Coding, Collaboration, and Community: My Week at the TYPO3 v14 Feature Sprint in Geneva

05 November 2025 |Oliver Bartsch

b13 joined the TYPO3 v14 Feature Sprint in Geneva to help shape the next major version of TYPO3 CMS. Hosted at Infomaniak and organized by Idéative, the sprint brought together 14 contributors for five days of collaboration, mentoring, and innovation — with 55 patches created and 30 merged.

At the end of October 2025, I had the chance to spend five inspiring days in Geneva, Switzerland, for the TYPO3 v14 Feature Sprint. A week fully dedicated to shaping the next major version of TYPO3 CMS.

The event was hosted at Infomaniak and wonderfully organized by Roberto Presedo and his team from the Swiss-based TYPO3 agency Idéative.

They created an atmosphere that was as productive as it was welcoming and Infomaniak generously provided one of the most unique office spaces we’ve ever worked in.

b13 once again supported the sprint — both through sponsorship and by sending three participants: Benni Mack, Jochen Roth, and myself. Together, we joined with about 11 other TYPO3 contributors to code, mentor, and exchange ideas on the road toward TYPO3 v14.

Our Focus Areas

Throughout the sprint, we worked on several key topics from the TYPO3 v14 roadmap:
backend UX and new APIs, dashboard widgets, TCA / FormEngine improvements, and media management.

My own focus was on onboarding and supporting contributors — helping new participants get started, coordinating roadmap topics, and ensuring everyone could contribute efficiently. Some attendees were completely new to TYPO3, others are already active contributors, and a few long-time contributors reactivated themselves during the week.

Benni, as TYPO3 Core Team Lead, also spent much of his time mentoring participants and reviewing patches, while Jochen worked on an entirely new feature to generate and share QR codes for TYPO3 sites.

Together, we made real progress:

Added new PSR-14 events
Simplified the DataHandler
Modernized backend module menus
Fixed a long list of bugs
Reviewed and migrated labels to the new syntax, unifying modal button labeling
Extended the Redirects and Workspaces modules with richer information

By the end of the week, the group had created around 55 patches and merged about 30. A strong result for a five-day sprint!

Collaboration and Community

We were about 14 participants in total. A diverse mix of agencies, freelancers, and Core Team members. The collaboration was fantastic: intense pairing sessions, open discussions, and a shared drive to move TYPO3 v14 forward. Working directly with core maintainers like Benni Mack and myself allowed participants to get immediate feedback, code reviews, and mentoring, which made the sprint both fast-moving and rewarding.

Group of people seated in a retro diner, engaged in conversation, with colorful neon lights and a large screen in the background.

You could really feel how much everyone wanted to contribute and learn, that’s what makes the TYPO3 community so special.

A Unique Sprint Location

The setting at Infomaniak was unforgettable. We actually worked in a space themed like an American Diner, and every one of the roughly ten meeting rooms had its own creative theme. Even a replica of the Oval Office. It was one of the most fun and imaginative workspaces I’ve ever coded in.

We also had one evening dinner by the lake, enjoying proper Swiss fondue, while the other nights usually ended with coding sessions that went well past 11 p.m.
Those shared moments - between debugging sessions and melted cheese - made the sprint both productive and personal.

View of a river flanked by buildings, with a cloudy sky above. The scene captures the architectural details along the water's edge.

Why We at b13 support TYPO3 Sprints

At b13, we’ve always believed in giving back to open source. We sponsor TYPO3 sprints and encourage our developers to participate because we want to help build the tools we use. Contributing to TYPO3 gives us early insights into new features, strengthens our technical expertise, and directly benefits our clients, who rely on TYPO3 every day.

For us, open source isn’t marketing, it’s part of how we work and think.

Looking Back

The TYPO3 v14 Feature Sprint in Geneva was a perfect example of what makes this community strong: collaboration, creativity, and commitment.
A big thank-you to Roberto Presedo and the Infomaniak team for hosting us in such a unique place, and to everyone who joined the sprint for their ideas, energy, and code.

It was five days where code, community, and creativity came together and I’m proud that b13 was part of it.