Fallthrough JJ and How to Evolve an Open Source Ecosystem
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Oct 28, 2025 Steve Klabnik, a prominent open-source developer known for his work in the Rust ecosystem, dives into the innovative features of JJ, a new version control system. He shares insights about his transition from Oxide to East River Source Control to work on JJ full time. The discussion highlights JJ's pluggable backends, which allow for an easier switch from Git. Steve also explains how JJ simplifies workflow with auto-snapshots and focused commits, while addressing challenges in moving away from established tools. Plus, he teases plans for a new JJHub service!
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Career Move To Work On JJ Full Time
- Steve left Oxide to work full time on JJ at East River Source Control.
- He framed the move as following a strong personal interest despite loving his previous job.
Pluggable Backends Enable Smooth Adoption
- JJ uses pluggable backends so you can use it with Git or other VCS backends transparently.
- That design lowers adoption friction by letting users keep existing remote workflows while changing their local tool.
Real-World Migration: One-Year JJ Usage
- Matthew Sanabria switched fully to JJ at Oxide and hasn't used Git in nearly a year.
- He pushes to existing remotes so other collaborators remain unaware he's using JJ locally.