Announcing Nomia and the Scarf Environment Manager

Published

April 20, 2021

This article was originally posted on

Hackernoon

Our mission here at Scarf centers around increasing and enhancing the connections between open source software maintainers and end users. Our products so far have been primarily focused on maintainers, giving them control over and visibility into how their software is distributed. But we also believe that the status quo does not serve end users very well. Scarf is working to reduce the complexity and increase the efficienty of the end-user open source integration experience, leveraging a new project called Nomia.

Any given project can be built, installed, and combined with other projects in a huge variety of ways. Unfortunately, in many cases users are given a single binary to download and instructions for the most common use case. If a user is running on a different platform, or needs a patched version of some core library, or needs to use two different projects that have different distribution mechanisms, they're out of luck without significant expertise and manual work. This gets especially painful when users want to combine open source projects and their own proprietary projects in a way appropriate for their end goals.

The difficulties don't stop once the user gets the projects they need up and running once. Dependencies need to work correctly on developer machines, for business QA testers, in CI, and of course in production. These different contexts may bring different requirements, whether in terms of the technical functioning of the system, or the access rights and technical capabilities of the user. And while all of these different use cases need to be respected, the project depended upon must otherwise operate in the same way, at least as far as visible functionality is concerned.

And even once the user figures out how to get their dependencies working everywhere they're needed, in the form they're needed, they're still not done! Depending on the complexity of the project, building everything needed in each context can be very expensive in time or computational resources, even though much of the work is identical for each case. And if dependencies are changing frequently, especially when they include internal projects under active development, those costs can really pile up!

This is bad enough when it's just one programmer. What if it's everyone on the team for every change? via xkcd

The Scarf Environment Manager and Nomia

As I mentioned in my last post, there are a number of systems that achieve significant benefits in reproducibility, efficiency, and composability through the use of semantically meaningful names. A file hash in git or a code reference in Unison are not just arbitrary labels; they precisely capture the important aspects of the identity of the resource being named, and fit into a general system for combining those names. One of the systems we discussed, Nix, even addresses the package management use case directly. Can we use these principles to address all of our end users' needs in acquiring, configuring, and using open source software in all the relevant contexts without undue cost?

Today we're announcing the first tool in the newly revamped Scarf CLI: The Scarf Environment Manager. The Environment Manager is a tool for, you guessed it, managing the environments that user sessions, development shells, and automated systems run within. This includes managing the packages that are part of the environments and treating the environments themselves as first-class resources which can be merged, shared, etc. The goal is for the Environment Manager to be the way for open source users, especially users who want to take advantage of Scarf's ecosystem and benefits, to acquire and use open source packages.

This first-class focus on environments and the integration with every feature and service Scarf offers are valuable in and of themselves. That said, the real power of the Environment Manager (and the CLI as a whole) comes from how its resources are referenced. Packages and environments are each identified by names, names which combine with each other systematically and convey precisely what the identified resource is.

Suppose you want to work on a Go project. You want an environment where your normal tools are available, like your editor, plus your Go-specific tools like the Go test coverage tool, plus the dependencies of the project itself. The project you're working on is in a repository that happens to uncover a corner case bug in git, so you need to use a version of git with a fix you just developed locally. In the current naming syntax, which is subject to change, this combined environment might be named {% c-line %}merge-user-and-project-envs(my-env.git: build-c-package(src: ../git-patched).output){% c-line-end %}. Once the relevant features are implemented, the Environment Manager would automatically detect that you're working on a Go project and combine your global user environment, your Go environment, and the environment for the project, with the global user environment overridden with a patched git version. This automatic detection would be a property of the names used, with each step being manually overridable. This high level name would be successively reduced to more concrete names, such as first {% c-line %}merge-envs([ my-env (git: build-c-package(src: ../git-patched).output), my-env?lang=go, go-project-env(./go.mod)){% c-line-end %} and later {% c-line %}env-from-packages([ vim, build-c-package(src: ../git-patched).output, go-pkgs:cover, go-pkgs:argv, go-pkgs:cockroach ]){% c-line-end %} .

