07 CONFERENCES ✣
Language and Framework Conferences.
For most major programming languages and significant frameworks, an established annual conference (or family of regional conferences) serves as the gathering point for the community. These are critical venues for DevRel teams whose produ…
For most major programming languages and significant frameworks, an established annual conference (or family of regional conferences) serves as the gathering point for the community. These are critical venues for DevRel teams whose product is adopted by communities organised around specific languages or frameworks.
JavaScript / TypeScript / Frontend
| Conference | First held | Operator | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JSConf | 2009 | Community / various local organisers | Multiple regional editions (US, EU, Asia, AU) | Founded by Chris and Laura Williams; influential model |
| NodeConf | 2011 | Community / Node Foundation / OpenJS Foundation | Various | Node.js focus |
| React Conf | 2015 | Meta | California (then virtual) | Official React event |
| React Summit | 2018 | GitNation | Amsterdam + Remote + NYC | Largest external React conference |
| Reactathon | 2017 | Real World React / GitHub-adjacent | San Francisco | Smaller but technically deep |
| Next.js Conf | 2020 | Vercel | Virtual / hybrid | Annual |
| JSNation | 2019 | GitNation | Amsterdam | Sister of React Summit |
| JSConf EU / JSConf US / JSConf Asia | 2009+ | Community | Berlin / Florida / Singapore (historic) | Influential community conferences |
| Nordic.js | 2014 | Community | Stockholm | Two-day Nordic JS community |
| dotJS | 2012 | dotConferences (Sylvain Zimmer) | Paris | Single-track, single-day |
| CSSConf | 2013 | Community | Various | CSS-specific |
| TheJam.dev | 2021 | CFE.dev / virtual | Online | Free, modern web focus |
| Frontend Masters Workshops | (training, not conference) | Frontend Masters | Online / Minneapolis | Workshop format |
| React Paris | 2024 | Community | Paris | Hybrid |
| React Universe Conf | 2023 | Callstack | Wrocław, Poland | Annual |
| React Nexus | 2023 | Community | Bangalore | Annual |
| Vue.js Live / VueConf US / VueConf TO | 2018+ | Community | London / Florida / Toronto | Vue ecosystem |
| SvelteSummit | 2020 | Svelte Society | Virtual / Stockholm | Svelte community |
| AstroDay | 2023 | Astro | Online | Astro framework |
| Jamstack Conf | 2018 | Netlify | SF / London / virtual | Jamstack movement |
Python
| Conference | First held | Operator | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PyCon US | 2003 | Python Software Foundation | Rotating US cities (Long Beach 2026/27) | Largest Python event |
| EuroPython | 2002 | EuroPython Society | Rotating EU cities | European flagship |
| PyCon JP | 2011 | PyCon JP Association | Tokyo | Japanese Python community |
| PyCon India | 2009 | Python India | Rotating Indian cities | Substantial Indian Python community |
| PyData | 2012 | NumFOCUS | Multiple regional editions | Data-focused Python |
| SciPy | 2002 | NumFOCUS / scientific Python | Austin | Scientific computing |
| DjangoCon US / Europe | 2008+ | Django community | Rotating | Django framework |
| PyTexas, PyOhio, PyGotham, PyCascades | Various | Regional volunteers | US regions | Regional editions |
Java / JVM
| Conference | First held | Operator | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JavaOne | 1996 | Sun → Oracle | San Francisco | Discontinued 2017, revived 2022 |
| Devoxx (Belgium) | 2001 (as JavaPolis) | Belgian Java User Group | Antwerp (Kinepolis cinema venue) | One of the largest |
| Devoxx France | 2012 | Paris JUG | Paris | French edition |
| Devoxx UK | 2013 | London JUG | London | UK edition |
| Devoxx Poland | 2014 | Polish JUG | Kraków | Polish edition |
| Devoxx Greece, Morocco, etc. | 2010s+ | Local JUGs | Various | Sister conferences |
| JFokus | 2007 | Sweden JUG | Stockholm | Nordic Java |
| JCrete | 2013 | Heinz Kabutz / community | Crete | Unconference |
| Spring I/O | 2013 | Community | Barcelona | Spring Framework / Spring Boot |
| Voxxed Days | 2010s | Devoxx-affiliated | Multiple regional | Smaller editions |
Kotlin
- KotlinConf — Annual, organised by JetBrains. Munich 2026; previous editions in Copenhagen (2017–2018), Amsterdam (2019), online (2021–2022), Amsterdam (2023), Copenhagen (2024).
