Our four GSoC Contributors & Projects

Introduction of our four contributors and their projects for Google Summer of Code 2025.

From about 280 proposals we selected four. We are very happy that Google Summer of Code granted Joomla all four slots we asked for this year! Congratulations to our contributors. They will introduce themselves and their projects in this article.

In alphabetical order:

• Charvi Mehra: Joomla! AI Framework
• Dileep Adari: Workflow Enhancements
• Mahmoud Magdy: Weblinks Enhancements
• Reem Atalah:  Migrating Content using a Common Content Model

Mentors & admins: Christiane Maier-Stadtherr, Benjamin Trenkle, Shivam Rajput, Eoin Oliver, Nicola Galgano, Herman Peeren, Martin Kopp.

Charvi Mehra: Joomla! AI Framework

A little about myself

I am Charvi Mehra, a third year undergraduate student at Cluster Innovation Centre, University of Delhi. I am majoring in Information Technology and Mathematical Innovation. You’ll usually find me playing if I am not working or sleeping. I am super happy and excited about being a part of GSoC 2025.  

Some back story of how I ended up here!

I entered the open source world of Joomla! as a complete beginner, with my only high school knowledge of HTML and CSS. Initially looking at the repository with countless files and so many lines of codes felt like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube blindfolded- very overwhelming! But as I tried diving deep into it, I realized how supportive and welcoming everyone in the community is. As I started communicating by making small contributions, I understood the basic flow of code in the repository and the organization. Contributing with writing code and making PRs became more of a hobby over time that helped me stay interested and motivated.  Gradually, it turned out to be more for fun and to gain knowledge. During my first year I worked on a project  where we made an effort to offer a simple, one-step method for conducting the testing for Joomla! You can read more about it here. This year, after going through the GSoC projects, I found the AI framework project to be very interesting.

So what is my project about?

What if you could instantly get a concise, insightful summary of a 1000-word article without having to read it all? Or maybe quickly generate fresh, engaging content with just a simple prompt, saving hours of research and writing? That is exactly the project’s objective - to smoothly incorporate an AI library into Joomla CMS so that site managers, developers, and content producers can take advantage of AI-powered tools for improved user engagement, content management, and creation. As AI is something everyone is seeking, we believe Joomla! can take a significant step by integrating AI into its platform. Our project aims to offer valuable features for our users. It provides easy access to knowledge, saving time and effort. Enhanced literature discovery ensures staying updated with the latest research, while seamless integration with multiple AI providers offers flexibility and access to cutting-edge technology. These features streamline workflow, save time, and deepen understanding, accelerating research and aiding informed decisions and discoveries. It also aims to provide a scalable, secure and user-friendly AI framework supporting multiple providers, ensuring high performance, reliability, and future scalability.

Some final words

My aim is to have fun working on the project and learning more for the next few months. I am looking forward to making some meaningful contributions to the Joomla! AI Framework project and being an integral part of the open-source community! 

Dileep Adari: Workflow Enhancements

Who am I?

I’m Dileep Adari, a tech enthusiast, open-source admirer, and someone who probably spends way too much time in the terminal 😄. I’ve just wrapped up my third year of Computer Science Engineering at IIIT Hyderabad, where I’m also part of the Software Engineering Research Center (SERC). My research interests lie in Usability and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) - especially in the world of complex systems like ERPs. Naturally, Joomla! caught my attention like a magnet! 

My first brush with Joomla! came through my professor while we were working on a university website. I was instantly drawn in - not just by the CMS (which is seriously powerful), but by the way Joomla’s architecture just made sense. There’s a beautiful balance between structure and flexibility that made me want to explore more.
That curiosity pulled me deeper into the codebase. So when I saw Joomla! listed in GSoC 2025, I was overjoyed - I didn’t hesitate to send in my proposal, and here we are!

Why Joomla? And why GSoC?

As someone who loves both the backend and the user experience side of things, Joomla! felt like the perfect playground. The community is incredibly supportive, the codebase is mature yet welcoming, and contributing here aligns beautifully with my academic interests.

I applied to GSoC not just to code, but to contribute meaningfully to software that is used globally and helps people build amazing things. Working on a CMS that powers countless websites around the world? Count me in!

My GSoC 2025 Project: Workflow Enhancements

Let’s talk about what I’ll be working on!

If you’ve ever tried using Joomla’s workflow system, you know it’s powerful - but it can feel a bit tricky to get started. That’s where my project comes in. We’re going to supercharge Joomla’s workflow feature to make it intuitive, flexible, and user-friendly.

Here’s what’s coming:

• Graphical Workflow Builder: Say goodbye to guesswork! Build workflows visually using drag-and-drop tools and interactive flowcharts.
• Predefined Workflow Templates: Don’t know where to start? No worries - we’ll provide ready-to-use templates to get you up and running quickly.
• Improved Documentation: We’ll make sure users (and developers!) can clearly understand how to make the most of workflows.
• Robust Testing & UI Polishing: From usability enhancements to thorough testing coverage, all improvements will be carefully integrated to ensure a smooth experience while preserving the stability and integrity of the existing system.

How does this help you as a Joomla user?

This project is all about making workflows accessible and effective. Whether you're a site administrator setting up a publishing pipeline, or a content manager trying to ensure articles go through proper review, this upgrade means:

• Less confusion
• Faster setup
• More power, without the complexity

Looking Ahead…

Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing updates, screenshots, and maybe even a few rants (kidding... mostly 😅) as we build something awesome together. If you’ve ever struggled with workflows or have ideas you’d love to see implemented - let’s talk! I’m all ears at GitHub.