As the names get more concrete, they get more reproducible and shared components of work can be identified: You may never have built the top-level environment, but if you have already built go-pkgs:cockroach and your coworker has built your patched git version, those can be reused. In this way, users can specify exactly what packages they want, include them in whatever environments they want, and automatically share the common work between contexts.

This system for naming resources is not limited to environments and packages. The Environment Manager is built on top of a new general purpose system called Nomia. Nomia is designed to give semantically rich names to any kind of resource whatsoever and enable composition of those names, across domains. In principle, it can subsume all of the examples from the last post, and their combinations: Imagine using Nelson to deploy a Unison service which has a native depencency on a system library in nixpkgs, except each system is operating on the same principles and underlying infrastructure. In addition, your specification of the deployment, the program, and the package dependency are all in the same language. As more Nomia namespaces like those underlying the Environment Manager are implemented, these capabilities will become real.

Nomia is currently being built at Scarf, but it is intended to be completely Scarf-agnostic. We anticipate that Nomia will have its own open source community and development cycle, and its core functionality will be usable without relying on Scarf tools or infrastructure. In fact, Nomia is heavily inspired by Nix and we believe it would be valuable to power the user-level Nix tools and use nixpkgs built on top of Nomia. If accepted by the community, this would give Nix users access to the whole system (including non-package resources!) via tools they already know.

Diving in

Up at the Scarf CLI repo we have pushed an initial prototype of the Environment Manager, which is usable today for basic environment management. Currently, it is built ultimately on top of Nix and nixpkgs, but leverages Nomia concepts for the UX, and is internally implemented on a mock-up of the programmer API to Nomia. The README explains more about how to install and use it.

More details on the design of Nomia are available in the repo, and community conversation is taking place on our Discord. In addition to the README and some initial documentation, the repo includes a paper that gives a deep detailed theoretical presentation of Nomia, including a potential roadmap. On top of the core functionality required by the Environment Manager, we expect to build the fully general system. We are tentatively planning specific functionality to support local developer service management and incremental builds incorporated into package management.

Go check it out! If you just want to learn more, give us feedback, or join in on implementation, it will give you a head start on taking advantage of what we're building. While Scarf has a specific vision with respect to environment management, our roadmap and resources are quite flexible, and we're eager to work with the broader community to identify  the highest value path to making this a reality!

Latest blog posts

Tools and strategies modern teams need to help their companies grow.

Scarf Newsletter - March 2024

Scarf Newsletter - March 2024

Stay up to date with the latest updates from Scarf. Discover upcoming features, industry news, partnerships, and events. March 2024 Newsletter.
State of Open Source Usage: The Scarf Report 2023

State of Open Source Usage: The Scarf Report 2023

In 2023, the open source software (OSS) landscape showed significant growth and shifts in various aspects. Here are the key findings:
Scarf Successfully Completes Type 1 SOC 2 Examination with an Unqualified Opinion

Scarf Successfully Completes Type 1 SOC 2 Examination with an Unqualified Opinion

We are thrilled to announce that we have successfully completed a Type 1 System and Organization Controls 2 (SOC 2) examination for our Scarf Platform service as of January 31, 2024.
Analytics are Starting to Win in Open Source

Analytics are Starting to Win in Open Source

When Scarf emerged back in 2019, many people expressed skepticism that usage analytics would ever be tolerated in the open source world. 5 years later, Scarf has shown this once solidified cultural norm can indeed change. Learn how Scarf's journey mirrors a broader shift in open source culture and why embracing usage analytics could shape the future of open software development.
Scarf Newsletter - February 2024

Scarf Newsletter - February 2024

Stay up to date with the latest updates from Scarf. Discover upcoming features, industry news, partnerships, and events. February 2024 Newsletter.
The Linux Foundation is Partnering With Scarf for OSS Usage Analytics

The Linux Foundation is Partnering With Scarf for OSS Usage Analytics

We are excited to share that we have officially partnered with The Linux Foundation (LF) to equip all open source projects under the LF umbrella with enhanced insights into their usage and adoption patterns of their projects. This is an important milestone in the advancement of a more data-driven open source ecosystem.
Scarf Case Study: Apache Superset

