Summer contributions to Eclipse Foundation projects with structured mentoring.
About the program
Eclipse Summer of Code is the Eclipse Foundation's answer to GSoC, and one of the friendiest first programs in open source. Participants spend twelve weeks over the spring on a mentored project across the Eclipse stack - from the JDT language tooling and Theia IDE to Jakarta EE and Eclipse SDV for software-defined vehicles.
It runs on a shorter, calmer calendar than the big summer programs: applications close in February, work starts in March. Award money is paid on successful completion, and the community's mentoring style is notably hands-on because the project pool is smaller.
Primary stack
Technical focus
The path
- 01Ideas list (Jan - Feb)
Eclipse projects publish scoped ideas with mentor contacts - smaller list than GSoC, so each idea gets real attention.
- 02Apply (Feb)
One proposal, one mentor match. The foundation guides first-time contributors through the template.
- 03Code (Mar - Jun)
Twelve weeks with weekly touchpoints; mid-term check keeps slipping projects on track before the final.
- 04Present and get paid (Jun - Jul)
Demo at the community call or EclipseCon; awards land after acceptance.
Who it's for
- European students and recent grads who want a paid spring program
- Java and TypeScript developers aiming at IDE, tooling or automotive software
- First-time applicants who want a smaller, mentee-friendly pool than GSoC
What you walk away with
- EUR 500 - 1,200 per accepted project
- A merged contribution in the Eclipse release train
- Eclipse Foundation contributor credit that carries into EU open-source hiring
- A spring window that leaves the whole summer free for GSoC or internships
Program timeline
Calendar positions for the 2026 cycle - the marker shows October, where you are now.
- Project proposalsMar - May
- Teams formedMay - May
- Coding & demosMay - Aug
Organizations
Reading the participation record...
More programs we track
Everything else on the calendar - 12 other mentored routes from first PR to paid season.
