GSoC 2025: Join the Processing Foundation as a Summer of Code Contributor!

[kit]

Hi everyone! Let’s jump right in.

@MayankVerma asks:

will p5.js-website welcome a new issue template for translation.

Your proposal can include this kind of thing. I recommend making sure to have a very good explanation of the technical aspects of your proposal as well as the social/community/process aspects, especially if you have a mix of technical and non-technical in the proposal.

If there are two features in proposal, during the review process only one feature has more impact and better explanation that suits the project and other one seems little push over, so will the whole project got rejected ? or get selected and during the coding period only first feature will be implemented ?

Each proposal document will be evaluated as a whole, and is expected to be complete. This means: if you have many features, explain clearly why each one matters. Show which are most important, and give a realistic timeline. Say what must be done for sure, and what is optional or can wait. The “optional” can either be done if everything is very smooth and there are no hiccups; or saved for later to handle surprises.

A realistic timeline is much more convincing than an overly-ambitious or and overly-cautious one! A proposal will be more likely to be selected if:

1. it is clear which features are highest priority
2. there is adequate room for uncertainty in the timeline
3. and at the same time there is a bold, motivated vision and ambition

I hope this helps, I can imagine many people may be having similar questions!

@Nwakaego asks:

Do I still need to fill out the form, even if I don’t expect to receive any feedback?

No need to fill out the feedback request form (also, it is closed). Just make sure your proposal is updated on the GSoC dashboard, and you’re all set! https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/

@Ruchit asks:

Will this group remain active after May 8 for continued discussions about the project? I’d also like to know if you will be available to answer queries during that time.

The group will remain open indefinitely, please feel free to self-organize here in the future. I will occasionally check it, but I will not be answering quite so often, especially after May 8.

Regarding my updated proposal: should I withdraw my previous submission and upload the revised version, or is it better to use the “Edit” option to replace the existing proposal with the updated document?

“Edit” option is fine to just update the text.

Only thing to be aware of: if you’re changing project size (Medium > Small) etc make sure the proposal matches the indication in the google dash! Also, make sure the number of hours you budget each of 12 weeks match project size.

Good luck everyone,
Best,
Kit

[Mamatha1718]

Hi @kit ,Everyone,
I Edit my proposal, and how i know my proposal is successfully submitted or not.

Thank You in advance.

[himanshukholiya]

@Mamatha1718 it’s really simple process to check.
First, click on the proposal you want to review. At the top of the page, you’ll find details like ‘Status’ and ‘Last Updated,’ where you can confirm your submission. Also, you can check the proposal file.

[himanshukholiya]

Hello @kit

It’s been a great journey, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of what I’ve worked on over the last couple of months. From setting up my first open-source project with p5.js, to contributing to a high-priority issue listed by Dave on Discord, to researching, proposing, and brainstorming project solutions. I’m grateful for the experience.

I was lucky enough to find a supportive community that helped me grow my skills and I did my first open source contribution. Also, the proposal-building process was a lot of fun, especially with your guidance. I’ve written a detailed proposal (8 pages!), I hope you’ll find it informative and comprehensive.

Now, I’m hopeful (fingers crossed!) for the final phase of project selection. I’d love the opportunity to work and learn under the guidance of the mentor. I will keep exploring the codebase and contributing to p5.js and 2.0.

Thanks for all the support!

[TejasNangru]

Hi @kit,
I’ve just submitted my updated GSoC proposal and changed the project size to 175H for the Friendly Sketch Embedder project. Could you please let @DoraDo know about this update?

Also, I just wanted to say a heartfelt thank you for all your support and guidance throughout this process. Your patience, clarity, and the way you break things down for newcomers truly makes a difference!

Huge kudos to your dedication and to the Processing Foundation, for creating such a beginner-friendly space. This whole experience has been incredibly motivating, and I already feel more confident just from interacting with you and the community.
Thanks so much!!

[takshittt]

Hello @kit My GSoC preparation journey with Processing Foundation has been deeply enriching. From exploring your work to crafting my proposal, it’s been a fantastic learning experience. Proposal submitted! Thank you for this opportunity.

[harneetsahi]

I second that. @kit you’ve been so incredibly kind and helpful throughout the contribution period. It goes a really long way in creating interest among the community. Thank you for encouraging collaboration, organizing discussions, and just going out of your way to show up for everyone. Probably altered my brain chemistry with the way you explain topics.

