Geeklog Summer of Code 2026: A New Wave of Development

Over the past 40 to 50 days, a remarkable amount of development has taken place around Geeklog.

What started as an effort to modernize a few plugins and improve compatibility with Geeklog 2.2.2 gradually became something much broader: updating important parts of the ecosystem, improving development practices, reviving major plugins and exploring new ways for Geeklog components to work together.

Borrowing the spirit — but not the official program — of Google Summer of Code, we could call this period our own:

Geeklog Summer of Code 2026.

This article is a snapshot of what has happened, what is already usable, what is currently under development, and why this may be a good time for developers and long-time Geeklog users to take another look at the project.

Around 40 Days of Development

Because the work has been spread across many repositories, it can be difficult to see the overall momentum from individual commits alone.

Here is a simplified timeline.

Early August: work begins around Geeklog 2.1.1 and 2.2.2 compatibility, modern PHP support, plugin modernization, multisite installations and safer upgrade paths.

August 6: development of the new Eclipse theme begins.

August 12: Eclipse 1.0.0 is released.

Mid-August: Analytics receives improved GA4 support and hostname filtering while several existing plugins enter modernization work.

Late August: Menu 1.3.0 is completed after extensive compatibility, migration, packaging and Eclipse integration work.

Late August: Maps 1.6.0 brings a major modernization of geographic content, administration, permissions, imports and autotags.

August 28: IndexNow 1.2.0 introduces submission history, broader content interoperability and improved migration handling.

End of August: Videos receives compatibility, YouTube integration, administration and packaging improvements.

Early September: multisite upgrade safety, shared files and plugin interoperability receive additional work and documentation.

September 5: a structured French translation project is introduced with terminology guidelines and automated validation.

Early September: Hello, Maintenance, Hub and other plugins receive significant modernization or architectural work.

September 10: MediaGallery 1.8.0 enters active development with a dedicated modernization branch and roadmap.

And the work continues.

Modernizing Geeklog Without Abandoning Existing Sites

Geeklog 2.2.2 is becoming the main foundation for modern development.

However, many active Geeklog websites still run version 2.1.1, sometimes with older PHP environments.

Ignoring them would make modernization much harder for the people who have been using Geeklog for years.

For several plugins, the development strategy has therefore been to make a progressive path possible:

existing Geeklog installation → updated plugins → Geeklog 2.2.2 → modern PHP environment

This is particularly important for websites containing many years of articles, users, comments, media and plugin data.

Modernization should make upgrading easier, not force site owners to start again.

Eclipse: A New Modern Theme for Geeklog

One of the most visible results of this development period is Eclipse.

Eclipse 1.0.0 was released in August and development has continued rapidly since then.

The objective is not simply to provide another color scheme or responsive layout.

Eclipse is intended to become a modern presentation layer for Geeklog while remaining compatible with its plugin architecture.

Recent work has included responsive layouts, improved navigation, Menu integration, plugin previews and a cleaner separation between plugin functionality and theme presentation.

A particularly interesting development is the new integration with the Forum plugin.

Rather than simply displaying the traditional Forum interface inside a modern page, Eclipse is gaining a dedicated Forum presentation template.

This opens a wider possibility for Geeklog themes.

Plugins can remain independent and focus on functionality, while themes provide dedicated modern presentation for important content types.

Forum is the first obvious example, but similar integration could eventually benefit MediaGallery, Videos, Documents, Store and other plugins.

Eclipse remains developed separately at:

https://github.com/hostellerie/eclipse

Menu: Modern Navigation for Old and New Geeklog Sites

The Menu plugin has undergone substantial modernization.

Menu 1.3.0 was tested across Geeklog 2.1.1 through 2.2.2, with attention paid to both modern PHP versions and older environments still used by existing sites.

The work included installation and upgrade paths, database migration handling, packaging, removal of obsolete components and improved integration with Eclipse.

This is a good example of the general philosophy behind the current work:

modernize what exists before unnecessarily replacing it.

Maps 1.6.0

Maps has received one of the largest plugin updates.

Maps 1.6.0 improves:

• marker management;
• permissions;
• geographic autotags;
• CSV import workflows;
• administration;
• presentation;
• modification dates;
• plugin packaging and compatibility.

Maps is also a good example of structured information that could become useful beyond the plugin itself.

A location stored by Maps could eventually be useful to search, Hub, a future connector or another Geeklog plugin.