I’m beyond excited to collaborate with the Joomla community, learn from some of the smartest folks in open source, and hopefully leave behind tools that make Joomla even better for everyone.

Mahmoud Magdy: Weblinks Enhancements

Hello Joomlers, I’m Mahmoud Magdy, a third-year student at Ain Shams University, based in Cairo, Egypt.

I’m a Google Summer of Code 2025 contributor with Joomla. I'll be working on the Weblinks Enhancements project with Joomla. It is a great opportunity, and I can’t wait to contribute to Joomla’s incredible open-source ecosystem.

Discovering GSoC and Joomla

Last year, as I was searching for ways to make my summer productive, I stumbled upon Google Summer of Code and Joomla. The idea of contributing to real-world projects while learning from mentors sounded incredible—but also intimidating! Joomla’s Weblinks Enhancements project caught my attention because it matches my skills in PHP, JavaScript, and Cypress testing. I wasn’t sure I’d stand a chance given GSoC’s competitive nature, but I decided to give it my all.

The application process was a journey in itself. Writing a detailed proposal for Weblinks required deep research into Joomla’s codebase and hours of planning. Unlike many applicants who apply to multiple organizations, I focused solely on Joomla because I believed in the project’s impact. And I knew this was where I wanted to invest my summer, learning from incredible mentors.

My Open-Source Journey

My adventure in open source began earlier this year when I started exploring Joomla. At first, the codebase felt like a maze. Understanding someone else’s code is not easy, especially for a newcomer! But I took it one step at a time, starting with a small Joomla component I built called SimpleQuote (GitHub link). This helped me grasp Joomla’s component development.

From there, I dove into Weblinks, contributing fixes and features through pull requests. My mentor’s feedback made the process smoother, and each contribution boosted my confidence. Open source can feel overwhelming, but with persistence and guidance, it becomes an exciting challenge.

My Project: Weblinks Enhancements

This summer, I’ll be working on modernizing Joomla’s Weblinks extension, which has fallen behind the latest Joomla 5 standards. My goal is to make it more reliable, maintainable, and user-friendly by tackling several key areas:

• Code Refactoring: Update the codebase to use PSR-12 standards, namespacing, and Joomla 5’s MVC structure for better maintainability.
• Testing: Write Cypress tests to achieve over 90% coverage, ensuring core features (like creating and editing weblinks) work flawlessly.
• Bug Fixes: Resolve open issues on the Weblinks GitHub repo to improve functionality.
• Documentation: Enhance the README and code comments to help developers and users navigate the extension.

I’ve created a work plan to deliver these improvements incrementally, starting with backend refactoring and testing, then moving to frontend views and documentation. If time allows, I’ll explore adding Joomla’s Workflow features. My mentor’s guidance will be key to staying on track, and I’m excited to share progress through blogs and presentations.

Why Joomla?

Joomla’s flexibility and global reach make it a special platform to contribute to. Working on a project used by millions is both humbling and motivating. The GSoC process, with its 200+ organizations, can be daunting, but I chose Joomla for its supportive community and real-world impact. I highly recommend it to anyone considering GSoC!

If you have advice or want to connect, find me on GitHub or Joomla’s Mattermost. 

Looking Forward to a summer of coding, collaboration and growing!

Reem Atalah:  Migrating Content using a CCM

Hello Joomla World! My name is Reem Emad Atalah, a GSoC’25 contributor with Joomla.

I'm a backend developer from Egypt. I graduated from Cairo University's Faculty of Engineering, Computer Department.

Why did I enter open-source? For a while, I felt stuck in my career, doing work but not growing. So, I wanted to contribute to something bigger to challenge myself. This is what I found in open-source, especially with Joomla.

My journey into open-source started three years ago with Keploy. When I discovered Joomla, it felt like finding a hidden gem 💎 in the open-source world. Searching within about 150 organisations, it’s hard and frustrating to find a suitable organisation that fits your thoughts and knowledge. Joomla's rich history, powerful CMS framework, and strong global community instantly got me in. I heard of Joomla about 3 years ago. 

What impressed me is how well Joomla documents everything — from the first pull request to the final deployment in production. The process is structured, professional, and incredibly educational.

I have worked on ERP systems, and CMS is similar to them; ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), where I built and maintained backend structures that help businesses manage their data. Both ERP and CMS involve:

• Handling structured content and data (Ticketing in ERP, similar to Tasks in CMS in development, different in business logic).
• Managing user roles and permissions.
• Creating reusable components/modules.

This familiarity made Joomla’s architecture click for me, and it felt like the perfect environment to contribute and grow.

That’s why I loved contributing to the “Migration between Different CMSs” project. My project focuses on migrating content between different CMS platforms using a Common Content Model (CCM) and a Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) approach. In simpler terms:

We’re building a bridge that lets users move their content from other CMSs into Joomla,
seamlessly without losing data.

There is another migration project in Joomla, but we will use a different approach, using Joomla’s Web Services API. We’ll be working on tools that:

• Discover content structures dynamically.
• Map them into a universal model (CCM).
• Generate import logic automatically using MDE techniques.

Contributing to a global open-source CMS like Joomla alongside Google support is not just a project — it’s a career-changing move for me. It gives me the chance to grow technically, work with inspiring mentors, and prepare for international opportunities in the tech world.

I’m ready to give my best, learn from this incredible community, and build something impactful to Joomla’s future.