How to Build a Developer Community That Actually Sticks | DevTools & Open Source Playbook скачать в хорошем качестве

How to Build a Developer Community That Actually Sticks | DevTools & Open Source Playbook

Building a developer community is not about launching a Discord or chasing GitHub stars. It’s about creating a space where developers feel supported, get real problems solved, and keep coming back. In this conversation, Milica Maksimovic, who has built and scaled developer communities at Hashnode and Wasp, breaks down what actually works when it comes to developer community building for DevTools and open source companies. We cover how to think about community strategy at different stages, from early alpha and beta users to production-ready DevTools. You’ll learn how to choose the right platform (Discord vs Slack vs Reddit vs forums), why moderation is the first problem you need to solve, and how real engagement is driven by support, not vanity metrics. This session is especially relevant for DevTool founders, developer marketers, DevRel teams, and open source maintainers who want to build communities that drive adoption, feedback, and long-term trust. What you’ll learn in this video How to build a developer community that actually participates Open source community building vs SaaS DevTool communities Discord vs Slack vs Reddit: how to choose the right platform Why moderation and community guidelines matter from day one How juniors, seniors, and mentors shape healthy communities The real engagement metric most DevTools miss Why GitHub stars do not equal community health Common community mistakes early-stage DevTools make How community ties into developer adoption and retention Who this is for DevTool founders and early GTM teams Open source maintainers and OSS startups Developer marketers and DevRel teams Product leaders building developer-first products Chapters 0:00 – Milica’s journey into developer communities 3:28 – What “community” means for open source vs DevTools 6:27 – Support as the core engagement driver 7:44 – Discord, Slack, Reddit, and forums: tradeoffs 10:31 – Moderation, guidelines, and community health 13:04 – Designing communities for juniors and seniors 15:51 – Growth experiments that worked 18:37 – Community metrics that matter 19:33 – Common DevTool community mistakes 22:37 – Where founders should start 24:02 – GitHub stars vs real engagement If you’re building a developer-first product and want to avoid empty Discords, low engagement, and community burnout, this conversation gives you a practical, honest playbook for building communities that last.