Open source projects power everything from small experiments to major production systems, yet most maintainers still have very little visibility into how their work is actually being used. Stars, forks, and download counts only capture a thin slice of reality, and they often fail to answer the questions that matter most: Who is using this? How are they using it? What should I focus on next?
This talk is a practical introduction to modern usage analytics for OSS maintainers. We will look at what meaningful signals really look like today, how to instrument your project in a way that respects users and community norms, and how to interpret usage patterns so you can guide your roadmap, prioritize issues, and understand the true impact of your project.
If you are tired of guessing what is happening with your project, or relying on metrics that do not match what you see day to day, you will leave with a clear framework and a lightweight toolkit for bringing reliable usage insight to your open source work.