The builder's path
For: Teams that chat on Matrix can't get Alertmanager alerts there without running a separate bridge.
“The true creator is necessity, which is the mother of our invention.”
Routes to a solution
Each route is a different kind of journey, with real people and organisations to contact at each step, starting with those in every country.
Step 1
Build in the open
Publish the code and invite contributors from the community.
Let the people a free tool helps fund its maintainer directly.
Raise and spend money in the open for a community project.
Grants for open source that makes the internet better.
Network of civic tech groups in many countries; find the one near the problem.
Step 2
Fund the maintainers
Sponsors, collectives and open source grants.
Let the people a free tool helps fund its maintainer directly.
Raise and spend money in the open for a community project.
Grants for open source that makes the internet better.
Network of civic tech groups in many countries; find the one near the problem.
Step 3
Get it adopted
Civic tech groups and public bodies take it up.
Y Combinator's free course and co-founder matching.
Raise and spend money in the open for a community project.
Network of civic tech groups in many countries; find the one near the problem.
Volunteer data scientists working with social-sector organisations.
Ideas, sources and tools for this problem, from first interviews to funding.
how existing receivers are configured
how to send a message to a room
decide whether a new receiver is accepted
maintains the protocol and its documentation
Starter prompt
Built from this problem's brief. Paste it into Claude or any AI assistant.
Help me design and build a first working prototype for this problem in Anywhere. Problem: Teams that chat on Matrix can't get Alertmanager alerts there without running a separate bridge. Who it hurts: Operations teams, open-source projects and public bodies that use Matrix, an open chat protocol, for team chat. The moment it hurts: When an alert fires and the team's chat room stays silent. What people do today: People run one of several third-party bridges, or switch to Grafana alerting with a webhook forwarder. Why it is still unsolved: It is unclear whether a built-in receiver needs end-to-end encryption, which is much harder than posting a plain message. What solved looks like: A Matrix receiver in Alertmanager configured with homeserver address, room id and an access token read from a file, posting firing and resolved alerts with the standard templates, with an integration test against a local Matrix server in Docker. Where: Anywhere First, list what you would need to learn from the people affected before building, as interview questions. Then propose the simplest version that would help, the screens or messages it needs, and the data it would use. Keep it cheap to run, accessible, and respectful of people's privacy. Flag anything you are unsure about instead of guessing.
Talk to the people who live it before you build.
“Know thyself.”
γνῶθι σεαυτόν
gnōthi seauton
Get a working version in front of people fast.
Using AI is not cheating. Every tool carries the work of the people who made it, and using it well is how knowledge has always moved forward. The thinking, the care for the people who live the problem, and the judgement are still yours.
“The Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.”
Open data that fits this problem.
“You cannot step twice into the same river.”
Tools matched to what this problem needs.
“Your right is to the work alone, never to its fruits.”
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन
karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana
Ship it responsibly, and find help and funding.
“Give me a place to stand, and I will move the earth.”
δός μοι πᾶ στῶ καὶ τὰν γᾶν κινάσω
Kit written for this problem from its brief; every link was checked. Links go to each provider's own site. Zetema is not paid for any listing.