Sourceware Survey 2025
The Sourceware Project Leadership Committee would like to know who our users are, which hosted projects they feel part of, what services they rely on and what the priorities should be for new initiatives.
Original instructions: None of the questions are mandatory, please feel free to skip anything you find not relevant, but any answer you can give is helpful. Each question has an "Other" option where you can add any suggestion you have about improving the Sourceware services.
This survey is one way to give (anonymous) feedback on Sourceware. For other ways to participate or ask more specific questions see the Sourceware organization contact options.
Results: The survey ran from Friday, 14 March to Monday, 31 March. There were 103 responses.
Names and identifying URLs were removed from "Other" responses.
Developers and/or (downstream) users of hosted projects
Users
| Project | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| gcc user | 69 | 67% |
| gdb user | 65 | 63% |
| binutils user | 63 | 61% |
| glibc user | 63 | 61% |
| bzip2 user | 45 | 44% |
| valgrind user | 42 | 41% |
| elfutils user | 36 | 35% |
| cygwin user | 21 | 20% |
| libffi user | 20 | 19% |
| newlib user | 20 | 19% |
| dwarfstd user | 13 | 13% |
| dwz user | 13 | 13% |
| debugedit user | 11 | 11% |
| libabigail user | 10 | 10% |
| gnupoke user | 9 | 9% |
| systemtap user | 9 | 9% |
| bunsen user | 7 | 7% |
| lvm2 user | 7 | 7% |
| annobin user | 6 | 6% |
| gnu-gabi user | 3 | 3% |
| cgen user | 2 | 2% |
| kawa user | 2 | 2% |
| insight user | 1 | 1% |
| No response | 0 | 0% |
| pacme user | 0 | 0% |
Developers
| Project | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| gcc developer | 38 | 37% |
| binutils developer | 26 | 25% |
| gdb developer | 22 | 21% |
| glibc developer | 21 | 20% |
| newlib developer | 12 | 12% |
| valgrind developer | 8 | 8% |
| dwarfstd developer | 7 | 7% |
| elfutils developer | 7 | 7% |
| systemtap developer | 5 | 5% |
| gnu-gabi developer | 4 | 4% |
| gnupoke developer | 4 | 4% |
| libabigail developer | 4 | 4% |
| libffi developer | 4 | 4% |
| annobin developer | 3 | 3% |
| debugedit developer | 3 | 3% |
| bunsen developer | 2 | 2% |
| bzip2 developer | 2 | 2% |
| cgen developer | 2 | 2% |
| cygwin developer | 2 | 2% |
| dwz developer | 2 | 2% |
| insight developer | 1 | 1% |
| lvm2 developer | 1 | 1% |
| pacme developer | 1 | 1% |
| kawa developer | 1 | 1% |
How do you use Bugzilla?
| How | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| With a bugzilla account through https | 70 | 68% |
| I have editbugs privileges/Can edit all aspects of any bug | 25 | 24% |
| No response | 20 | 19% |
| Anonymous through https | 18 | 17% |
| Through email | 18 | 17% |
| I am bugzilla admin/Can edit product components | 10 | 10% |
| Other | 4 | 4% |
Other Responses
- Via XMLRPC in order to query bugs
- Creating new users for gcc
- Anonymous through gmane.io NNTP
- Never have
How do you use Bunsen?
| How | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| No response | 84 | 82% |
| Through https://builder.sourceware.org/testruns | 12 | 12% |
| Other | 6 | 6% |
| Checking out git database https://sourceware.org/git/bunsendb.git | 3 | 3% |
| I have an account to submit new test results | 2 | 2% |
Other Responses
- Not using
- I don't use it
- Unused
- I record test results locally in my own bunsen instance
- Never have
- I do not use it
How do you use Mailing Lists/Mailman?
| Usage | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Subscribed to one or more lists | 78 | 76% |
| Post to one or more lists | 60 | 58% |
| Read archives through pipermail | 45 | 44% |
| No response | 13 | 13% |
| I am a mailman administrator/moderator | 11 | 11% |
| Other | 9 | 9% |
Other Responses
- Don't use sourceware mailing lists
- NNTP (public-inbox instance)
- inbox (nntp)
- Read archives through inbox (e.g. https://inbox.sourceware.org/)
- On mastodon, someone shared an IMAP link, like imap://sourceware.org/INBOX/cygwin/cygwin/5, a nicer way to read mail, but I could not deduce a link for other lists. A notice on the mailman pages would be nice.
