Mike McQuaid
@mikemcquaid.com
I'm CTPO at Administrate, Homebrew Project Leader, ex-GitHub Principal Engineer, author of Git in Practice and an OSS and developer productivity leader.
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Posting mostly automated from mikemcquaid.com.
If you want me to read your reply: email me instead.
Andrew nails here many parts of what actually makes OSS maintaining hard work.
Empathy is needed more for OSS sustainability than money.
Empathy is needed more for OSS sustainability than money.
Respectful Open Source
Maintainer attention as a finite resource.
nesbitt.io
February 13, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Andrew nails here many parts of what actually makes OSS maintaining hard work.
Empathy is needed more for OSS sustainability than money.
Empathy is needed more for OSS sustainability than money.
“This new technology will replace developers!” is not a new thing.
Nice look at what some previous claims were (and how they resulted in more developers and more software).
Nice look at what some previous claims were (and how they resulted in more developers and more software).
Why We've Tried to Replace Developers Every Decade Since 1969
Every decade brings new promises: this time, we'll finally make software development simple enough that we won't need so many developers.
www.caimito.net
February 7, 2026 at 1:13 PM
“This new technology will replace developers!” is not a new thing.
Nice look at what some previous claims were (and how they resulted in more developers and more software).
Nice look at what some previous claims were (and how they resulted in more developers and more software).
Great take about the cultural requirements to create “10x engineers”
Sometimes Your Job is to Stay the Hell Out of the Way
I wrote a piece a long time ago about the mythical 10x engineer, except that they aren't a myth.
randsinrepose.com
February 7, 2026 at 1:12 PM
Great take about the cultural requirements to create “10x engineers”
I gave a talk: Package Management Learnings from Homebrew
Homebrew 5.0.0 released in 2025. Walk through the major changes in 5.0.0, improving expectations based on other package managers and what they can learn from Homebrew's approach.
Homebrew 5.0.0 released in 2025. Walk through the major changes in 5.0.0, improving expectations based on other package managers and what they can learn from Homebrew's approach.
Package Management Learnings from Homebrew
Homebrew 5.0.0 released in 2025. Walk through the major changes in 5.0.0, improving expectations based on other package managers and what they can learn from Homebrew's approach.
mikemcquaid.com
January 31, 2026 at 6:24 PM
I gave a talk: Package Management Learnings from Homebrew
Homebrew 5.0.0 released in 2025. Walk through the major changes in 5.0.0, improving expectations based on other package managers and what they can learn from Homebrew's approach.
Homebrew 5.0.0 released in 2025. Walk through the major changes in 5.0.0, improving expectations based on other package managers and what they can learn from Homebrew's approach.
I gave a talk: What happened to RubyGems and what can we learn?
Lessons for non-Ruby projects on non-profits, governance, money and access in open source, drawn from the RubyGems dispute.
Lessons for non-Ruby projects on non-profits, governance, money and access in open source, drawn from the RubyGems dispute.
What happened to RubyGems and what can we learn?
Lessons for non-Ruby projects on non-profits, governance, money and access in open source, drawn from the RubyGems dispute.
mikemcquaid.com
January 31, 2026 at 6:23 PM
I gave a talk: What happened to RubyGems and what can we learn?
Lessons for non-Ruby projects on non-profits, governance, money and access in open source, drawn from the RubyGems dispute.
Lessons for non-Ruby projects on non-profits, governance, money and access in open source, drawn from the RubyGems dispute.
All the “faster Homebrew in Rust” projects are a bit like parsing HTML with regex.
The simplest use-cases seem to work, it’s easier and there’s just edge cases to fix.
Fixing these edge cases requires recreating Homebrew and using Ruby (which will be slower again).
The simplest use-cases seem to work, it’s easier and there’s just edge cases to fix.
Fixing these edge cases requires recreating Homebrew and using Ruby (which will be slower again).