Scarf Case Study: Apache Superset

Apache Superset is an open-source modern data exploration and visualization platform that makes it easy for users of all skill sets to explore and visualize their data. We spoke with Maxime Beauchemin, founder & CEO of Preset, and the original creator of both Apache Superset and Apache Airflow, who shared with us Superset's experience using Scarf.
Haskell.org: Bridging the Gap Between Language Innovation and Community Understanding

Haskell.org: Bridging the Gap Between Language Innovation and Community Understanding

Haskell, a cutting-edge programming language rooted in pure functionality, boasts static typing, type inference, and lazy evaluation. The language's ongoing evolution is bolstered by a diverse array of organizations, including the Haskell.org committee. This committee strategically leveraged the Scarf solution for testing purposes.
Scarf Newsletter - December 2023

Scarf Newsletter - December 2023

We’re pleased to share a final recap of the latest Scarf updates for December and 2023 as a whole. Join us in this last edition of our 2023 newsletters.
Introducing OQLs: A New Way for Businesses to Quantify Open Source Adoption

Introducing OQLs: A New Way for Businesses to Quantify Open Source Adoption

In the open source ecosystem, user behaviors are diverse and conversion tracking poses unique challenges frequently leaving traditional marketing strategies insufficient. Recognizing this gap, we are excited to introduce a brand new way for businesses to make sense of this opaque and noisy signal – Open Source Qualified Leads (OQLs).
Scarf Newsletter - November 2023

Scarf Newsletter - November 2023

Stay up to date with the latest updates from Scarf. Discover upcoming features, industry news, partnerships, and events. November 2023 Newsletter.
The BSL Phenomenon: Balancing Sustainability and Open Source Principles

The BSL Phenomenon: Balancing Sustainability and Open Source Principles

In recent years, a notable development in the open source landscape is the growing number of large corporations considering the transition from open source licenses to more restrictive models like the Business Source License (BSL). This trend raises further questions about the sustainability and future of open source projects, particularly when large players alter their approach.
State of Open Source Usage Q3 2023: The Scarf Report

State of Open Source Usage Q3 2023: The Scarf Report

In Q3 2023, the open source software (OSS) landscape showed significant growth and shifts in various aspects. Here are the key findings:
Unlocking the Power of Custom URL Parameters with Scarf: A Comprehensive Guide

Unlocking the Power of Custom URL Parameters with Scarf: A Comprehensive Guide

A recent release of Scarf added the ability to track and report on custom URL parameters. If you are looking to gain more intelligence around how you open source users interact with your project and download your software using link parameters in key situations can reveal interesting and helpful trends that can help you grow your user base and unlock open source qualified leads.
Building Trust: How to Collect Data Responsibly as an Open Source Project

Building Trust: How to Collect Data Responsibly as an Open Source Project

In the ever-evolving landscape of open source software, data collection has become a hot-button issue. As the open source community grows and software becomes increasingly integral to our daily lives, concerns about data collection ethics have emerged.
Scarf Newsletter - September 2023

Scarf Newsletter - September 2023

Stay up to date with the latest updates from Scarf. Discover upcoming features, industry news, partnerships, and events. September 2023 Newsletter.
 Measuring the Commercial ROI of DEVREL

Measuring the Commercial ROI of DEVREL

In today's fast-paced tech world, the Developer Relations (DevRel) role has moved from the periphery to the center stage. Companies, irrespective of their size, are now seriously considering the worth of having a dedicated DevRel team. But, how do you quantify the success or failure of such an effort? What metrics should companies use? This post dives deep into understanding the commercial Return on Investment (ROI) of DevRel.
Selling Open Source: 101 - Guide for Sales and Marketing Teams

Selling Open Source: 101 - Guide for Sales and Marketing Teams

Monetizing open source software is a challenging task, but it can also be highly rewarding. Unlike traditional software, you're essentially competing against a free version of your product. So, how do you sell something that is inherently free?
Beyond the Surface: How to Engage with the Quiet Members of your Open Source Community

Beyond the Surface: How to Engage with the Quiet Members of your Open Source Community

