Awesome Software Patreons

A curated list of awesome programmers and software projects you can support!

Help individual programmers or open source projects funding the development of your favorite software sponsoring them via Github, subscribing to their Patreon accounts or using other forms of sponsorship.

A tangible way to give back to the open source community!

Contents

• Open Source Projects
  • Libraries
  • Operating Systems
  • Games
• People Doing Open Source Work
• Other Kinds of Content
  • Articles and Tutorials
  • Videos
  • Podcasts
• Open Source Art
• Hardware related

Open Source Projects

Projects released with an open source license.

• Akira, #2 - Linux application for UI and UX design.
• Albert launcher - Keyboard launcher written in C++/Qt.
• ApexCharts - JavaScript charts library.
• Armory - 3D game engine for Blender.
• Asset-Importer-Lib - Loads 40+ 3D file formats into one unified and clean data structure for game-developers.
• bcachefs - Linux filesystem.
• Blender - 3D creation suite.
• Calibre - E-books manager.
• Compiler Explorer - Online decompiler and compiler explorer.
• Dear ImGui - Immediate Mode Graphical User interface for C++.
• Dekko Project - Ubuntu email client.
• Deluge - BitTorrent client.
• DIGImend - Improving Linux support for (non-Wacom) graphics tablets.
• DokuWiki - Wiki application.
• Duplicati - Backup client.
• Flarum - Forum platform.
• FreeCAD - Parametric 3D modeler made primarily to design real-life objects of any size.
• Godot Engine - Complete 3D engine.
• HaxeFlixel - Cross-platform 2D game engine.
• HaxeUI - User interface toolkit.
• Homebrew - Package manager for macOS.
• Improved Initiative - D&D tabletop role-playing game combat tracker.
• Invidious, #2 - An alternative web front-end to YouTube.
• iTerm2 - macOS terminal replacement.
• Kismet, #2 - Kismet wireless tool.
• Laigter - Automatic normal/specular/occlussion/parallax map generator for 2D game sprites.
• Latte Dock - Replacement dock for Plasma desktops.
• LibrePCB - Software to develop printed circuit boards.
• Lollipop Cloud - Cheap, easy, self-hosted clouds for everyone.
• Machine Labs - Machine learning platform.
• Mastodon, #2 - Federated social network server.
• Matrix, #2 - An open network for secure, decentralized communication.
• MissKey - Federated microblogging platform.
• MuseScore - Music notation software.
• NativeScript-Vue - Native mobile applications with NativeScript and Vue.
• Neovim - Vim-fork focused on extensibility and usability.
• OctoPrint - Web interface for 3D printers.
• OfBorg - Tools for testing NixOS.
• Olive - High quality video editing and compositing software.
• OMP - Music player.
• Oni - Modal code editor.
• Open Broadcaster Software, #2 - Video recording and live streaming software.
• Open Source BIM Collective - Tools for building information modeling.
• openage - Real time strategy game engine.
• OpenFAAS - Serverless platform.
• OpenFL - Cross-platform application framework.
• OpenShot - Video editor.
• Paperwork - Personal document manager.
• Perkeep - Personal storage system.
• PHPStan - PHP static analyzer.
• PHPUnit - PHPUnit and related projects.
• Pica Pica Messenger, #2 - Decentralized secure instant messaging software.
• PixelFed, #2, #3, #4 - Federated image sharing powered by the ActivityPub protocol.
• PlantUML - UML diagram creation software.
• postActiv - Microblogging platform.
• Prismo, #2 - ActivityPub-based link aggregation software.
• Project Lombok - Java editor plugin.
• Reddit Enhancement Suite - Reddit browser extension.
• Remmina - Remote desktop client.
• ShareX Team - Screen capture and screen sharing tool.
• Synfig - 2D animation software.
• SysV init - System V init implementation.
• Tabulator - JavaScript library for building interactive tables.
• Termux - Android terminal emulator.
• The Lounge - Modern web IRC client.
• Thirthy Bees - Ecommerce software.
• Tiled - A 2D game level editor.
• Transmission - BitTorrent client.
• V Programming Language, #2 - Statically typed compiled programming language similar to Go, influenced by Oberon, Rust, Swift.
• VideoLAN - Maker of the VLC video player.
• Vim-Go - Go plugin for VIM.
• Webpack - JavaScript module bundler.
• Wiki.js, #2, #3 - Wiki platform built with Node.js.
• Xfce - Desktop environment for UNIX-like operating systems.
• Zig - System programming language which prioritizes robustness, optimality, and clarity.

Libraries

Libraries and frameworks.

• Babel - JavaScript compiler.
• Flare3D - JavaScript 3D engine.
• Hapi.js - Node.js framework.
• Jam.py - Python Web framework.
• Laravel - PHP framework.
• LibGDX - Game development framework.
• Moleculer - Progressive microservices framework for Node.js.
• Musl libc - The Musl libc project.
• Phalcon - Web framework delivered as a C extension for PHP.
• Vapor, #2 - Server-side Swift framework.
• Vue.js - Vue.js.
• Yii framework - PHP framework.
• Zappa - A server-less Python framework.