That possibility is helping shape the broader interoperability discussion.

Videos Is Moving Forward

Videos has also received extensive modernization work.

Recent changes include improved compatibility, YouTube diagnostics, administration improvements, archive packaging, translations and interaction with other Geeklog services.

As with Menu and Maps, the objective is not simply to keep old code running.

It is to make the plugin easier to maintain and more useful within a modern Geeklog ecosystem.

Analytics and GA4

The Analytics plugin has been modernized with improved Google Analytics 4 support, dashboard functionality and hostname filtering.

This is especially useful for installations running multiple domains or subdomains.

It also provides another example of functionality that can benefit from better communication between Geeklog components.

IndexNow: Useful Modern Features for Older Geeklog Sites

The IndexNow plugin deserves an important clarification.

Its goal is not to compete with functionality already provided by Geeklog core, particularly as the core itself continues to evolve.

Its value is especially important for older websites.

A Geeklog 2.1.1 site, for example, can benefit from modern search-engine notification capabilities without waiting until the entire site has been migrated to Geeklog 2.2.2.

IndexNow can notify compatible search engines when content changes and also provides useful additional features such as submission history and broader plugin interoperability.

It should therefore be viewed as a complementary service and, for older installations in particular, as a useful bridge toward more modern functionality.

Hello: Modern Communication with the Community

Hello is another important part of the recent work.

Geeklog already has a strong user and group system, but websites also need practical ways to communicate with their registered users.

The Hello plugin is being modernized as a newsletter and communication tool.

Its future is particularly interesting when considered alongside other plugins.

Hub could identify useful or related content.

Hello could help distribute that content to subscribers.

Other plugins could provide events or content worth communicating.

Instead of trying to perform every task itself, Hello can become the communication layer of a broader ecosystem.

That is exactly the kind of cooperation that could make Geeklog more powerful without making individual plugins more complex.

Maintenance: Small Plugin, Important Function

The Maintenance plugin may appear less spectacular than Maps, MediaGallery or Forum, but it solves a very practical problem.

Site administrators regularly need to upgrade Geeklog, migrate plugins, change themes or perform maintenance on production websites.

A modern Maintenance plugin provides a simple way to restrict public access temporarily while preserving appropriate administrator access.

Recent work has focused on keeping this process simple, reliable and secure.

It is a good example of development aimed directly at the everyday needs of Geeklog administrators.

MediaGallery 1.8.0: A Major Plugin Returns

One of the most encouraging developments is the return of MediaGallery to active development.

A dedicated modernize-1.8.0 branch and roadmap have now been created.

MediaGallery has historically been one of the most powerful plugins available for Geeklog.

It offers far more than basic image uploads and has long provided advanced gallery and media-management capabilities.

The objective for version 1.8.0 is not to reinvent MediaGallery.

It is to modernize it.

Compatibility, administration, presentation, dependencies, installation and integration with the current Geeklog ecosystem can all be reviewed while preserving the functionality that made MediaGallery valuable in the first place.

The relationship between MediaGallery and Videos will also be interesting to explore.

Rather than duplicating functionality, the two plugins could eventually become complementary parts of a more coherent Geeklog media environment.

New and Returning Plugins

Another encouraging sign is that development is no longer limited to maintaining historical plugins.

Several projects are now operational, being modernized or under active development.

Hub explores thematic content hubs, pillar pages, related content and internal linking.

Hello provides newsletters and user communication.

Store explores modern commerce functionality.

Documents focuses on structured documents and knowledge-oriented publishing.

Contact is being modernized with usability and security in mind.

Maintenance provides controlled site maintenance.

Analytics handles modern analytics and GA4.

IndexNow provides search-engine notification and interoperability.

Maps, Videos, Menu and MediaGallery continue to evolve.

And existing components such as Forum are gaining new possibilities through deeper Eclipse integration.

Not all these projects are at the same stage.

Some are stable.

Some are in testing.

Some remain under active development.

But the important point is simple:

new development is happening around Geeklog again.

One Home for Geeklog Plugins

Plugin development and upcoming plugin releases will progressively be centralized under the Geeklog-Plugins GitHub organization:

https://github.com/Geeklog-Plugins

This will make it easier for the community to follow plugin development, new branches, roadmaps, issues and releases in one place.

Some modernization work has temporarily taken place elsewhere while projects were being prepared and tested.

