My Open Source Journey: Eight Years of Curiosity, Craft, and Community

TL;DR;

• Began web dev in 2018; learned in public and documented everything.
• Found and adopted Sails.js, grew from contributor to lead maintainer (2023).
• Built tools, docs, and community; open source became a meaningful income stream and platform for impact.
• To start: use the project, fix bugs, improve docs, ship useful things, and teach what you learn.
• Mantra: Show up. Ship. Share. Serve.

Check out my slides from DevFest Port Harcourt 2025.

In 2018, I started my web development career with nothing but hunger, curiosity, and the sense that I could shape something meaningful with the tools in my hands. I didn’t know it then, but the next eight years would turn into a journey that would change my life—creatively, financially, and spiritually.

Today, as lead maintainer of Sails.js, creator of The Boring JavaScript Stack, and founder of Sailscasts, I get asked often:

How did you get started in open source?

This is my story.

2018: The Beginning — Planting Seeds Without Realizing It

My first year was pure apprenticeship. Quiet. Foundational. Necessary.

I documented everything. Not to build a brand, but to learn in public. People cared, simply because I cared.

Share what you’re learning before you’re known for anything.

2019: Finding Sails — Discovering My Tribe

I wanted something like Laravel, but for JavaScript. Express wasn’t it.

Then I found Sails.js.

People said it was “dead.” But I was shipping real-world products with it.

As DHH often reminds us:

You don’t need permission to love your tools.

I proved Sails’ value by using it in production — Telegram bots, APIs for mobile apps, Web3 tools, etc.

Not opinions. Output.

Becoming a Custodian — Not Assigned, But Assumed

When I realized nobody was telling Sails’ story… I did, by:

• Writing guides
• Answering questions
• Creating demos
• Teaching
• Building tools like the first VS Code extension for Sails and the official Sails VS Code extension

No one asked me. No one gave me permission.

I simply became a custodian of the framework I loved.

As Robert Greene puts it:

Authority belongs to those who take responsibility when others don’t.

I built Sailboat, deprecated it for something better, then created sailscasts.com and the Sailscasts community in 2020.

Just this year, the Sailscasts community became the official Sails.js community.

2020–2021: Community, Confidence & Real Rewards

By 2021, open source began paying — literally.

Consulting. Opportunities. Collaborations.

That year alone, open source open doors that contributed over $50,000 to my income.

I launched Sailsconf, the first-ever Sails.js conference. I built tools like guppy, Sails Mail, and more.

Open source rewards those who show, not those who speak.

2023: Becoming Lead Maintainer

At Sailsconf 2023, I was announced as the Lead Maintainer of Sails.js by Mike McNeil, CEO of FLeet Device Management & the creator and BDFL of Sails.js.

From unknown contributor → community builder → educator → maintainer.

It only makes sense in hindsight.

Using the project — not talking about it — is what made the difference.

2024–2025: Building Futures, Not Just Tools

Today, my work focuses on creating infrastructure for Africa’s next generation of developers:

• The Boring JavaScript Stack Templates: Mellow & Ascent
• The African Engineer
• Sails Language Tools
• Sails SQLite
• Many articles and docs

These are not just products. They’re gifts. And that’s what open source is:

A gift — freely given, improved by others, returned to the world better than you found it.

So… How Do You Start in Open Source?

Here’s the truth:

❌ Talking about contributing

❌ Writing about the project

❌ Teaching people to use it

These help. But they’re not the beginning.

✅ Use the project.

Fix what’s broken. Improve what’s unclear. Share what’s useful.

Lessons From Eight Years in Open Source

1. Follow your curiosities, not popularity charts.

Trends fade. Curiosity doesn’t.

2. Build what you’ve used, not what you imagine.

Experience is the only real authority.

3. Shout openly about what works for you.

One developer’s insight is another’s breakthrough.

4. Enrich the community deliberately.

Your generosity determines your legacy.

5. Teach everything you know.

Teaching makes you indispensable.

6. Don’t ask what the community can do for you.

Ask: “What can I give to this community?”

The Way of the Craftsman

DHH teaches us to choose simplicity. Robert Greene teaches us to pursue mastery.

I’ve tried to choose both.

My journey—from contributor to Sails.js lead maintainer—was never about chasing titles. It was about doing what I loved, loudly, consistently, and generously.

Your path will be different. But the principles endure:

Show up. Ship. Share. Serve.

The rest will follow.