[kit]

Thank you so much for the kind words, it is really wonderful to hear!
Thanks to everyone for your effort and energy in putting together your applications, we’re really looking forward to going through this year’s submissions!

[Mamatha1718]

Hi @kit everyone!
I’ve been exploring ways to contribute to p5.js. I noticed that most of the “help wanted” issues on GitHub are already taken, so I’m thinking about contributing in other ways, like creating documentation or tutorials.

I believe that writing documentation and making tutorials are also valuable contribution types (correct me if I’m wrong!). For example, I recently created a tutorial about making an interactive color-changing circle in p5.js. It includes a detailed explanation in Google Docs. Here’s is my tutorial and google docs:

Untitled document

(When we click on circle it changes the colors)
I’d love to know if this kind of contribution aligns with what the community needs. Should I focus more on improving existing documentation or creating new tutorials? Are there specific areas where documentation or examples are lacking?

Also, if there’s anything I should keep in mind while developing these resources (like formatting guidelines or accessibility considerations), please let me know!

Looking forward to your suggestions and feedback!
Thank You in Advance

[Mamatha1718]

Hi @kit just following up — I’d really love any feedback on this whenever you get a chance Thank you!

[kit]

Hi @Mamatha1718 , thanks for your enthusiasm! At the moment, there is a great deal of work for GSoC mentors org admins (including me) to review the applications; and for p5.js maintainers (including me) on the p5.js 2.0 release. Therefore, I am not currently able to provide individual feedback on your blog post draft. Thank you for understanding!

I noticed that most of the “help wanted” issues on GitHub are already taken, so I’m thinking about contributing in other ways, like creating documentation or tutorials.

This is currently true because of where we are in the development process for 2.0 (see above); following release, please continue watch out for some fresh new good first issues!

I’d love to know if this kind of contribution aligns with what the community needs. Should I focus more on improving existing documentation or creating new tutorials? Are there specific areas where documentation or examples are lacking?
Also, if there’s anything I should keep in mind while developing these resources (like formatting guidelines or accessibility considerations), please let me know!

I think these are fantastic questions, and I’d encourage you to look at the existing examples and tutorials, as well as the community education resources page. This will give you a sense of what’s already out there. If your aim is to create community resources, then you can ask the community - on a new Discourse thread, for example - for feedback.

I hope this helps,
Best,
Kit

[Mamatha1718]

Hi @kit ,

Thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful response!
I’ll open a Discourse forum thread as you suggested and will continue keeping an eye on good first issues, especially after the 2.0 release. I’ve also started by reviewing the existing tutorials, examples, and the community education resources page to better understand the current content — and based on that, I’ll work on creating new tutorials or improving existing ones where needed. Your suggestions were very helpful and encouraging — I truly appreciate your time and support.

Thank You.

[kit]

Hello everyone,

We’ve been reviewing all your proposals (almost 150 in total!) for the past few weeks. While that process is still ongoing and most proposals will receive feedback when it’s all ready, we wanted to follow up about the Visual Tests in Processing project. Unfortunately, we regret to report that none of the GSoC proposals in this category have been ranked in the shortlist.

However, after discussion with the Processing Foundation team and Raphaël de Courville we’ve come up with the idea to include this project in the upcoming pr05 grant open call. It’s a similar project with the same mentor. If you submitted a GSoC proposal in this category, you should have already received (via email) feedback that we hope can be useful in case you want to submit for pr05. (Please reach out to me if you submitted a proposal for this idea but haven’t gotten the feedback email!)

If you want to apply for pr05 , please keep in mind:

1. The pr05 project’s scope (200h) is bigger than the GSoC project’s scope
2. The focus is slightly different from the version of the project you applied for in GSoC: it involves building a modular visual testing system that can be used by both Processing and p5.js.
3. The pr05 grant is a Processing Foundation program and it is not affiliated with Google in any way

Additionally, I’d like to share some reflections on the use of AI. We’ve previously expressed the following policy on LLM-based generative AI tool use in GSoC applications:

Using LLM-based generative AI tools like ChatGPT can enhance your writing by refining language and structure. However, the knowledge, ideas, and reasoning in your proposal must originate from you. AI serves as a support tool, not a substitute for human creativity. Proposals generated entirely by AI will not be considered. We value your originality and problem understanding. Any proposal submitted using AI tools should clearly indicate what part is your work and what part was enhanced or generated by AI.

