Call For Proposals (CFP)

Overview

May 18-20 | Minneapolis, Minnesota

Open Source Summit is the premier event for open source developers, technologists, and community leaders to collaborate, share information, solve problems, and gain knowledge, furthering open source innovation and ensuring a sustainable open source ecosystem. It is the gathering place for open-source code and community contributors.

Open Source Summit is a conference umbrella composed of a collection of events covering the most important technologies, topics, and issues affecting open source today.

submit a proposal

Please be aware that the Linux Foundation will now utilize Sessionize for CFP submissions. Sessionize is a cloud-based event content management software designed to be intuitive and user-friendly. If you need guidance, please review how to submit your session for an event to see step-by-step instructions and helpful screenshots.

dates to remember

CFP Closes: Monday, February 9 at 1:59 AM CST (UTC-6) / Sunday, February 8 at 11:59 PM PST (UTC-8)
CFP Notifications: Monday, March 9
Schedule Announcement: Tuesday, March 12
Event Dates: Monday, May 18 – Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Open Source Summit North America 2026 TRACKS + TOPICS

cdCon

AI and ML in CI/CD and Platform Engineering
Platform Engineering: Principles and Automation
Securing Software Workflows: Principles and Best Practices Automation
CDF Projects (Jenkins, CDEvents, Ortelius, Tekton, Screwdriver, Spinnaker, Jenkins X)

Cloud & Orchestration

Cloud Infrastructure and Architecture
- Open Cloud Infrastructure
- Hybrid & Multicloud
- Edge-to-Cloud Computing
- Cloud Native Storage
- Infrastructure-as-Code
- Virtualization and Container Runtimes
- App, Management, and Orchestration
Cloud Native Application Development and Operations
- Architectures and Architectural Patterns
- APIs, SDKs, Frameworks, and Libraries
- Observability, Debugging, and Test Techniques for Cloud
- Monolithic to Cloud Native: Migration and Refactoring
- AI Applications and Patterns
Security
- Cloud Infrastructure Security
- Policy Agents
- Confidential Computing
- Identity, Authentication, Authorization

Digital Trust (LF Digital Trust)

Establishing Open Source Trust Frameworks
Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Security and Vulnerability Management
Privacy and Data Protection
Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies

Linux

Filesystems, Storage & io_uring
Linux Kernel Development (Advanced & Beginner)
Mission-Critical, Real-Time, and Long Life Systems (Scientific & Medical)
Programming Languages and Toolchains
Tracing
Scheduler
VFIO/IOMMU/PCI
Kernel Dependability & Testing (static analysis, kcov, kcov triggered fuzzing testing, fuzzing, kmsan, kcsan, kubsan, test rings, and bots)
System Boot
Security
Live Patching
RDMA
Power Management
Containers and Checkpoint/Restart
Linux on the Desktop & Distribution Kernels & Distros Considerations for Servers, Desktops, etc.
Virtualization
Networking & eBPF
Performance & Benchmarks
Rust
Community Health (maintainer and developer stress, burnout, well being)

Open AI + Data

Open Models
AI Code Generation and Developer Tools
RAG & LLM Frameworks
AI Agents
Eval Frameworks and LLM Ops
Inferencing and GPU Acceleration
Multimodality
AI in Industry and Enterprise
Sustainability, Ethics and Responsible AI
Data Management and Processing
Scalability and Cloud-Native AI
Edge AI

Open Source 101

Kernel Essentials (Beginner)
- Kernel Basics
- Linux boot-up Sequence
- Toolchains and Libraries
- Debugging & Tracing
- Driver Model & Subsystems
Linux Administration Essentials (Beginner)
- Introduction to Working with Open Source Software
- Achieving Bash Mastery
- Troubleshooting the Network
- Monitoring Your System
- Tracing
- Networking Basics
- Understanding Linux Security
- Systemd Basics
- Security Compliance Testing
- Overcoming Scaling Challenges

Cloud Administration Essentials (Beginner)
- Cloud Infrastructure 101
- Cloud-native App Developer 101
- Serverless 101
- Cloud Security 101
- Understanding Containers 101
- Understanding Cloud Native Projects
- Introduction to Containers
- Container Runtime Engines Replacing Docker
- Introduction to Kubernetes

AI Essentials
- Data Fundamentals for Machine Learning
- Introduction to AI and ML
- Basics of Deep Learning
- Model Evaluation and Metrics
- Data Visualization 101
- Understanding Natural Language Processing
Quantum Computing Essentials (Beginner)
- Programming for Quantum Computers
- Understanding Quantum Computing Advancements
- Integrating Quantum Computing into Legacy Environments
- Quantum Algorithms 101
- Quantum Machine Learning (QML) 101

OSS Enabling & Management

Operations Management & OSPOs
- C-Level Strategy
- Risk Management
  - AI Policy, Risk and Compliance in OS projects
  - Security Governance and Organizational Responsibility
- Compliance
- Supply Chain Security
- Developer Advocacy and DevRel
- Internal Stakeholder Engagement and Innersource Communities
- Open Source AI Strategy & Governance
Project Leadership
- Growing, Managing & Sustaining Open Source Projects
- Open Source Governance and Models
- Strategies for Inclusiveness
- Recruiting & Retaining Contributors
- Project Metrics
- Project Security

Standards & Specifications
- Specifications and Implementations Showcase – case studies and demos
- Testing, Conformance and Compliance for Specifications
- Standards for Critical and Emerging Technology
- Tools and Best Practices for Practitioners
- Standardization and Policy
- Cross-Org Collaborations: Highlighting partnerships between organizations
Emerging Trends in Documentation
- Exploring Agile, Lean, and Other Process Frameworks in Documentation
- The Impact of Remote Work on Documentation Processes and Collaboration

