Changelog Master Feed The world of open source metadata (Changelog Interviews #665)
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Nov 5, 2025 Andrew Nesbitt, founder of Libraries.io and creator of ecosyste.ms, dives into the vast realm of open source metadata. He discusses how he tracks over 12 million packages and 1.9 million maintainers to bolster digital infrastructure. Key topics include the challenges of package indexing, the importance of funding for maintainers, and the significance of dependency data. Andrew also shares insights on making datasets accessible for researchers and his vision for tools that help maintainers understand their software's impact and sustainability.
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24 Pull Requests Sparked Metadata Work
- The 24 Pull Requests project exposed how many repos lacked active maintainers and clear contribution paths.
- That motivated building metrics and tooling to highlight healthy, maintainable projects.
Dependencies Reveal Real Usage
- Mining dependency data gives a stronger signal of real usage than stars or downloads.
- Dependencies reflect actual runtime usage and drop when projects stop being used or maintained.
From 24PRs To Large-Scale Indexing
- Andrew described starting with 24 Pull Requests and building metrics to judge project health.
- That led to Libraries.io and later to ecosystem-scale dependency indexing work.