The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source

Oh my! Zsh. (Interview)

Oct 25, 2021

Robby Russell, the creator of Oh My Zsh and an open-source software maintainer, shares his decade-long journey with the project. He discusses the evolution of Oh My Zsh, emphasizing its community-driven nature and user-friendly plugins. Robby also opens up about the challenges of managing an open-source project with a small team and the significance of engaging with the community. He reflects on his transition from a novice programmer to an entrepreneur, underscoring the importance of balancing passion with professional commitments.

01:11:40

Creator website

Episode guests

Robby Russell

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

2min

The Evolution of Oh My Zsh

29min

Exploring the Hidden Gems of Oh My Zsh

3min

Navigating Open-Source Management and Personal Journeys in Programming

3min

The Entrepreneurial Journey: Balancing Passion and Profession

3min

Balancing Passion and Community in Open Source

7min

Simplifying Access and Innovation

5min

Evolving Open Source Contributions

15min

Gratitude and Future Insights in Open Source

3min

Robby Russell is back on The Changelog after more than 10 years to catch us up on all things Oh My Zsh — a delightful, open source, community-driven framework for managing your Zshell configuration. It comes bundled with plugins, themes, and can be easily customized and contributed to, because hey, that’s how open source works. In this episode Robby gives us a glimpse into the passion and the struggle of being an open source software maintainer.

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Featuring:

Robby Russell – GitHub, X
Adam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X
Jerod Santo – GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X

Show Notes:

Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!

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