Technical Documentation
- Documentation in Open Source Projects
  - Establishing a Documentation Process in Open Source Communities
  - Community-driven Localization: Engaging Global Contributors
  - Creating Inclusive Documentation: Strategies and Best Practices
- Measuring Success and Impact
  - Developing Metrics to Measure Documentation Impact and Success
  - Analyzing User Behavior to Inform Documentation Strategies
- Case Studies and Real-world Experiences
  - Sharing Successes and Lessons Learned
  - Overcoming Challenges in Documentation within Diverse and Distributed Teams

Packages, Images, & Containers

Package Management and Repositories
Container Images and Registries
Build, Test, Release Pipelines
Reproducible Builds
Supply Chain Security
Dependency Management

PX4 Dev Summit

PX4 Autopilot
Pixhawk
MAVLink
QGroundControl
MAVSDK
ROS, ROS 2, MAVROS
Middleware: uORB, DDS, Zenoh
Open Standards
Open Hardware
Offboard Control
State Estimation
Simulation
Hardware Integration
Computer Vision, Vio, Obstacle Avoidance
AI / Ml
Deep Learning
Cloud / Edge
Advancements In Hardware Development For Drones
*Academia Submissions Encouraged

Safety-critical Software

Open Source Software Interaction with Safety Standards
Best Practices to Work with Regulatory Authorities when using Open Source
Best Practices for Security Updates to Safety-critical Systems

Safety Engineering Applied to Open Source Projects
Quality Assessments based on Data from Development
Requirements traceability and testability in Open Source projects

Development of Technical Features with Safety Relevance
Safety Analysis Approaches and Methodology to Apply to Systems
Case Studies of Existing use of Linux in Safety-critical Domains, such as Aerospace, Automotive, Industrial, Medical, Energy, etc.

Zephyr

Maintainer
- Subsystem Evolution and Planning Discussions (aka Miniconfs)
- Proposed New Technologies for Inclusion into the Project
- Secure Device Provisioning and Management
- LTS Management and Policy Evolution
- Security and Vulnerability Management
- Code Quality and Coding Guidelines
- Safety Certification and use in mixed criticality systems
- Documentation
Developer
- Subsystem Status and Overview
- Updates on Ecosystem, West, Modules, Runtimes, Developer Environments, etc.
- Developer Tooling
- Language Support
- Graphic Support
- Test Infrastructure, Code Coverage, Tracing, Fuzzing, and Static Analysis Tool
- Power Management
- Connectivity
- Architecture Support (including Arm (Cortex-A, Cortex-R, Cortex-M), Intel x86, ARC, Nios II, Tensilica Xtensa, RISC-V, SPARC, and MIPS…)
- Training, Samples, Demos and Documentation
Submissions are additionally welcome in the area of:
- Zephyr in the Field: Practical Experiences and Lessons Learned
- Zephyr Infrastructure and best practices for New Developer Onramp
- Machine Learning and AI working with Zephyr
- Benchmarking and identification for areas to improve Zephyr
- Products Running Zephyr. Example uses of Zephyr in Industrial, Agriculture, Energy, Medical, Aerospace, Wearables, etc

submission types

Session Presentation (typically 30-40 minutes in length)
Panel Discussion (typically 30-40 minutes in length)
Birds of a Feather (typically 45 minutes to one hour in length)
Tutorial/Hands-on Lab (typically 1.5 – 2 hours in length)
Lightning Talk (typically 5 – 10 minutes in length)
For Linux Only: Hackathon Session (typically 1-1.5 hours in length) – Lead by experts to walk
new developers through areas of the kernel.

important notes

All speakers are required to adhere to our Code of Conduct. We also highly recommend that speakers take our online Inclusive Speaker Orientation Course.
Panel submissions must include the names of all participants in the initial submission to be considered. In addition, The Linux Foundation does not accept submissions with all-male panels in an effort to increase equity & inclusion.
Complimentary Passes For Speakers – One complimentary pass for the event will be provided for the accepted speaker(s) per submission.
Avoid sales or marketing pitches and discussing unlicensed or potentially closed-source technologies when preparing your proposal; these talks are almost always rejected due to the fact that they take away from the integrity of our events, and are rarely well-received by conference attendees.
All accepted speakers are required to submit their slides prior to the event.

preparing to submit your proposal

While it is not our intention to provide you with strict instructions on how to prepare your proposal, we hope you will take a moment to review the following guidelines that we have put together to help you prepare the best submission possible. To get started, here are three things that you should consider before submitting your proposal:

What are you hoping to get from your presentation?
What do you expect the audience to gain from your presentation?
How will your presentation help better the ecosystem?

There are plenty of ways to give a presentation about projects and technologies without focusing on company-specific efforts. Remember the things to consider that we mentioned above when writing your proposal and think of ways to make it interesting for attendees while still letting you share your experiences, educate the community about an issue, or generate interest in a project.

How to Give a Great Talk

We want to make sure submitters receive resources to help put together a great submission and if accepted, give the best presentation possible. To help do this, we recommend viewing seasoned speaker Dawn Foster’s in-depth session titled Overcoming Imposter Syndrome to Become a Conference Speaker!.

Have More Questions? First Time Submitting? Don’t Feel Intimidated

Linux Foundation events are an excellent way to get to know the community and share your ideas and the work that you are doing and we strongly encourage first-time speakers to submit talks for our events. In the instance that you aren’t sure about your abstract, reach out to us and we will be more than happy to work with you on your proposal.

code of conduct

The Linux Foundation is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for participants at all of our events. We encourage all submitters to review our complete Code of Conduct.