All Things Open 2025 Reshapes Its Format While Preserving Community Spirit
The East Coast's largest open source conference debuts a restructured schedule this week in Raleigh, blending AI-focused workshops with traditional sessions and maintaining the sense of belonging that has drawn attendees since 2013.
The open source community has reason to head to Raleigh, North Carolina this week. Starting tomorrow, the Atlantic Union Bank Convention Center will host the 14th iteration of All Things Open, widely recognized as the largest open source conference serving the East Coast. The event, which debuted in 2013, has drawn consistent participation from the technology press and community members, though this year's edition introduces structural changes that reshape the traditional conference experience.
The format shift represents a significant departure from All Things Open's established rhythm. Monday will no longer follow the conventional conference structure of hour-long presentations. Instead, the day will adopt the workshop-intensive model pioneered by All Things AI, an event that All Things Open helped establish last year in nearby Durham. This consolidation moves co-located programming—including Inclusion & Diversity in Open Source, GitHub's Open Source Accessibility Summit, and Jono Bacon's Community Leadership Summit—from Sunday into Monday alongside the first day of All Things Open activities.
Restructured Schedule and Workshop Focus
Monday's programming will emphasize all-day, topic-specific workshops rather than the opening keynotes that have historically set the conference's tone. Sessions will cover AI for DevSecOps, AI Agents & Vibe Coding, and AI Agents in Production, alongside extended explorations of various open source subjects. The absence of day-one keynotes—traditionally delivered by All Things Open founder Todd Lewis and, in recent years, co-emcee Jono Bacon—marks a notable break from the conference's established pattern of launching with major announcements and community-building remarks.
Tuesday returns to a more conventional conference structure, with a full schedule of parallel tracks spanning the day. The Open Source Initiative will operate its own dedicated track this year, offering focused programming for those interested in open source software licensing. Organizer Todd Lewis and his team have worked to balance the expanded AI-related content with programming addressing other interests, ensuring broad appeal across the schedule.
Speakers and Community Presence
The speaker roster includes established figures within the open source ecosystem: Ruth Suehle, Brian Proffitt, Jim Hall, Brad Topol, Frank Karlitschek, and Michael Hall, among numerous others. Beyond formal presentations, attendees often encounter notable community members at vendor booths, particularly at the OSI booth, which frequently becomes a gathering point during breaks between sessions. All Things Open typically makes recorded presentations available on YouTube within weeks of the conference concluding, extending access to those unable to attend in person.
For those in North Carolina's Piedmont Triangle region considering attendance, detailed information and the full schedule are available on the All Things Open website. The conference runs through the week at the Atlantic Union Bank Convention Center in Raleigh.