GSoC 2026: Getting Started with Rage

[rsamoilov]

Welcome! We are thrilled that you are interested in contributing to Rage for Google Summer of Code 2026. This year, Rage is participating under the official Ruby organization umbrella.

Rage is a high-performance, asynchronous web framework built to push Ruby into the modern era of high-throughput computing. Many of our ideas touch async I/O, streaming, observability, or runtime internals - depth matters. If you are passionate about performance, infrastructure, and the Ruby ecosystem, you are in the right place.

To ensure you have the best chance of writing a successful proposal and having a great summer with us, please follow this step-by-step guide.

Step 1 - Understand the Framework

Before diving into the project ideas, take time to understand how Rage works. Strong proposals come from students who have actually used the framework.

Read the Rage Documentation, README.md, and ARCHITECTURE.md.

Install Rage and build a simple API application locally.

Step 2 - Pick an Idea

Review our official GSoC 2026 Ideas List.

Read through the 5 ideas carefully. Pick one or two that align best with your current skills and interests.

Make sure you understand:

• The problem
• The expected outcomes
• Why it matters to the framework

We value initiative. Coming to us with "I explored idea A and think approach X or Y might work - what do you think?" leads to far more productive conversations than "How do I do idea A?".

Step 3 - Open a Proposal Draft Thread

When you're ready, create a new discussion titled:

[GSoC Proposal Draft] - <Your Name> - <Project Idea>

In your draft include:

1. Short Introduction - Tell us about your background, the idea you're exploring, why it interests you.
2. Problem Understanding - Explain the idea in your own words. Why does it matter for Rage?
3. Technical Approach - High-level architecture, APIs, risks.
4. Milestones & Timeline - Break into logical phases.
5. Deliverables - What will exist at the end? Code? Docs? Benchmarks? Examples?
6. Validation - How will we know it works? Tests? Demo app? Benchmarks?

Early drafts are encouraged - iteration improves acceptance chances.

Mentors are here to help you refine scope.

Rage is building the foundations for modern Ruby infrastructure - and GSoC contributors play an important role in that journey.

We're excited to see what you come up with.

Let’s build something meaningful.

[kallal79]

Hello everyone, my name is Kallal Mukherjee, and I’m currently pursuing a B.Tech specializing in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Alongside my academic work, I actively contribute to open-source infrastructure and cryptography projects, with a strong focus on performance, reproducibility, and clarity in technical solutions. My background includes hands-on experience with Python, Rust, Java, and Go, as well as practical debugging and optimization in clustering algorithms, database scaling, and system design.

I’m deeply interested in Rage because it represents the cutting edge of Ruby’s evolution into high-throughput, asynchronous computing. The framework’s emphasis on async I/O, streaming, and observability resonates with my passion for infrastructure and performance engineering. I see Rage as an opportunity to apply my skills in algorithmic problem-solving and system design while contributing to the Ruby ecosystem’s modernization.

What excites me most is the chance to work on foundational improvements that will directly impact developer experience and runtime efficiency. I believe my mix of technical rigor, open-source collaboration experience, and enthusiasm for performance-driven design aligns well with Rage’s mission.

[kallal79]

Question
Could you please guide me on how to begin the contribution process step by step? Specifically, I’d like to understand what the “code bash” or initial setup looks like for Rage—should I start by building a small API locally, or is there a recommended starter workflow for new contributors?

[rsamoilov]

Hi @kallal79

It's great you're interested in Rage!

The best way to start is indeed to build an application locally and try out different features. Once you've decided what idea interests you most, you can start exploring the codebase and thinking about the implementation. Trying to build a basic POC for an idea also tends to help a lot with your proposal.

[numice]

Hi. I know that it is too late now. I was interested in Google Summer of Code and looked into last year but I set a wrong date to check it this year. Personally, I find the OpenTelemetry project interesting cause I also want to explore it for work too. So, I'm thinking about checking it again next year and I will check it earlier (around February?). Question is will Rage participate next year as well?

[rsamoilov]

Hi @numice ,

I can't promise, but that's the plan!

Until then, would you like to work on Rage anyway? There're many things we need help with if you're up for it 😄

[numice]

Sure thing but I'm not sure if I can be of much use. I've used Ruby on Rails in the past for my personal projects. Nothing complicated just some simple API and CRUD stuff. But I'm up for it if there's something that I can do and learn from.

[rsamoilov]

Would you like to look into #251?