- read archives through public inbox
- inbox
- Use sourceware public inbox to search and available list Atom/RSS Feeds to keep up to date
- I use public-inbox to read archives
How do you use git?
| How | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Pushing commits through ssh | 60 | 58% |
| Cloning repos through anonymous https protocol | 52 | 50% |
| Cloning repos through anonymous git protocol | 44 | 43% |
| Through gitweb on the website | 29 | 28% |
| Through cgit on the website | 21 | 20% |
| No response | 12 | 12% |
| Other | 6 | 6% |
| Using gitolite (cygwin/dwarfstd) | 2 | 2% |
Other Responses
- Not sure if this is gitweb or cgit
- Website git interface, not sure which software that is
- Also browse repositories using the forge
- GitHub mirror, forge
- Download release tarballs only to build from source
- Anonymous pulls are slow
Are you a Release Maintainer or Project Admin with SSH Account?
| Account | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| No response | 75 | 73% |
| Personal ssh shell account | 23 | 22% |
| Admin ssh for a shared project account | 8 | 8% |
| Other | 3 | 3% |
Other Responses
- I don't use it
- Lurker
- Cygwin package maintainer with ssh account (ftp/git/no shell)
How do you Download Releases?
| Method | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| https | 59 | 57% |
| No response | 31 | 30% |
| ftp | 17 | 17% |
| Other | 10 | 10% |
Other Responses
- No recent release available: Using git
- Checkout the release tag
- From the official FSF site
- Through ports system
- From a cygwin mirror
- Build from git or wait for distribution packages
- wget
- Debian
- git pull
- Distro package manager or git tags
What do you use rsync for?
| Usage | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| No response | 98 | 95% |
| Other | 3 | 3% |
| Old cvs repositories | 1 | 1% |
| mbox archives | 1 | 1% |
| svn archives | 1 | 1% |
Other Responses
- I don't use it
- Not used
- Keep files in sync on multiple computers
Do you use the Site Local Search?
| Site | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| No response | 76 | 74% |
| GCC https://gcc.gnu.org/search.html | 14 | 14% |
| Sourceware https://sourceware.org/search.html | 10 | 10% |
| Cygwin https://cygwin.com/packages | 10 | 10% |
| Other | 5 | 5% |
Other Responses
- I don't use it
- Not used
- Was unaware of sourceware and gcc search
- I didn't know these sites existed
- Google search for GCC parameters and SystemTap docs
Do you use a Project Wiki/MoinMoin?
| Wiki Usage | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| No response | 63 | 61% |
| I have an account/I am in the EditorGroup | 24 | 23% |
| Read-only | 16 | 16% |
| Other | 3 | 3% |
Other Responses
- Not used
- SystemTap wiki
- Don't
How do you use inbox.sourceware.org?
| How | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| No response | 61 | 59% |
| https | 33 | 32% |
| b4 | 8 | 8% |
| nntp | 7 | 7% |
| imap | 5 | 5% |
| git | 3 | 3% |
| Other | 3 | 3% |
| atom | 1 | 1% |
Other Responses
- I don't use it
- The https://cygwin.com/mailman/listinfo/cygwin/ etc interfacer (or IMAP) are more useful
- don't
How do you use patchwork.sourceware.org?
| How | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| No response | 70 | 68% |
| Browse patches anonymously | 17 | 17% |
| I have an account | 17 | 17% |
| I use git-pw to browse/apply/change state | 10 | 10% |
| I use the website to fetch patches and apply state changes | 9 | 9% |
| My project uses a bot that uses the api (e.g. a CICD trybot) | 4 | 4% |
| Other | 4 | 4% |
Other Responses
- I don't use it
- not used
- Tried using it, but was not really useful for my use case (and not sure many ppl use it for gcc)
- don't
How do you use snapshots.sourceware.org?
| How | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| No response | 86 | 83% |
| binutils src | 7 | 7% |
| gdb src | 6 | 6% |
| glibc src, manual | 6 | 6% |
| Other | 6 | 6% |
| valgrind src, html, downloads | 3 | 3% |
| dwarfstd draft spec | 2 | 2% |
| elfutils coverage | 2 | 2% |
| gnupoke src, manual | 1 | 1% |
| libabigail website, manual, apis | 1 | 1% |
Other Responses
- One of the FreeBSD valgrind ports is based on snapshots
- I don't use it
- We use the binutils and gcc snapshots in the kernel BPF CI
- not used
- Never used it, but maybe I should
- don't
How do you use builder.sourceware.org
| How | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| No response | 76 | 74% |
| I receive CI emails when something breaks, which I use to fix issue | 17 | 17% |
| My project defined a build CI pipeline | 10 | 10% |
| I use the try-bots to do pre-commit CI | 7 | 7% |
| Other | 7 | 7% |
| My project defined a snapshots CD pipeline | 4 | 4% |
| I receive CI emails that are mostly just false positives | 4 | 4% |
| I receive CI emails when something breaks, that I just ignore | 1 | 1% |
Other Responses
- Regularly use try branches with builder
- I don't use it
- Not used
- Maintain some buildbots, receive emails when buildbots break
- We have some builder for gccrs, not really sure how they fit in
- Maybe use for Cygwin Scallywag CI if Windows supported - was and is on Appveyor - mostly used now via Github Actions
- How do you tell the difference between "I don't use it" and no answer?
