High-performance computing (HPC) has long been the domain of massive supercomputers and specialized academic labs. But with the rise of accelerated computing, AI and cloud computing, the High Performance Software Foundation (HPSF) is opening the doors to a much broader community.
HPSF is accepting project submissions to help with:
- Growing your project through open governance and integration into a world-wide community
- Leveraging a community connecting hardware vendors, software developers, and users to stay on top of a rapidly evolving HPC landscape
- Getting help with project community and infrastructure management such as CI, meetings, and training
Despite this, some myths persist about what it takes to get involved. Before you hit submit, or you’re not sure if your project meets the bar, check out these reality checks.
Myth #1: “Our project is too small to join.”
The Reality: HPSF isn’t just for the giants of the industry. It is specifically designed to be a neutral hub for open source high-performance software at all stages – core, established or emerging. Whether you are an established library or a rising tool aiming to increase portability, the HPSF provides the infrastructure to help you grow. We prioritize community growth and adoption over the current size of your codebase.
Myth #2: “Joining means losing control of our project’s roadmap.”
The Reality: HPSF projects are community-driven. The foundation provides the scaffolding like governance models, legal support, and outreach—but the technical direction remains in the hands of the maintainers and contributors. Projects provide regular updates to the HPSF Technical Advisory Council and continue to plan and execute on project roadmaps.
Myth #3: “My organization needs to join before my project can.”
The Reality: Joining as a project and joining as a member organization are completely independent. Your organization can join HPSF to support the community without contributing a project, and your project can join without your organization becoming a member of HPSF.
Myth #4: “We need to be running on a Top500 supercomputer to be relevant.”
The Reality: While we love supercomputers, the landscape is shifting. If your software enables performance across diverse hardware, you belong here — whether that’s your local workstation with a GPU, a Top500 supercomputer, or compute resources in the cloud. We care about portability and productivity across all scales of compute.
Myth #5: “The onboarding process is a bureaucratic nightmare.”
The Reality: We’re continually working to make onboarding as smooth as possible. Being part of the Linux Foundation means we use proven, standardized paths for project lifecycle management. Our Technical Advisory Council (TAC) is there to guide projects through the transition — and we’re committed to improving the experience based on feedback from our community.
Myth #6: “It’s only for C++ and Fortran experts.”
The Reality: The HPC stack is complex and evolving. Successfully leveraging modern compute resources requires more than just an HPC application — workflow orchestration, system partitioning, GPU-aware test harnesses, and AI integration are just as critical as the software implementing physics and math algorithms. If your code contributes to high-performance outcomes, we want to hear from you regardless of your preferred programming language, development environment or compiler.
How to Contribute Your Project to HPSF
Now that we’ve busted some common myths, are you ready to contribute your project? Review the full High Performance Software Foundation Project Lifecycle Policies and to apply, submit a project proposal by opening an issue in the TAC Repository.
Furthermore, we welcome you to get involved in the HPSF. Here are few easy ways for you to get started:
- Explore the Working Groups: Check out our Working Groups to see where your expertise fits.
- Attend an Event: Catch up on the latest from HPSFCon to see the diversity of projects currently under our umbrella.
- Join as a Member: Support HPSF community growth to build a strong, reliable foundation for writing, optimizing, and deploying performance portable software.
- Stay in the loop: Subscribe to the latest community news.