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How can I get the word out about a new (open-source) library I've developed?

I have hosted my latest project, a JVM-based MIDI processor/API called Mjdj MIDI Morph, on Github (here and here). Now I need to bring some interest to it, even if it's negative interest (so I can improve it). I've looked up open source list on Google and end up with such things as this page on Wikipedia, which makes it quite clear that they don't want your project if it's new. Where should I list my project? Short of adwords and talking it up in forums and trade shows, where should I submit my URLs?

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    You've given me an idea: a site for vote-based advertisement of new open-source projects.
    – Jon Purdy
    Oct 23, 2010 at 2:13
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    @Jon Purdy: Something like Ohloh?
    – greyfade
    Oct 23, 2010 at 2:28
  • OpenHatch
    – Evan Kroske
    Oct 23, 2010 at 5:01
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    You should know that you need to have something usable before you can expect others to join.
    – user1249
    Feb 28, 2011 at 19:54
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    I am looking for developers, not users. If another developer/hacker find it interesting and wants to contribute that's what I'm looking for. I am not really looking for end-users at this time, just team members
    – Dmitri
    Feb 28, 2011 at 23:25

9 Answers 9

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Get it announced on Freshmeat Freecode (no longer accepting updates as of 2014-06-18). Also, remember to get to a usable state or people will only use it once and keep that impression forever...

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  • thanks for that. Good point about "usable state"... I believe I'm there but another round of testing never hurts.
    – Dan Rosenstark
    Oct 23, 2010 at 14:29
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There are many places.

If your software is good, it'll spread like wild fire trust me. Even a crappy software I made during my first year of Uni got a lot of hits because I submitted it to two forums and /r/Software.

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How about a Wikipedia page that is directly topically related to what your software does? I have a simulation library that supplies routines for studying genetics, so I put a link on the page for "linkage disequilibrium," since my software allows you to model it.

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    This is only if what you have is of very good quality and strongly pertains to the Wikipedia article. Otherwise you're just spamming Wikipedia to promote your project.
    – Kaz
    Oct 26, 2013 at 0:04
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Post it on Hacker News - you'll get a lot of feedback.

Hacker News is a social news website about computer hacking and startup companies, run by Paul Graham's investment fund and startup incubator, Y Combinator. It is different from other social news websites in that there is no option to down vote submissions; submissions can either be voted up or not voted on at all, although spam submissions can be flagged. In contrast, comments can be down voted after a user accumulates sufficient "karma" or points gained when submissions or comments are voted up. In general, content that can be submitted is defined as "anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity"...

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  • @gnat - read it again and you'll find there's more than just a link in the answer. Also, the OP seems to have got it.
    – talonx
    May 1, 2013 at 2:30
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Suggest it to Dan Benjamin, and he might discuss it on his software development podcast, The Dev Show. Your website has black text on a white background, so your project has a good chance of making it into the show.

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Freshmeat is a site, preferably but not exclusively for FOSS. Big and mirrored all over the world.

You can tag your software with multiple tags in different categories (OS, GUI, Web/Server/Client, purpose, programming language, license, ...) but you normally host it elsewhere.

And you get nice stats about downloads and visits.

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  • Oh year, I remember them. They are as old as AOL, only they are still around
    – Dmitri
    Feb 28, 2011 at 23:26
  • would you mind explaining more on what it does and what it's good for? "Link-only answers" are not quite welcome at Stack Exchange
    – gnat
    Apr 30, 2013 at 16:32
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    @gnat: Added more details.
    – user unknown
    Apr 30, 2013 at 20:16
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Besides @Sergio's great indications check http://thechangelog.com/

One of the best places to advertise your OSS. But before, you really should read this: http://thechangelog.com/post/3032074343/top-ten-reasons-why-i-wont-use-your-open-source-project

Best of luck!

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  • would you mind expanding a bit on what each of these resources have and why do you recommend these as answering the question asked? "Link-only answers" are not quite welcome at Stack Exchange
    – gnat
    Apr 30, 2013 at 16:33
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Why not try the open-source hosting sites like github and sourceforge?

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    I'm already hosting this project on github, but that does not really do anything to attract new developers. github does not really promote new projects.
    – Dmitri
    Mar 1, 2011 at 3:12
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If above doesn't work, try posting it on your site and get some traffic by link exchange techniques.

( Not sure if this works )

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