[GSoC 2026] Interested in XMPP (Renga) and Complex Font Rendering for GSoC

Development OS
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I’m currently looking at GSoC 2026 ideas and interested in these two ideas:

  1. Better XMPP instant messaging client (Renga)
    I’ve seen this idea listed in multiple years of the GSoC ideas list and it’s actively developed.

  2. Complex font rendering in app_server
    This is also been in the GSoC ideas list repeatedly.

Before I start drafting a proposal, I want to ask the community and mentors:

  • What’s the current priority of these two projects for Haiku?
  • Are there recommended tasks or issues to start with to get familiar with Renga’s codebase or with Haiku’s text rendering pipeline?
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Hi there Amir,

Renga is developer by @PulkoMandy and by some other contributors (also myself as motivation and time allows)

You can find Rengas gerrit here: https://pulkomandy.tk/gerrit/q/status:open+-is:wip
We also have a trac with issues for it (that I don’t currently know the URL of :frowning: ).

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The url is pulkomandy.tk/projects/Renga as linked from the ideas page.

Renga is more a personal project of mine at the moment, I would like to get it a bit more complete in terms of MUC (multi-user-chat) support and in particular the moderation side of that (being able to kick and ban users, and things like that). Then we may consider using XMPP to replace IRC as our communication channel, but that’s not something that was discussed with other people in Haiku.

The complex font rendering project is directly in Haiku’s code, and also mure strategic as it would allow us to reach more users in more cultures. If we forget my personal needs for an xmpp client where irg is already good enough, that second project seems more interesting overall.

But what matters is what you find more interesting and where you feel more comfortable contributing. Renga will be mostly about XML wiring, and a little bit of user interface. It’s relatively straightforward. The font rendering projects may be more about buildsystems, font file formats, typography, and integration of all that into the existing APIs for drawing text. That may require more research and experimenting, and a little less “boring” coding?

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Thanks for clarifications, I’m definitely more interested in working on the complex font rendering project.
I understand the goal is to integrate HarfBuzz so Haiku can properly render complex scripts.
I’d really appreciate a suggestion for a starter task or smaller contribution, something to get me more familiar with app_server or HarfBuzz. Any pointers would be great.

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Hello,

I thnik you can start by reading past discussions about the topic.

There was a GSoC project in 2017 that was not completed (only resulted in a test application showing font rendering with Harfbuzz, but no integration with app_server): Deepanshu's blog | Haiku Project

You could check if that test application still works with current versions of FreeType and Harfbuzz.

A forum thread from another GSoC application in 2024: [GSOC 2024] Complex Font Rendering Update - #4 by PulkoMandy

And another discussion from later in 2024: Right-to-Left (RTL) Languages Support

Various related tickets (some are related, some not really but may be a good place to start to discover app_server code):

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Hello @PulkoMandy ,

I am Anuj Billore and I am interested in applying for GSoC 2026 with the Complex Font Rendering in app_server project.

Before submitting, I wanted to share my draft proposal for your feedback. I have studied the prior work thoroughly, including Deepanshu’s 2017 demo, the 2024 discussion with Azam, and rvense’s March 2025 build experiments. I have also read GlyphLayoutEngine.h and FontEngine.cpp from the source tree and have a clear picture of the integration points.

The proposal draft is here: GSoC 2026 - Proposal for Complex font rendering.docx - Google Documenten

I know you guys are busy but I would greatly appreciate any feedback on the technical design, timeline, or scope before the final submission. Happy to adjust anything based on your guidance.

Thank you for your time.

Anuj Billore

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Hello @PulkoMandy,

I hope you’re doing well.
I would like to sincerely apologize for submitting my proposal later than I initially intended.
I had several college quizzes and midterm exams over the last period, which caused some delay in finalizing the document.

By April 1 my midterm exams will be finished, after which I will be focusing on contributing to app_server and continue to explore its codebase.

I have now completed a full draft of my proposal and would really appreciate any feedback or suggestions you may have.

Thanks,
Amir

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