January 28, 2026 at 7:31 PM
All the “faster Homebrew in Rust” projects are a bit like parsing HTML with regex.
The simplest use-cases seem to work, it’s easier and there’s just edge cases to fix.
Fixing these edge cases requires recreating Homebrew and using Ruby (which will be slower again).
The simplest use-cases seem to work, it’s easier and there’s just edge cases to fix.
Fixing these edge cases requires recreating Homebrew and using Ruby (which will be slower again).
How Homebrew Became Mac’s Package Manager with Mike McQuaid
Interviewed by Screaming in the Cloud.
Interviewed by Screaming in the Cloud.
How Homebrew Became Mac’s Package Manager with Mike McQuaid
www.lastweekinaws.com
January 28, 2026 at 2:54 PM
How Homebrew Became Mac’s Package Manager with Mike McQuaid
Interviewed by Screaming in the Cloud.
Interviewed by Screaming in the Cloud.
This analysis was both helpful and hurtful.
Another reminder to focus on a single task and ship to completion whenever possible.
Another reminder to focus on a single task and ship to completion whenever possible.
One bottleneck at a time - The Engineering Manager
Companies are systems, and systems always have a bottleneck.
www.theengineeringmanager.com
January 22, 2026 at 10:44 AM
This analysis was both helpful and hurtful.
Another reminder to focus on a single task and ship to completion whenever possible.
Another reminder to focus on a single task and ship to completion whenever possible.
The Most Important Skills Going Forward with CTO + Homebrew Maintainer Mike McQuaid
Interviewed by .
Interviewed by .
The Most Important Skills Going Forward with CTO + Homebrew Maintainer Mike McQuaid
www.freecodecamp.org
January 20, 2026 at 2:40 PM
The Most Important Skills Going Forward with CTO + Homebrew Maintainer Mike McQuaid
Interviewed by .
Interviewed by .
“The Failure Mode of Clever (is asshole)”
Applies to some OSS commenters I’ve seen…
Great take from John Scalzi (who also writes GREAT sci-fi books).
Applies to some OSS commenters I’ve seen…
Great take from John Scalzi (who also writes GREAT sci-fi books).
The Failure Mode of Clever
So, apropos of nothing in particular, let’s say you wish to communicate privately with someone
whatever.scalzi.com
January 15, 2026 at 8:37 PM
“The Failure Mode of Clever (is asshole)”
Applies to some OSS commenters I’ve seen…
Great take from John Scalzi (who also writes GREAT sci-fi books).
Applies to some OSS commenters I’ve seen…
Great take from John Scalzi (who also writes GREAT sci-fi books).
Raising kids in an addictive internet without losing your mind (or theirs)
My Parenting “Screen Time” Philosophy
Raising kids in an addictive internet without losing your mind (or theirs)
mikemcquaid.com
January 13, 2026 at 11:34 PM
Raising kids in an addictive internet without losing your mind (or theirs)
Anil has a decent framework here for thinking if you’ll actually be happy in a job.
How to know if that job will crush your soul - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
anildash.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Anil has a decent framework here for thinking if you’ll actually be happy in a job.
Great and nuanced take from creator of Redis.
If you’re still in the “these tools are useless” camp or “these tools are unethical so I won’t use them”: you’ve not understood how things have already changed.
If you’re still in the “these tools are useless” camp or “these tools are unethical so I won’t use them”: you’ve not understood how things have already changed.
Don't fall into the anti-AI hype
I love writing software, line by line.
antirez.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Great and nuanced take from creator of Redis.
If you’re still in the “these tools are useless” camp or “these tools are unethical so I won’t use them”: you’ve not understood how things have already changed.
If you’re still in the “these tools are useless” camp or “these tools are unethical so I won’t use them”: you’ve not understood how things have already changed.
I like this take on how to get promoted.
My experience has been that promotions come from finding and doing important work.
Being spoon-fed is fine for juniors but a negative signal for those seeking e.g. staff+ promotions.
