Zulip

Mentors: Student: Sairam Bisoyi

This project aims to finalize stalled pull requests and implement high-priority features in the Zulip web application, focusing on messaging, search, settings, and backend performance. In messaging and compose UI, the project aims to enable collaborative message editing, allow seamless messaging to unsubscribed channels with proper warning banners, and fix UI jitter during channel subscriptions. In search and settings, the project introduces wildcard, topic, and group-user mentions, revamps alert word notifications to integrate with topic-following, and adds Markdown support to custom profile fields. Finally, it optimizes backend performance by significantly reducing database queries for direct messages, stabilizing password reset email flows, and cleaning up legacy bot configuration logic.

Mentors: Student: Yogesh-Shivaji365

The Zulip web application is being redesigned but there are several UI inconsistencies in various parts of the web app. After seeing the redesign-label issues, I understood that the modals, sidebars, icons, and interactive visual features are not all developed with an integrated look. This makes an inconsistent user experience with elements such as modal inputs being unstandardized, Icons and symbols lacking visual consistency across the web app components, and elements within the sidebar having improper alignment, scroll animation, and elements such as link styles, color logic, and interactions. The goal of this project is to standardize and improve these UI elements in a structured way. I will work on redesign-labeled issues along with UI tasks, improving design pattern consistency, improving CSS structure, and managing elements with modern UI standards. With careful testing and taking mentor feedback to ensure accuracy, have discussions on future design provided in Figma.

Mentors: Student: Agnish Bauri

Zulip's REST API documentation framework is well-built but incomplete, approximately 28 actionable endpoints remain undocumented, and the OpenAPI spec has accumulated structural debt through years of organic growth. This project has two phases. Phase 1 achieves complete endpoint coverage by documenting all remaining high and moderate priority endpoints following the full pipeline: OpenAPI schema, Python and cURL examples, sidebar registration, and changelog entries. Phase 2 refactors the spec's structure, promoting inline parameters to shared components, rationalising the Can*Group schema family, and cleaning up repeated inline response blocks. Deliverables: (1) Zero undocumented actionable endpoints in pending_endpoints. (2) A cleaner, more consistent OpenAPI spec with reduced duplication across parameters, schemas, and response blocks.

Mentors: Student: Pritesh Shetty

For my project with Zulip, I aim to improve its integration ecosystem and core user experience. My project focuses on two primary areas: (1) Secure & Automated Integrations and (2) UX & Accessibility .In alignment with this year’s GSoC focus on security, under integrations, I will strengthen webhook systems by implementing secure payload verification, enabling automated topic resolution for GitHub, improving event handling, and expanding support for external platforms .For UX & accessibility, I will improve keyboard navigation(specifically macOS dropdown support) and refine settings features, including more accurate unread message handling in narrowed views.

Mentors: Student: Aadyot Nandan S

This project focuses on implementing a cluster of high-priority features in Zulip across the message feed, compose box, and channel settings. In the compose box, it introduces reply-without-quoting, collapsed recipient pills for DM conversations, and auto-pillify on blur. In the message feed, it adds always-visible read receipts for DM conversations, multi-message deletion, a "New Messages" divider, move-by-recency for topics, and completes the zulip-icon-at-sign rollout to mention pills. In channel settings, it adds group-level unsubscribe for channels and shows inherited permissions as uneditable pills. The work builds on existing patterns in the Zulip codebase and focuses on shipping well-integrated, user-facing improvements across these areas.