By language · C / C++
Abandoned C/C++ libraries looking for a new maintainer
C/C++ has no centralized package registry. Discovery is GitHub + distro maintainers + ConanCenter. Adoption is harder but the impact is bigger — system libraries depend on C/C++, and the XZ Utils backdoor (CVE-2024-3094) showed what happens when one of them is compromised.
Published July 13, 2026 · ~3 min read
The short version
- C/C++ libraries are usually system libraries with broad blast radius. The XZ Utils backdoor is the proof.
- There's no centralized registry — discovery is GitHub + distro maintainers + ConanCenter.
- The standard signal vocabulary is the GitHub
adopt-metopic +looking-for-maintainerbadge + a pinned issue. - Adoption is harder than JS/Python/Rust because of platform-specific code (POSIX vs Windows, glibc vs musl).
How to find abandoned C/C++ libraries
The BreakPoint feed filtered to C or C++, the GitHub adopt-me topic filtered to language:c or language:cpp, and distro package status (Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch all track "orphaned" packages separately from upstream). For C/C++ specifically, also check the ConanCenter — it's the C/C++ package manager and has a deprecation workflow. C/C++ library adoption is rarer than JS/Python, but the impact is larger when it works.
If you maintain: notify distro maintainers
Add a clear "this library is no longer maintained" banner to the README. Set the GitHub adopt-me topic, the looking-for-maintainer badge, and a pinned "Seeking new maintainer" issue. Drop the project on BreakPoint. Critically for C/C++: notify the distro maintainers who package your library. The Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, and Arch maintainers are often the most natural co-maintainers for a system C/C++ library — they're already familiar with the build, the tests, and the platform-specific code. A handoff from "upstream abandoned" to "the distro is now the effective upstream" is a real and common pattern for C/C++ libraries.