My experience has been that promotions come from finding and doing important work.
Being spoon-fed is fine for juniors but a negative signal for those seeking e.g. staff+ promotions.
Try to Take My Position: The Best Promotion Advice I Ever Got
My CTO leaned back in our 1:1 and said "You want to get promoted? Try to take my position."
andrew.grahamyooll.com
January 7, 2026 at 3:41 PM
I like this take on how to get promoted.
My experience has been that promotions come from finding and doing important work.
Being spoon-fed is fine for juniors but a negative signal for those seeking e.g. staff+ promotions.
My experience has been that promotions come from finding and doing important work.
Being spoon-fed is fine for juniors but a negative signal for those seeking e.g. staff+ promotions.
I find myself referring too often to the “is it worth the time?” xkcd.
This works best when the person doing the automation is also the person saving the time.
This works best when the person doing the automation is also the person saving the time.
Is It Worth the Time?
How long can you work on making a routine task more efficient before you're spending more time than you save?
xkcd.com
January 7, 2026 at 3:40 PM
I find myself referring too often to the “is it worth the time?” xkcd.
This works best when the person doing the automation is also the person saving the time.
This works best when the person doing the automation is also the person saving the time.
It’s that time of year again to look at your calendar like Marie Kondo and ask:
“Does (this (meeting) spark joy?”
If not: try to cancel or shorten it.
“Does (this (meeting) spark joy?”
If not: try to cancel or shorten it.
January 6, 2026 at 10:55 AM
It’s that time of year again to look at your calendar like Marie Kondo and ask:
“Does (this (meeting) spark joy?”
If not: try to cancel or shorten it.
“Does (this (meeting) spark joy?”
If not: try to cancel or shorten it.
Would love it if people expressing strong opinions about open source declared what project(s) they’ve maintained and for how long.
Would help weed out the uninformed.
Would help weed out the uninformed.
December 31, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Would love it if people expressing strong opinions about open source declared what project(s) they’ve maintained and for how long.
Would help weed out the uninformed.
Would help weed out the uninformed.
Strongly agree with “The Move Faster Manifesto”.
This matches my experiences at GitHub, Homebrew, Workbrew.
You can also be fast and sustainable.
brianguthrie.com/…
This matches my experiences at GitHub, Homebrew, Workbrew.
You can also be fast and sustainable.
brianguthrie.com/…
The Move Faster Manifesto
Lessons for shipping software quickly by skipping the grind
brianguthrie.com
December 30, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Strongly agree with “The Move Faster Manifesto”.
This matches my experiences at GitHub, Homebrew, Workbrew.
You can also be fast and sustainable.
brianguthrie.com/…
This matches my experiences at GitHub, Homebrew, Workbrew.
You can also be fast and sustainable.
brianguthrie.com/…
Workplace politics aren’t optional. Ignoring them just hands power to someone else. In our latest Minimum Viable Management episode, @mikemcquaid.com and Neha are joined by @deniseyu.bsky.social to talk about political capital, allyship and how leaders and senior ICs can use influence responsibly.
December 29, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Workplace politics aren’t optional. Ignoring them just hands power to someone else. In our latest Minimum Viable Management episode, @mikemcquaid.com and Neha are joined by @deniseyu.bsky.social to talk about political capital, allyship and how leaders and senior ICs can use influence responsibly.
I agree with Sean here.
The industry default seems to be “idealistic about engineering, cynical about management”.
Things work better if you’re a little cynical about both.
The industry default seems to be “idealistic about engineering, cynical about management”.
Things work better if you’re a little cynical about both.
Software engineers should be a little bit cynical
--
www.seangoedecke.com
December 29, 2025 at 9:01 AM
I agree with Sean here.
The industry default seems to be “idealistic about engineering, cynical about management”.
Things work better if you’re a little cynical about both.
The industry default seems to be “idealistic about engineering, cynical about management”.
