
Episode 123: Practitioner Guides: #6 Sunsetting an Open Source Project
From CHAOSScast by CHAOSS Project
November 13, 2025 · 29 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the process of sunsetting open source projects with insights from experienced guests.
Thank you to the folks at Sustain for providing the hosting account for CHAOSSCast! CHAOSScast – Episode 123 This episode of the CHAOSScast features hosts Harmony Elendu and Alice Sowerby, along with guests Stefka Dimitrova and Dawn Foster, discussing the process of sunsetting open source projects. Dawn and Stefka share their extensive experiences and the importance of managing the lifecycle of open source projects responsibly. They delve into the specifics of the 'Getting Started with Sunsetting an Open Source Project' guide from Dawn's series of practitioner guides, which aim to help practitioners, not just experts, interpret data and improve their project health. Key topics include identifying inactive projects, the responsible steps for sunsetting, and the crucial role of communication within the community. The episode also touches upon metrics to determine project activity and archive responsibly, highlighting that the process goes beyond simply pressing an 'archive' button. Hit download now to hear more! [00:00:23] The hosts and guests introduce themselves. [00:02:09] Dawn explains the purpose of the CHAOSS Practitioner Guides. [00:04:54] Harmony asks Dawn what inspired her…
People in this episode
Hosts: Harmony Elendu, Alice Sowerby
Guests: Stefka Dimitrova, Dawn Foster
Topics covered
- sunsetting open source projects
- project lifecycle management
- community communication
- inactive projects
- project metrics
Keywords
- open source
- sunsetting
- project management
- community
- inactive projects
- metrics
- archiving
Sponsors
Sustain
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Sustain, VMware
Books & works: Getting Started with Sunsetting an Open Source Project
More episodes of CHAOSScast
- Episode 132: Please take the CHAOSScast Impact Survey - and we're taking a break · April 16, 2026 · 3 min
- Episode 131: Repo-Health - a tool built on CHAOSS metrics · April 2, 2026 · 36 min
- Episode 130: Connecting Open Source and Research in Australia with Rowland Mosbergen · March 19, 2026 · 29 min
- Episode 129: Using Metrics in your OSPO · March 5, 2026 · 42 min
- Episode 128: Guest Episode - GR-OSS OUT Podcast: Building Welcoming Communities with Stacey Potter · February 19, 2026 · 22 min
- Episode 127: Community Health metrics for Commercial Open Source · February 5, 2026 · 35 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the CHAOSScast podcast page.