In the dynamic realm of community management, marketing, and developer relations, success depends upon more than just attracting attention. It's about fostering meaningful relationships, nurturing engagement, and amplifying your community's impact. 
Mastering Telemetry in Open Source: A Simple Guide to Building Lightweight Call Home Functionality

Mastering Telemetry in Open Source: A Simple Guide to Building Lightweight Call Home Functionality

This guidebook shows you how to implement a call-home functionality or telemetry within your open-source software while at the same time being transparent and respectful of your users data. Let's explore how to build a minimal, privacy-focused call home functionality using a simple version check and Scarf.
Scarf Newsletter - July 2023

Scarf Newsletter - July 2023

Stay up to date with the latest updates from Scarf. Discover upcoming features, industry news, partnerships, and events. July 2023 Newsletter.
Open Source Metrics: Fear and Loathing (Part 2)

Open Source Metrics: Fear and Loathing (Part 2)

Many open source contributors are reluctant or skeptical about metrics. They think metrics are overrated, irrelevant, or even harmful to their projects and communities. But in this blog post, we argue that metrics are essential for making better decisions, improving the experience for users and contributors, and demonstrating the impact and value of your open source work. We also share some tips and examples from OSPOs and DevRel teams on how to choose and use metrics effectively.
Why GitHub Repos Are Not Enough for Your Docs: The Benefits of Creating a Dedicated Doc Site

Why GitHub Repos Are Not Enough for Your Docs: The Benefits of Creating a Dedicated Doc Site

Many open-source developers rely on GitHub as their primary documentation source. But this can be a costly mistake that can affect your project’s success and adoption. In this blog, we’ll explain why you need to build your own docs site and how to do it easily and effectively.
Data-Driven Open Source: Why You Should Care About Metrics (Part 1)

Data-Driven Open Source: Why You Should Care About Metrics (Part 1)

Open source projects and companies need data to grow and enhance their performance. However, many open source leaders and communities overlook or reject metrics and depend on intuition, relationships, or imitation. Data can help you spot problems, opportunities, and false positives in growth strategies. In this blog post, Matt Yonkovit shows you why data is important for open source success and how it can offer insights and guidance for open source projects to reach their goals and make better decisions.
State of Open Source Usage Q2 2023: The Scarf Report

State of Open Source Usage Q2 2023: The Scarf Report

Open source software continues to be a vital part of enterprise operations in Q2 2023, as more and more companies adopt open source solutions for their business needs. In this blog post, we will examine the state of open source usage in Q2 2023 and the trends that are shaping the future of open source.
Developer Relations (DevRel): Where Should It Reside in Your Organization

Developer Relations (DevRel): Where Should It Reside in Your Organization

DevRel is a vital function for any organization that wants to engage with the developer community and grow its user base. However, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for where to place DevRel within the organizational structure. In this blog post, we explore three common strategies for DevRel placement: marketing, product, and hybrid. We discuss the advantages and challenges of each strategy, and provide some tips on how to decide which one is best for your organization and goals.
The Gating Debate: Striking a Balance Between Open Source and Marketing Insights

The Gating Debate: Striking a Balance Between Open Source and Marketing Insights

In the open source industry, identifying and engaging users is a major challenge. Many users download software from third-party platforms that do not share user data with the software company. Gating content behind a login or an email form can help, but it can also alienate potential users who value their privacy and convenience. In this blog post, we explore the pros and cons of gating content in the open source industry, and we offer an alternative solution that can help you identify and connect with your users without compromising your content.
How to Use Metrics to Track and Evaluate Your Open Source Community’s Success

How to Use Metrics to Track and Evaluate Your Open Source Community’s Success

Open source software depends on the power of its community. But how do you know if your community is healthy and thriving? In this blog, you will learn how to use metrics to track and evaluate your community’s activity, engagement, growth, diversity, quality, and impact. You will hear from founders, DevRel experts, and investors who share their best practices and tips on how to measure and improve your community’s performance and value.
How to: Using anonymous downloads, website traffic, and documentation views to generate leads

How to: Using anonymous downloads, website traffic, and documentation views to generate leads