And below is the current automated text policy in pr05:

Lately, we’ve been seeing more and more applications that look like they were written mostly by AI. It’s making it harder for our reviewers to go through everything and means that solid, original proposals don’t always get all the attention they deserve. We don’t love that.

If you choose to use large language models (LLMs) when writing your proposal, that’s fine, but please make sure that your own knowledge, ideas, and insights are at the core of your submission. We’re not judging your proposal based on how polished the writing is. We care a lot more about how clearly you explain your thinking and how well you understand the project. A personal and thoughtful application with a few typos is way better than a perfectly written one that misses the point of the project.

AI tools can be helpful, but only if you actually understand the context well enough to ask good questions and make sense of the answers. If anything’s unclear, take some time to check out the links we’ve shared, look through the relevant repositories, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you still have questions. This will make your proposal stronger than any large language model can. We promise!

After reviewing hundreds of proposals submitted for GSoC and other programs, we would like to stress that while LLM tools can help refine language and structure, the level of meaningful detail these tools produce is extremely low.

We have noticed some proposals and timelines that lack necessary detail and justification, do not demonstrate deep research into the topic, and are very similar to one another. Not just for GSoC but also for pr05 or any other technical proposal, the apparent use of LLM tools unfortunately results in proposals that look polished, but do not support your application.

A proposal with imperfect grammar (as long as it’s still understandable) that shows your creativity and research is much stronger than one with smoother language that is missing crucial details about the project and about you.

Thank you so much for all your time and energy not only crafting your proposals but also engaging with the different community spaces and code projects, and contributing code, ideas, documentation, and translation! It’s deeply appreciated. The reviewing stage will be complete soon, and I’ll be back here with updates then.

Best,
Kit

[TejasNangru]

Guys,
Results coming today, all the best to everyone

[kit]

Dear all,

We are so grateful for all your energy in these past couple of months, not only submitting proposals, but also getting involved in contribution and in community spaces! Thank you so much for taking the time to prepare your proposals. It was an incredibly tough decision to select only 3 proposals from a total of ~150.

Within the next couple of days, all applicants will receive (or have already received) some feedback. (If you do not receive anything via email by the end of day on May 9th, but you applied, please @ or message me!)

All applications were reviewed by PF org admins and mentors, and below are some general observations on how we made final decisions. Here are some of the questions that guided our discussion:

1. Who would get more from the experience? For example, GSoC eligibility requires that a contributor must be a student or a beginner to open source software development

2. How extensively and concretely does this proposal:
   …make very specific technical recommendations and justify them?
   …integrate community feedback? (for example: building in time for feedback and testing throughout the timeline; or gathering community feedback for the proposal itself)
   …consider access?
   …demonstrate research and critical thinking?

3. Which application is more realistic? This evaluation was based on a combination of timeline detail, the CV/resume/bio/past PRs, and past community interaction

I’ll only be checking this thread occasionally from now on, but please feel free to offer your thoughts on how the GSoC application process could be improved in future years.

Finally, here are the current opportunities with PF:

1. Contribute to p5.js 2.x
2. Apply for pr05: Building Bridges

It’s been great to meet you all, and I hope you feel welcome in Processing community spaces!

Best,
Kit

[TejasNangru]

is anyone able to see their result?

[kit]

Sorry to hear it’s still in the air! Google admins have stated they will send the emails today after 1800 UTC (so that’s when I posted the message above), and these are the source of truth for whether you were accepted or not.

[TejasNangru]

will we receive e-mail if we are rejected? or only if we are selected?

[himanshukholiya]

will we recive any feedback based on our proposal?

[kit]

@TejasNangru

GSoC admin told me: “All applicants receive an email - it takes 30 minutes for all 23K+ to go out.”

@himanshukholiya yes, everyone who applied will receive feedback:

Within the next couple of days, all applicants will receive (or have already received) some feedback. (If you do not receive anything via email by the end of day on May 9th, but you applied, please @ or message me!)

I queued emails in batches over the next few hours! I don’t want to make anyone wait more, I appreciate your patience already.