Magewire 3 - A Different Kind of Blog

This time, a slightly different kind of blog than what you might be used to from me. No deeply detailed code snippets, no breakdowns of new features, just a few thoughts I wanted to put into words. Maybe you’ll find it interesting, maybe you couldn’t care less. Either way, that’s fine by me.

Picking Up Magewire V3 Again

Recently, I finally picked up Magewire V3 again. I had set it aside for a couple of weeks to focus on other things. But now that I’m back at it, I immediately remember how great it feels to work with Magewire V3. It gives me so much energy to build things in a way that feels closer to frameworks like Laravel. It’s not overcomplicated, it’s refreshing, and above all, it’s just fun to build with.

The Challenge of Building in Open Source

I’ve said this before, especially when people ask me why I spend so much time on something that, for all sorts of reasons, might never really take off. And honestly, they might be right. In our community, it’s tough to get an open source project off the ground.

Sometimes I wonder if I should just start charging money for it; maybe then people would take it more seriously.
The skepticism often seems to outweigh the curiosity and passion.

But that’s okay. Let this project fail, or maybe, who knows, become a success. The truth is, Magewire has already helped make several major commercial products successful, even if that’s not widely known or mentioned. And knowing that others benefit from it, in whatever way, genuinely makes me happy.

It’s not about money for me. Magewire is my passion project, a space where I’m completely free to create and share my vision on programming.

Not Perfect, But Honest Work

Of course, it’s not perfect. Many of the things people expect from a “good” package are still missing. I’ve repeatedly asked for help on that.
If you think you know better, and especially if you spend your time criticizing others, then stand up and show us something useful instead of recording endless podcasts and screencasts talking about what’s right and wrong. Roll up your sleeves and build something.

It’s such a waste of time to compete in an already small and fragmented community like ours. Let’s, for once, actually pull in the same direction. Stop reinventing the wheel over and over again and trying to sell every little thing as the next big thing.

Why It Takes Time

That’s never been what Magewire is about. And yes, I know, V3 is taking a long time. Maybe that’s because I’m never satisfied. Or maybe it’s because I just enjoy building new things too much. I don’t know.

What I do know is that I’m genuinely doing everything I can to get it out of beta. But working on something mostly alone, while constantly hearing people ask when it will be ready, can be discouraging at times.

If you really want to see it released, then help. I truly believe that, even beyond the successful products already built with Magewire, we’re still at the very beginning of what Magewire could mean for Magento. Especially now that Hyvä has gone open source and Magewire fits it perfectly.

Finding Joy in the Process

No, I’m not shouting for help. I’m already incredibly grateful to the sponsors who make this even remotely possible. The cost-benefit ratio doesn’t really make sense, but as I’ve said before, that doesn’t matter.

I find happiness in working on Magewire. It helps me clear my head and spend a few enjoyable hours building something I’ve been turning over in my mind during a nice walk with my family.
Happiness lies in the small things. That’s what matters to me, not competing, not forcing people to use Magewire, not yelling that what I do is better than everything else.

Meet Magento Netherlands

One side story that perfectly fits these thoughts came out of nowhere during Meet Magento Netherlands. Working at and witnessing a company visionary enough to take the bold step of open sourcing one of their core products was already a highlight for me on its own.

But then, out of the blue, two developers walked up to me and told me how much they already love Magewire V3. That simple moment was another highlight. It reminded me how much just a few kind words can mean to someone.

On top of that, they mentioned they’ve been using another small side project of mine called Portman, which actually played a big role in making Magewire V3 possible. They showed me what they’ve built with it, which honestly amazed me... especially since Portman isn’t something I’ve talked about much. It’s so fun to see people recognize its potential.

Proud of Open Source

I couldn't leave out a word of pride and acknowledgment for Hyvä open sourcing their theme product.

As I said, it makes me proud knowing I work for a company that sees the value of open source and really tries to grow the movement, inviting all those small and starting merchants into our ecosystem.

Not to forget the new pool of developers we can potentially reach. My mission with Magewire has been from the start to reach a new and young pool of developers, creating a package that is maybe different, but aims to make Magento refreshing.

Hyvä has been doing something similar and has become very successful doing so. Agencies can now onboard less experienced developers and get them up to speed with Magento without endlessly sending them to costly training days, which already tells me that Magento is too complex.

Magento should embrace open source even more and focus, in my opinion, less on committees, groups, and boards, and more on code, repositories, and contributions in whatever form. Every time I see a Association presentation at a Magento-driven event, it’s mostly about who joined the board and when the next election takes place.

Don’t get me wrong, these things are very much needed, but I really miss those diamonds on GitHub being exposed. Please, try to see the value in those efforts.

A Final Thought

In the end, I just hope Magewire inspires others to build, to explore, and to contribute in their own way. Open source thrives on shared passion, not competition.

If we can create more by working together than by standing apart, then every line of code, every late night, and every small step forward will have been worth it.