Learn how to overcome the challenges of open source software marketing and turn anonymous data into qualified leads. In this blog post, we’ll show you how to use download data, web traffic, and documentation views to identify potential customers and grow your sales pipeline. Discover how to track downloads, website traffic and documentation views with Scarf Gateway and the Scarf Tracking Pixel.
Why Your Open Source Startup Is Going To Fail (And What You Can Do About It)

Why Your Open Source Startup Is Going To Fail (And What You Can Do About It)

This blog post outlines ten common mistakes made by founders of open source startups, from failing to ask the right questions to neglecting the standardization of key metrics. By offering guidance on how to avoid these pitfalls, it provides a roadmap to successfully commercializing open source projects.
Open Source Monetization 101: A Step-by-Step Guide

Open Source Monetization 101: A Step-by-Step Guide

Many people believe that making money from open source projects is an arduous or even impossible task. However, with the right strategies it is possible to build a sustainable business while keeping the spirit of open source intact. By evaluating the market fit and commercial viability of an open source project before considering funding and monetization, one can realistically begin to explore the financial potential of an open source project. Here's how to do it.
The Open Source Sales & Marketing Funnel: Navigating the Challenges of Anonymous Downloads and Activity Tracking

The Open Source Sales & Marketing Funnel: Navigating the Challenges of Anonymous Downloads and Activity Tracking

This blog emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive approach to lead generation in the open source software space. Amid the challenges of anonymous usage and privacy regulations, strategies focusing on download activity, community engagement, and web traffic can maximize lead identification. Employing lead scoring and maintaining a list of active software users can further enhance sales outcomes in this unique market.
Scarf Newsletter - May 2023

Scarf Newsletter - May 2023

Stay up to date with the latest updates from Scarf. Discover upcoming features, industry news, partnerships, and events. May 2023 Newsletter.
Harnessing Software Download Patterns: Using Open Source Download Metrics to Uncover New Users and Potential Customers

Harnessing Software Download Patterns: Using Open Source Download Metrics to Uncover New Users and Potential Customers

Here at Scarf, we've developed a solution to help open source projects and businesses gain more insight into their users and their download traffic - Scarf Gateway. Here's how it works.
Unlocking Growth Potential: Scarf Users Benefit from Clearbit Integration for Improved User Intelligence

Unlocking Growth Potential: Scarf Users Benefit from Clearbit Integration for Improved User Intelligence

We are thrilled to announce our latest partnership with Clearbit (https://clearbit.com/). This collaboration will offer Scarf users and customers an enriched array of data about their user base, significantly enhancing the quality of information you already value from Scarf.
State of Open Source Usage Q1 2023: The Scarf Report

State of Open Source Usage Q1 2023: The Scarf Report

The popularity of open source software is not in doubt, but little concrete public data exists beyond human-generated surveys on adoption usage. In this blog post, we will explore the state of open source usage in Q1 2023 and the data illustrating how open source is becoming an increasingly important part of enterprise operations.
Connecting Community Efforts in Open Source to Business Success

Connecting Community Efforts in Open Source to Business Success

The success of DevRel (Developer Relations) and community efforts in open source can be challenging to measure, as there is often a disconnect between the goals and expectations of the community and the business. This blog post discusses the challenges of measuring the success of DevRel and community efforts in open source.
3 Keys to Growing the Adoption of an Open Source Project

3 Keys to Growing the Adoption of an Open Source Project

Successful open source projects don't always translate into successful open source businesses. However, by focusing on building a kick-ass product, raising awareness, making the product easier to use, and fostering a strong open source community, you can set the stage for converting users into paying customers.
The Most Neglected and Overlooked Open Source Metric: Production Users

The Most Neglected and Overlooked Open Source Metric: Production Users

Everyone wants a larger open source user base, but very few people effectively measure its growth. Let’s discuss why.
Switching Container Registries With Zero Downtime

Switching Container Registries With Zero Downtime

You can use the open source Scarf Gateway to switch hosting providers, container registries, or repositories without impacting end users in the future.
Understanding Tech Layoffs and the Economy’s Impact on Open Source