Things work better if you’re a little cynical about both.
This analysis of Valve’s approach to hardware was really interesting.
I have bought all their hardware and will likely buy all the new stuff and this helps explain why.
https://www.garbagecollected.dev/p/valve-the-reverse-apple
I have bought all their hardware and will likely buy all the new stuff and this helps explain why.
https://www.garbagecollected.dev/p/valve-the-reverse-apple
December 27, 2025 at 12:33 PM
This analysis of Valve’s approach to hardware was really interesting.
I have bought all their hardware and will likely buy all the new stuff and this helps explain why.
https://www.garbagecollected.dev/p/valve-the-reverse-apple
I have bought all their hardware and will likely buy all the new stuff and this helps explain why.
https://www.garbagecollected.dev/p/valve-the-reverse-apple
POSSE, Blog and Feed Updates
I’ve been following what Justin Searls has been doing with his blog for some time. He’s been leaning into the “POSSE” (Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere) philosophy more and more. In practice, this looks like building your own version of a single-serving...
I’ve been following what Justin Searls has been doing with his blog for some time. He’s been leaning into the “POSSE” (Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere) philosophy more and more. In practice, this looks like building your own version of a single-serving...
POSSE, Blog and Feed Updates
I’ve been following what Justin Searls has been doing with his blog for some time. He’s been leaning into the “POSSE” (Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere) philosophy more and more. In practice, this looks like building your own version of a single-serving social network on your own site and exposing RSS/Atom feeds to other services to consume. Justin recently released POSSE Party which makes this easier by cross-posting to various social networks. I’ve complained for a while about (anti)social networking so I’m always up for new ways to use social networking less.
mikemcquaid.com
December 18, 2025 at 5:47 PM
POSSE, Blog and Feed Updates
I’ve been following what Justin Searls has been doing with his blog for some time. He’s been leaning into the “POSSE” (Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere) philosophy more and more. In practice, this looks like building your own version of a single-serving...
I’ve been following what Justin Searls has been doing with his blog for some time. He’s been leaning into the “POSSE” (Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere) philosophy more and more. In practice, this looks like building your own version of a single-serving...
Using Docker for local development on macOS is like putting a shipping container in your garden instead of buying a cupboard from IKEA.
December 18, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Using Docker for local development on macOS is like putting a shipping container in your garden instead of buying a cupboard from IKEA.
I’ve added “thoughts” to my website.
If these work correctly, they will be cross-posted to various social networks.
Thanks to Justin Searls’ POSSE Party for enabling this.
If these work correctly, they will be cross-posted to various social networks.
Thanks to Justin Searls’ POSSE Party for enabling this.
December 18, 2025 at 12:31 PM
I’ve added “thoughts” to my website.
If these work correctly, they will be cross-posted to various social networks.
Thanks to Justin Searls’ POSSE Party for enabling this.
If these work correctly, they will be cross-posted to various social networks.
Thanks to Justin Searls’ POSSE Party for enabling this.
The project management triangle is commonly summarised as: "Good, fast, cheap. Choose 2."
My software version is slightly different. Instead I’d say:
"High quality, full scope, delivery date. Choose 2."
The only way to not have 2 is demanding all three (and usually ending up with 1 or 0).
My software version is slightly different. Instead I’d say:
"High quality, full scope, delivery date. Choose 2."
The only way to not have 2 is demanding all three (and usually ending up with 1 or 0).
December 12, 2025 at 4:01 PM
The project management triangle is commonly summarised as: "Good, fast, cheap. Choose 2."
My software version is slightly different. Instead I’d say:
"High quality, full scope, delivery date. Choose 2."
The only way to not have 2 is demanding all three (and usually ending up with 1 or 0).
My software version is slightly different. Instead I’d say:
"High quality, full scope, delivery date. Choose 2."
The only way to not have 2 is demanding all three (and usually ending up with 1 or 0).