Operating Systems

Operating Systems and Linux distributions.

• Elementary OS - Ubuntu variant.
• FreeDOS - MS-DOS compatible operating system.
• GhostBSD - Desktop-focused BSD OS.
• LineageOS - Fork of CyanogenMod.
• Linux Lite - Linux distribution.
• Parrot - Security-related Debian distribution.
• ReactOS - A free Windows-compatible Operating System
• Redox OS - OS written in Rust.
• Serenity OS #2 - A graphical Unix-like OS for x86, with 90s aesthetics.
• Slackware Linux - Linux distribution.
• Ubuntu Mate - Ubuntu variant.
• Ubuntu Touch, #2 - Touch-friendly mobile version of Ubuntu.

Games

Games and game-related projects.

• Citybound - City building game.
• Cxbx-reloaded - Xbox emulator for Windows.
• Libretro Team - Libretro, RetroArch and Lakka.
• Lutris - Game launcher & platform.
• Play! - PS2 emulator.
• Rpcs3 - PS3 emulator.
• Xenia - Xbox 360 emulator.

People Doing Open Source Work

Developers contributing to multiple projects that ask to support their work.

• Adam King - RLTrader, Tensortrade and other tradin related projects.
• Alexandre Prokoudine, #2 - GIMP contributor, editor of Libre Graphics World online magazine.
• Alyssa Rosenzweig - FOSS graphics driver work (Panfrost) and contributions to several other projects.
• Amit Merchant - Open source software enthusiast.
• Andrea Ferrero - Developer of PhotoFlow image editor, maintains various Appimage packages.
• Andreas Kainz - LibreOffice designer.
• Andreas Pardeike - Programming tutorials, games and mods.
• Andrius Štikonas - KDE contributor, mainly KDE Partition Manager.
• Attogram Project - Shared Media Tagger, Open Translation Engine, and many more projects.
• byuu - Emulators & game preservation.
• Daniel Gultsch - Conversations Jabber client.
• Daniël Klabbers - Contributor to Flarum and other PHP projects.
• Dave Täht - Working on improving the Internet.
• David Hewitt - ElementaryOS contributor, Torrential, Clipped.
• Dimitri Fontaine - Various contributions to the PostgreSQL ecosystem (pgloader, pg_auto_failover), Emacs libraries (el-get), author.
• Dominik Honnef, #2 - Working on tooling for the Go programming language.
• Dragan Djuric - Creator of Uncomplicate, a family of Clojure libraries for AI, ML, and GPU high performance computing.
• Drew DeVault, #2, #3 - sway, wlroots, sr.ht, scdoc, aerc, and more.
• Duduf - Tools for animations and motion pictures production.
• Eevee - Games, applications and articles.
• Egoist - Various JavaScript libraries and tools.
• Eric S. Raymond - Nethack, GPSd, author of "The Cathedral and the Bazaar".
• Ethan Lee - Contributions to FNA, SDL2 C# and other projects.
• Fabio Zadrozny - Working on PyDev and related projects.
• Felipe Lima - Various projects and libraries like OkReplay, AirMapView, AsymmetricGridView, GifImageView, Wombat.
• Feross Aboukhadijeh - WebTorrent, StandardJS, and other JavaScript projects.
• Franck Nijhof - Creates Home Assistant add-ons and helps out on the main project.
• Gabriel Gonzalez - Dhall language, Nix and Haskell educational projects and Haskell libraries and tool.
• Gilbert Pellegrom - Raneto, Vue.js libraries and more.
• Jacky Alcine - Projects in the IndieWeb sphere, Koype and contributions to other open source projects.
• James 'Purpleidea' - mgmt config, articles and more.
• JeanHeyd Meneide - Creates C++ libraries and standards proposals.
• Joey Hess - git-annex, keysafe, other Linux software.
• Johann-S - Bootstrap JavaScript developer and various plugins and projects.
• Jorge Bucaran - Hyperapp and many other JavaScript projects.
• Jonathan Müller - Various C++ libraries, tools, articles.
• Kevin Cozens - Contributor to projects such as GIMP, OpenSimulator, KiCad and TinyScheme.
• Kévin Dunglas - API Platform, Vulcain, Mercure and Symfony contributions.
• Khoa Pham - A multitude of libraries, applications and articles about iOS/Cocoa,
• Kozec - Syncthing-GTK and SC-Controller.
• Kurt Kremitzki, #2 - FreeCAD contributor and Debian packager.
• Lars Moelleken - Various PHP libraries and OSS contributions.
• Luke Dashjr - Author of the legendary bfgminer and other substantial contributions to Bitcoin.
• Marc Jeanmougin - Inkscape contributor.
• Matt Lewis - Angular-calendar and other angular components.
• Matthieu Napoli - Bref, PHP-DI and other PHP libraries.
• Max Bridgland - Various pentesting frameworks and tools.
• Max Howell - Creator of Homebrew, maintainer of PromiseKit and a multitude of other project for Apple platforms.
• Michal Čihař - Contributor to Weblate and phpMyAdmin.
• Nate Graham - KDE contributor.
• Nefarius Software Solutions - Windows drivers for the Sony DualShock controller and others.
• Nick Sweeting - ArchiveBox and OSS contributions but also articles and documentation.
• Nicolas Hafner - Various Common Lisp libraries.
• Nils Maier - Download Them All! Firefox and Chrome extension.
• Oleh Krehel - GNU Emacs plugins, maintainer of Ivy/Swiper/Counsel, Hydra, Avy, Lispy, and more.
• Ondřej Surý - Debian packager.
• Pablo Dobarro - Sculpting improvements for Blender.
• Patrick Wardle - Owner of Objective-See, various macOS security tools and articles.
• Pedro Piñera - Tuist and XcodeProj libraries, articles.
• Pedro Carrasco - Various iOS libraries and projects.
• Philip Guo - Python Tutor and pgbovine.net (articles/podcasts/vlogs).
• Pierre Krieger - Various Rust libraries.
• Raph Levien - Xi editor and other Rust projects.
• Reini Urban - Maintaining and developing software such as cperl, parrot, a lot of perl5 modules, safeclib and libredwg.
• Rekka Bellum & Devine Lu Linvega - Open source tools and games.
• Rob Landley - Working on Toybox, mkroot and various other projects.
• Ryan C. Gordon, #2 - Linux ports of games, game-related utilities.
• Sam Hewitt - Open source designer.
• Sanjay Madan, #2 - Mowglii apps, author of Itsycal and Snk.
• Scarlett Clark - KDE contributor.
• Scott Lahteine - Contributor to Marlin Firmware for 3D printers.
• Sindre Sorhus - Countless open source projects.
• skypjack - C++ libraries such as uvw and EnTT.
• Stéphane Peter - AudioKit contributor, Makeself and other libraries and projects.
• Steve Purcell - MELPA lisp package archive and other software tooling.
• Steven Troughton-Smith - Various iOS/macOS software.
• Stjepan Glavina - Crossbeam for Rust.
• Tanu Kaskinen, #2 - PulseAudio sound server contributor.
• Tavmjong Bah - Working on Inkscape vector graphics editor.
• Thomas M. Edwards - Gaming related projects.
• Tim Oliver - Multitude of iOS libraries and various contribution to the iOS ecosystem.
• Timothée Giet - GCompris contributor.
• Tobias Koppers - Founder and maintaner of Webpack.
• Toby Zerner - Flarum contributor.
• Yorik van Havre, #2 - FreeCAD contributor.
• Øyvind Kolås, #2 - Lead developer of babl & GEGL libraries used in the graphics editor GIMP.