Understanding Tech Layoffs and the Economy’s Impact on Open Source

What is driving all this tech layoffs? , What is their impact on the open source software industry? We will walk through all the potential reasons from an economic downturn, herd mentality, excessive borrowing and spending due to low interest rates, and growth at all costs as the main reasons behind the layoffs. Companies can continue to grow in this tight economic market if they are focused on optimizing efficiency and sustaining the right growth.
Why Downloads are an Essential Metric for Open Source Software Projects

Why Downloads are an Essential Metric for Open Source Software Projects

If you're only going to track one thing for your OSS project, track your downloads.
The Open Source Business Metrics Guide

The Open Source Business Metrics Guide

How to Build, Grow, and Measure the Success of an Open Source Business
Messaging and Positioning Considerations for Introducing an Open Source Product

Messaging and Positioning Considerations for Introducing an Open Source Product

At the All Things Open conference, Emily Omier, a seasoned positioning consultant, sat down with Avi Press (Founder and CEO, Scarf) and Matt Yonkovit (The HOSS, Scarf) to discuss how to message, position, and validate your open source product on The Hacking Open Source Business Podcast. You can watch the full episode below or continue reading for a recap.
How to Get the Attention of an Open Source Software Investor

How to Get the Attention of an Open Source Software Investor

On the Hacking Open Source Business podcast, Joseph Jacks aka JJ (Founder, OSS Capital) joins Avi Press (Founder and CEO, Scarf) and Matt Yonkovit (The HOSS, Scarf) to share what you need to know before starting a commercial open source software (COSS) company and how you can set yourself and your project apart in a way that attracts investor funding. As an investor who exclusively focuses on open source startups, JJ provides a VC perspective on what he looks for when evaluating investment opportunities.
Heroic Labs' Journey to Open Source and 5.3M Docker Downloads

Heroic Labs' Journey to Open Source and 5.3M Docker Downloads

On The Hacking Open Source Business podcast, CEO Chris Molozian and Head of Developer Relations Gabriel Pene at Heroic Labs elaborate on their usage and shift to open source and how it accelerated their adoption.
How to Keep Open Source Projects Open Source

How to Keep Open Source Projects Open Source

In this recap of the first episode of the Hacking Open Source Business Podcast, co-hosts Matt Yonkovit and Avi Press, Scarf Founder and CEO, dig into a recent controversy that highlights the challenges open source projects face trying to create sustainable revenue streams to support a business or a non-profit that funds the project’s growth.
How Buoyant Drives Open-Source-Led Growth with Linkerd

How Buoyant Drives Open-Source-Led Growth with Linkerd

Building a business around an open-source project is hard. Learn more about how Buoyant drives product-led growth with Linkerd.
Alex Biehl: Open Sourcing a Tool to Generate Haskell Server Stubs

Alex Biehl: Open Sourcing a Tool to Generate Haskell Server Stubs

Alex is a software engineer at Scarf who recently open sourced a tool to generate Haskell server stubs called Tie.
Tanner Linsley: Building Sustainable Open Source Projects

Tanner Linsley: Building Sustainable Open Source Projects

Tanner Linsley joined us to explain how he got started in open source and how he has made working in open source sustainable.
Stefano Maffulli: An Exploration on Standards for Open Source Packaging and Distribution

Stefano Maffulli: An Exploration on Standards for Open Source Packaging and Distribution

Scarf Sessions is a new stream where we have conversations with people shaping the landscape in open source and open source sustainability. This post will give a recap of the conversation Scarf CEO, Avi Press and I had with our guest Stefano Maffulli.
Using OSS Usage Data to Sell your Company

Using OSS Usage Data to Sell your Company

Learn how Nestybox used Scarf to gather better project insights and provide accurate data during their recent acquisition.
A Different Approach to Measuring Open Source Community Health

A Different Approach to Measuring Open Source Community Health

Community is important to the success of open source software. To understand and grow a community, project founders and maintainers need visibility into various technical, social, and even financial metrics. But what metrics should we be using?
Scarf Tech Stack: Relude

Scarf Tech Stack: Relude

This blog post will talk about Relude, a project we use in the majority of our Scarf tech stack
Python Wheels vs Eggs (And How Data-Driven Decisions Must Become The Norm in Open-Source)