How do you use builder.sourceware.org (hardware)?
| CPU | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| No response | 77 | 75% |
| x86_64 | 21 | 20% |
| arm64 | 16 | 16% |
| i686 | 9 | 9% |
| s390x | 9 | 9% |
| armhf | 7 | 7% |
| ppc64le | 7 | 7% |
| riscv64 | 7 | 7% |
| ppc64 | 4 | 4% |
| Other | 4 | 4% |
| sparc64 | 3 | 3% |
Other Responses
- I don't use it
- The most useful arches are definitely the unusual ones, and multilib configurations (32-bit) of the common ones
- Not used
- loongarch64
Which mirror services are you using or would you like to see more?
| Mirror Service | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| No response | 60 | 58% |
| Sourceware Release download mirrors | 18 | 17% |
| GCC Mirror Sites | 18 | 17% |
| Cygwin Mirror Sites | 13 | 13% |
| archive.org wayback machine | 8 | 8% |
| Sourcehut | 7 | 7% |
| codeberg.org (in progress) | 6 | 6% |
| Other | 5 | 5% |
| Software Heritage | 1 | 1% |
Other Responses
- gitea
- Don't think I set up a mirror, should probably do so
- Not used (no reason)
- Would like to know more about others if affiliated
- github - this is the most reliable for GIT mirroring
Global Cybersecurity Policy Recommendations
| Interest | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| No response | 71 | 69% |
| EU Cyber Resilience Act | 17 | 17% |
| US Cybersecurity Executive Orders | 14 | 14% |
| US (or other national) sanctions | 13 | 13% |
| Secure Software Development project policy recommendations | 13 | 13% |
| NIST SP 800-218, NIST SP 800-207 or other NIST recommendations | 10 | 10% |
| git repo integrity (gitsigur) | 10 | 10% |
| Other | 3 | 3% |
Other Responses
- N/A
- Wtf is this nonsense!
- CVE
New (security) initiatives
| Initiative | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| No response | 76 | 74% |
| Modernizing account processes | 16 | 16% |
| More isolation of existing services | 12 | 12% |
| Release upload process improvements | 9 | 9% |
| Hardware keys for administrators, release managers and developers | 7 | 7% |
| Hire a part time junior system administrator | 6 | 6% |
| Other | 1 | 1% |
Other Responses
- Engage individual projects to meet their requirements
The forge experiment (how do you use the forge?)
| How | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| No response | 77 | 75% |
| I registered an account | 21 | 20% |
| I maintain a personal fork on the forge | 9 | 9% |
| Other | 7 | 7% |
| I submit pull requests on the forge | 4 | 4% |
| I review pull requests on the forge | 3 | 3% |
Other Responses
- I don't use it
- Add others to teams as a project admin
- Learned of it only today, hope to submit requests there
- I want to use it when stage4 ends
- Reviewed 2 merge requests and forgot it existed
- Waiting before I start using it for now, but keen to see a wider uptake
- Anonymous browsing
The forge experiment (what needs to be improved for the experiment to succeed?)
| What | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| No response | 80 | 78% |
| Other | 10 | 10% |
| Connect to buildbot for testing merge requests | 9 | 9% |
| Improve outgoing email | 7 | 7% |
| Improve incoming email | 4 | 4% |
| The web interface | 3 | 3% |
| Improve API (tooling) | 3 | 3% |
| Mirroring and Federation | 3 | 3% |
| It is already perfect | 1 | 1% |
Other Responses
- I'm not clear on what the forge experiment is
- Need more developers to be able to use it fully
- I strongly prefer the mailing list workflow
- I don't use it
- Individual project leadership needs to be engaged for it to be a success
- Social aspects: encouragement, guidance, documentation
- It will eventually need to allow accounts from the general public, not only people who already have write-after-approval
- Strong BZ integration (unsure of status)
- Don't know yet because haven't got any real usage, but am convinced it's a very good idea.
- Reviewers must find it convenient
Any other services/initiatives you would like to see for Sourceware infrastructure?
- I feel like I should explain how I use Sourceware since a lot of the questions didn't seem to apply. I make a tool for in-system programming micros. In order to do that, I need tool chains. So I periodically build releases of gcc and related tools for the various micros that I support and then provide the resulting releases both on my website and on sourceforge.
- Resilience against AI scrapbots
- More CI, but less noisy. I'm really really not interested in those build-failed-because-the-CI-failed-to-clone reports I've seen to binutils+gdb mailing lists! Maybe that's fixed, I don't remember seeing any for a couple of days.
- Bot/DOS protection from external service
- Please make git cloning faster. Cloning glibc takes quite a long time.
- Unblock access from developing countries
Have you donated to Sourceware?
| Donated | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| No | 57 | 55% |
| No response | 40 | 39% |
| Yes | 4 | 4% |
| I will right now! | 2 | 2% |