Other kinds of content

Articles, videos, podcasts, etc…

Articles and Tutorials

• Alecaddd - Various programming tutorials.
• Chris Bradfield - Programming tutorials for kids.
• DistroWatch - Reviews and tutorials for Linux/BSD.
• Fluent C++ - C++ articles.
• Kyle Simpson - Author of the "You Don't Know JS" book series. Doing articles, podcasts and OSS contributions.
• Meeting C++ - C++ articles.
• Modernes C++ - C++ articles.
• Modocache - LLVM/Swift related articles.

Videos

• Arxiv Insights - Educational videos on machine learning & AI.
• CS Dojo - Programming videos.
• Corey Schafer - Python tutorials.
• Devon Crawford - Programming, devops, and electronics videos.
• Fun Fun Function - JavaScript and general programming videos.
• Joel Yliluoma, #2, #3 - Programming videos.
• JustForFunc - Go tutorials.
• LiveOverflow - IT security videos.
• The Coding Train - Programming tutorials.
• ThreatWire - Hak5 security show.
• Zer0Mem0ry - Programming and security videos.

Podcasts

• CPP Cast - Podcast for C++ developers.
• Destination Linux - Linux discussion and news related podcast.
• Future of Coding - Future of Coding is a community, podcast, and research project organized by Steve Krouse.
• Late Night Linux - Linux and news.
• More Than Just Code - Podcast for iOS developers.
• Software Defined Talk - Enterprise software.
• The Debug Log - Game development.
• The Development Hell Podcast - Web programming.
• This Week in Linux - Linux News Podcast, 2-3 times more topics per episode than other podcasts.

Open Source Art

Developers creating art projects and contributing to art-related open source tools and libraries.

• Morevna Project - Various contributions to open source animation tools and animated shorts sources released under CC.
• ZeMarmot, #2, #3 - 2D animation film project to be released under CC. GIMP contributions from Jehan Pagès, art and direction by Aryeom Han.

Hardware related

Hardware-related projects and makers.

• Damien Maguire - Electric vehicle projects.
• Espruino - JavaScript interpreter for microcontrollers.
• Frank Buss - FPGA and other hardware projects.
• Micah Elizabeth Scott - Videos and hardware.
• Pinout.xyz - Pinout diagrams for various microcontrollers.
• Professor Abrasive - Retro gaming.

Contributing

Please take a quick look at the contribution guidelines first. Thanks to all contributors; you rock!

License

This list adopts a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.