Python Wheels vs Eggs (And How Data-Driven Decisions Must Become The Norm in Open-Source)

Should Python eggs be deprecated in favor of wheels? What does the data show? This post explores how the right data can make decisions like this easier for maintainers and Open Source organizations.
Changelog: Company Identification Change

Changelog: Company Identification Change

Announcing a new change to the way we identify companies.
Announcing Python Support

Announcing Python Support

Advanced registry analytics are now available for Python package maintainers
Project Spotlight: Scarf Gateway Stats

Project Spotlight: Scarf Gateway Stats

This Project Spotlight will focus on another exciting open source project, Scarf Gateway Stats.
Scarf Will Block Package Downloads from the Russian Government

Scarf Will Block Package Downloads from the Russian Government

In solidarity with Ukraine, Scarf Gateway will no longer service package downloads from Russian Government sources.
Changelog: New Pixel Snippet

Changelog: New Pixel Snippet

A notice to our Documentation Insights users.
Community Spotlight: nix-community

Community Spotlight: nix-community

This is the second post in a new series from Scarf: Spotlights where we highlight awesome projects and communities.
Changelog: Registry Validation for Auto-package Creation

Changelog: Registry Validation for Auto-package Creation

A summary of the new registry validation feature for auto-package creation.
Three Ways to Build Better Products Through Analytics

Three Ways to Build Better Products Through Analytics

A special guest post from open-source analytics company PostHog
New Year, New Scarf Features

New Year, New Scarf Features

Today, we're launching some of the most frequently asked for features since we launched Scarf Gateway back in March.
The Scarf Tech Stack

The Scarf Tech Stack

How Scarf is built
OSS Project Spotlight: IHP

OSS Project Spotlight: IHP

In a new blog post series, we'll highlight great OSS projects that are using Scarf. Today, we are featuring IHP, a modern batteries-included Haskell web framework
Measuring Downloads of Anything You Distribute

Measuring Downloads of Anything You Distribute

Scarf's core registry infrastructure has leveled up to support any kind of direct file download
Announcing Nomia and the Scarf Environment Manager

Announcing Nomia and the Scarf Environment Manager

Our mission here at Scarf centers around enhancing the connections between open source software maintainers and end users. Learn how Scarf + Nomia can reduce the complexity and increase the efficiency of the end-user open source integration experience.
Announcing The Scarf Gateway

Announcing The Scarf Gateway

Understand how your containers are downloaded and decouple your project from your registry
Composition with Semantically Rich Names

Composition with Semantically Rich Names

Insights from recent developments in name-based composition
Shea Levy, Composition Fanatic

Shea Levy, Composition Fanatic

Introducing Shea, Scarf's new VP of Engineering
Are Package Registries Holding Open-Source Hostage?

Are Package Registries Holding Open-Source Hostage?

Package registries are a central piece of infrastructure for software development. How aligned are they with the developers who make all of the packages being hosted?
Analytics and Open Source Sustainability

Analytics and Open Source Sustainability

Analytics will be an important part of improving sustainability for open-source maintainers
State of Open Source Usage: The Scarf Report 2023
March 5, 2024

State of Open Source Usage: The Scarf Report 2023

In 2023, the open source software (OSS) landscape showed significant growth and shifts in various aspects. Here are the key findings:
Scarf
Scarf
Scarf Successfully Completes Type 1 SOC 2 Examination with an Unqualified Opinion
March 1, 2024

Scarf Successfully Completes Type 1 SOC 2 Examination with an Unqualified Opinion

We are thrilled to announce that we have successfully completed a Type 1 System and Organization Controls 2 (SOC 2) examination for our Scarf Platform service as of January 31, 2024.
Scarf
Scarf
Analytics are Starting to Win in Open Source
February 29, 2024

Analytics are Starting to Win in Open Source

When Scarf emerged back in 2019, many people expressed skepticism that usage analytics would ever be tolerated in the open source world. 5 years later, Scarf has shown this once solidified cultural norm can indeed change. Learn how Scarf's journey mirrors a broader shift in open source culture and why embracing usage analytics could shape the future of open software development.
Avi Press
Avi Press