By language
Abandoned open source projects, by language
Each ecosystem has its own adoption signals. Pick your stack, learn the vocabulary, and find a project that fits.
Python
Abandoned Python projects looking for a new maintainer
PEP 541 transfer, PyPI development_status, GitHub adopt-me topic.
Most popular scientific + scripting language.
JavaScript
Abandoned JavaScript projects looking for a new maintainer
npm deprecate + deprecated field. Bus factor 1 is the default.
Largest package ecosystem by volume.
TypeScript
Abandoned TypeScript projects looking for a new maintainer
Same as JS, plus DefinitelyTyped (@types/*) signals. Typed API surfaces make evaluation faster.
TS is the fastest-growing language for new OSS.
Rust
Abandoned Rust projects looking for a new maintainer
cargo yank for soft-deprecation. No crates.io 'deprecated' field. Watch edition migrations.
Most loved language, 6 years running.
Go
Abandoned Go projects looking for a new maintainer
Retracted directive in go.mod. unmaintained.tech label. Go's clean module system makes adoption tractable.
Cloud-native default. Module system is the cleanest of any major language.
Ruby
Abandoned Ruby projects looking for a new maintainer
RubyGems allows multiple owners — gem owner --add is the cleanest handoff of any registry.
Inventor of the 'looking for maintainer' workflow.
PHP
Abandoned PHP projects looking for a new maintainer
Packagist 'abandoned' flag + 'use X instead' replacement. Composer warns on install.
The web's most-deployed server-side language.
C / C++
Abandoned C / C++ projects looking for a new maintainer
No centralized registry. Discovery is GitHub + distro maintainers + ConanCenter.
System libraries. The XZ Utils backdoor is the proof of why this matters.