The intention is now to bring plugin work back under the Geeklog-Plugins organization.

The main exception is Eclipse.

Eclipse is a theme rather than a plugin and remains available at:

https://github.com/hostellerie/eclipse

From Plugins to an Ecosystem

Perhaps the most interesting result of the last few weeks is not any individual release.

It is the growing idea that Geeklog plugins should work more effectively together.

Geeklog already has a mature plugin API.

There is no need to replace it.

Instead, the goal is to make it easier for plugins to expose useful capabilities in predictable ways.

Maps can provide geographic information.

MediaGallery can provide media assets.

Forum can provide discussions.

Hello can provide communication.

Hub can connect content.

IndexNow can react when content changes.

Other plugins can expose their own specialized capabilities.

If these components can understand one another better, Geeklog becomes more than a collection of independent plugins.

It becomes an ecosystem.

From the 2030 Vision to Practical Work

The broader direction has already been discussed in the recent “Geeklog 2030: The Next Adventure Starts Now” article.

That discussion explored structured information, better communication between plugins, clean APIs, stronger interoperability and the possibility that future external applications — including AI assistants — may need to understand what a Geeklog site contains.

The important point is that AI was deliberately placed after the foundations, not before them: first improve structure, permissions, APIs, relationships and interoperability; then future tools can make use of them.

The developments described in this article can be seen as practical steps in that direction.

There is no need for a giant rewrite.

Better plugins, cleaner interfaces, safer upgrades and stronger interoperability can move Geeklog forward incrementally.

Better Development Practices

A less visible transformation is also taking place behind the code.

Projects are progressively gaining better development and release processes, including:

• automated packaging;
• GitHub Actions;
• PHP validation;
• compatibility testing;
• migration checks;
• clearer release notes;
• upgrade documentation;
• development roadmaps.

These improvements are important for the future of an open-source project.

A plugin should not only work on the developer's installation.

Another user should be able to download it, install it, upgrade it and understand how it is maintained.

Better tooling also makes contributing easier.

Developers: Take Another Look at Geeklog

Perhaps the most important purpose of this update is to invite developers to look at Geeklog again.

Many developers who contributed to Geeklog or its plugins over the years have naturally moved on to other projects.

Some may not have looked at Geeklog for a long time.

This could be a good moment to return.

There are interesting technical problems again.

Plugins need testing.

Legacy code can be modernized.

PHP compatibility needs review.

Templates can be improved.

Accessibility can be improved.

Security can be reviewed.

APIs and interoperability can be discussed.

Documentation and translations need contributors.

Old plugins may deserve another life.

And completely new ideas are welcome too.

Contributing does not mean taking responsibility for an entire plugin.

A single bug report can help.

A compatibility test can help.

A pull request changing ten lines can help.

Reviewing an API can help.

Updating one template can help.

Improving documentation can help.

Open-source projects move forward through many small contributions.

The Geeklog community may be smaller than it once was, but a small community can still build useful and ambitious software. That same idea was already central to the Geeklog 2030 discussion: the goal is not to win by having the most plugins or the most developers, but to build software that remains understandable, modular and useful.

From Maintenance to Momentum

Only a few weeks ago, most of this activity could reasonably have been described as maintenance.

That is becoming less accurate.

Eclipse has introduced a new presentation layer.

Menu has been modernized.

Maps has received a major update.

Videos is moving forward.

Analytics has been improved.

IndexNow is bringing useful modern capabilities to older Geeklog installations.

Hello is renewing communication with users.

Maintenance is improving an important administrative workflow.

MediaGallery development has restarted.

Forum is receiving dedicated Eclipse presentation support.

Newer projects such as Hub and Store are exploring additional possibilities.

And behind all of them, development practices and interoperability are improving.

There is still plenty of work ahead.

Some projects are stable.

Others need testing.

Some remain experimental.

But after these intense weeks of development, one thing is clear:

Geeklog is moving again.

Plugin development and upcoming releases can be followed at:

https://github.com/Geeklog-Plugins

Eclipse development can be followed at:

https://github.com/hostellerie/eclipse

If you developed for Geeklog in the past, take another look.

If you still run a Geeklog site, test the new work.

If you enjoy PHP, CMS architecture, themes, security, interoperability or open-source development, there is room to contribute.

The next chapter of Geeklog does not need to be written by one person. It needs a community interested in writing it together.