features are introduced.
Ethersync – Real-time Collaboration in Your Text Editor!
blinry presented Ethersync, a tool that brings real-time collaboration to text editors like Neovim and VS Code, making live coding and documentation editing a smoother experience.
NextGraph: Build collaborative, local-first and decentralized apps
Niko Bonnieure introduced NextGraph, a framework for building decentralized, local-first applications that give users full control over their data while enabling powerful collaboration.
Panel: Integration between collaborative applications
Ludovic Dubost, Wieland Lindenthal, Ingo Steuwer, and Björn Schießle came together for a panel on integration between collaborative applications, discussing how different open-source tools can work together for better interoperability.
Collabora Online – richer collaboration
Michael Meeks shared the latest updates on Collabora Online, demonstrating new features that make document editing more efficient and user-friendly for teams.
OpenProject: A Review of the Latest Features and Innovations
Wieland Lindenthal took a deep dive into OpenProject’s latest improvements, showing how the platform continues to enhance project management for teams of all sizes.
Cristal – A flexible wiki UI
Manuel Leduc introduced Cristal, a flexible, modern wiki UI that works across multiple platforms, improving structured collaboration and user experience.
Collaborative editing in a MediaWiki environment
Richard Heigl, Markus Glaser, and Robert Vogel tackled collaborative editing in MediaWiki, presenting a new approach to bringing real-time editing to wikis.
From Open Collaboration to Customized Control: Transitioning from Wikidata to Wikibase
John Samuel discussed how organizations can transition from open collaboration to more customized control with Wikibase, offering a flexible approach to structured data management.
Cypht integration in Tiki: Email as a first-class citizen
Jean-Marc Libs showcased how Cypht integrates into Tiki, demonstrating how email can be seamlessly embedded into collaborative workflows.
A wiki as shared collaboration arena for humans and artificial agents?
Richard Heigl, Markus Glaser, and Robert Vogel explored how wikis can serve as shared collaboration spaces for both humans and AI, discussing the future of AI-assisted knowledge management.
Secure credential collaboration with Passbolt
Remy Bertot presented Passbolt, an open-source password manager designed to help teams securely manage and share credentials.
End-to-end Entreprise Search with Datafari Community Edition
Cédric Ulmer introduced Datafari, an enterprise search tool that makes it easier to organize and retrieve knowledge from multiple sources.
How hard is it to bring a professional level, sustainable, advanced CMS to market?
Michael Diedrick shared his experience building a professional, sustainable CMS, discussing the challenges of bringing such a project to market.
Rethinking the Web CMS and Finding the Excitement
Michael Diedrick also took a critical look at the CMS landscape, exploring what could make content management systems more innovative and exciting.
Consent-based Secure Collaboration with Spritely Goblins Object-Capabilities
Juliana Sims wrapped up the devroom with Spritely Goblins, presenting an object-capability security model designed to enable secure, consent-based collaboration.
More talks by XWikiers at FOSDEMEdit
Beyond the Collaboration and Content Management devroom, our team members took the stage in various tracks to share their expertise.
LibreOffice-based document editing in XWiki through COOL
Lavinia Viศel showcased how XWiki integrates with LibreOffice through COOL, making it easier to collaborate on office documents directly from wiki pages. She walked attendees through the technical aspects of this integration and demonstrated how teams can seamlessly edit documents while keeping knowledge structured and accessible within XWiki.
20 Years of Hacking the Funding of XWiki and CryptPad
Ludovic Dubost presented 20 years of hacking open source funding, tackling the real challenge of sustaining open-source projects in a world dominated by multi-billion-dollar companies. He shared how XWiki and CryptPad have navigated financial hurdles, have grown despite competing against proprietary solutions with vast R&D budgets, and have leveraged market shifts to increase funding. Ludovic also introduced the FOSS Fund, XWiki’s initiative to support other open-source projects we rely on, reinforcing the importance of financial sustainability in the ecosystem.
XWiki: Improving web accessibility with respect to backward compatibility
Lucas Charpentier discussed the topic of web accessibility, presenting the efforts we’ve made to ensure XWiki remains inclusive for all users. As XWiki celebrated its twentieth anniversary, accessibility became a growing priority. With such a customizable and long-standing platform, maintaining backward compatibility while improving accessibility presented unique challenges. We shared the roadblocks we encountered, the workarounds we developed, and our ongoing commitment to making XWiki more user-friendly without disrupting existing setups.
Multithreading in Python using OpenMP?
Dorian Ouakli explored the new possibilities unlocked by Python 3.13 with the removal of the Global Interpreter Lock (GIL). His talk delved into the potential of an open-source library that implements OpenMP for Python, demonstrating how developers can leverage true multithreading to improve the performance of their applications with just a few lines of code.
XWiki & friends meetupEdit
FOSDEM is not just about talks and technical discussions – it is also about building and strengthening the open-source community. This year, we teamed up with Nextcloud and OpenProject to host an even bigger XWiki & friends meetup.
Held at Scott’s Bar & Kitchen in Brussels, the meetup was the perfect way to unwind after a full day of sessions. The first round of drinks was on us, setting the stage for an evening filled with great conversations and connections. Attendees shared experiences, discussed the latest in open-source collaboration, and exchanged ideas on everything from technical challenges to community growth.
We were thrilled to see so many contributors, developers, and long-time users of XWiki and other open-source tools joined us. It was a night that celebrated meaningful discussions, new friendships, and a shared passion for open source.
The evening was filled with great conversations, laughter, and a true sense of community. Take a look at some of the best moments from the meetup!
And of course, let's not forget about the traditional XWiki FOSDEM photo.