Go
- GopherCon (US) — Annual since 2014; rotates US cities. The defining Go community event.
- GopherCon EU — European edition.
- GoLab — Florence, Italy.
- GopherCon UK — London.
- dotGo — Paris (dotConferences family).
- Go Devroom at FOSDEM — Brussels.
Rust
- RustConf — Annual, organised by the Rust Foundation since 2016.
- Rust Belt Rust — Regional US.
- RustFest — European community editions.
- Rust Nation UK — London.
- Rust Asia — Singapore.
- Oxidize — Berlin, embedded Rust focus.
Ruby
- RubyConf — Annual since 2001; primary US Ruby event.
- RailsConf — Annual since 2006; primary Rails event.
- RubyKaigi — Japan; founded 2006; particularly significant as Ruby originates from Japan.
- EuRuKo — European Ruby community (since 1996, one of the longest-running language conferences in Europe).
- Rails World — 2023+, organised by 37signals / Rails Foundation. Amsterdam, Toronto, etc.
PHP
- php[tek] — Long-running US PHP event.
- SymfonyCon / SymfonyLive — Symfony framework.
- Laracon (Online, US, EU, AU) — Laravel framework.
- Sunshine PHP — Florida.
- PHP UK Conference — London.
C / C++
- CppCon — Annual since 2014; the largest C++ event.
- C++Now — Aspen, CO; smaller, technically deep.
- ACCU — Bristol, UK; long-running.
- Meeting C++ — Berlin.
.NET / C#
- .NET Conf — Annual virtual event from Microsoft.
- NDC (Norwegian Developers Conference) — Started in Oslo 2008; expanded to London, Copenhagen, Sydney, Porto, Minnesota, Melbourne. Despite the name, broadly .NET- and software-craftsmanship-focused.
- TechEd, Ignite — Microsoft’s broader IT-pro conferences (cover .NET).
Scala / Functional
- Scala Days — Annual since 2010.
- Lambda Conf — Functional programming generally.
- ICFP — International Conference on Functional Programming (academic).
Mobile
- Android Dev Summit — Annual Google event.
- Droidcon (multiple cities) — Independent Android community conferences globally.
- iOSDevUK, try! Swift, FrenchKit, SwiftLeeds — iOS / Swift community conferences.
Data / ML / AI
- PyData (above).
- Strata Data Conference — O’Reilly; ran through 2019, discontinued.
- Data Council — Annual.
- NeurIPS — Premier academic ML conference; substantial industry presence.
- ICML, ICLR, AAAI, ACL — Other major academic ML/AI conferences.
- MLOps World — Practitioner-focused.
- Ray Summit — Anyscale; distributed Python and ML.
- AI Engineer Summit — Founded by swyx; the central event for the “AI Engineer” identity.
DevOps / SRE / Infrastructure
- KubeCon + CloudNativeCon — Covered in
./flagship-conferences.md. - DockerCon — Annual.
- HashiConf — Annual (HashiCorp; co-located with IBM TechXchange 2026).
- SREcon (Americas, EMEA, APAC) — USENIX.
- DevOps Days — Series of community-led events globally since 2009, with editions in dozens of cities.
- PuppetConf / Puppetize — Puppet community.
- AnsibleFest — Annual Red Hat event.
Web Standards / Browser
- TPAC — W3C Technical Plenary / Advisory Committee meeting; annual.
- CSS Day — Amsterdam.
- Frontend Conference Zurich — Swiss community.
Why these conferences matter for DevRel
For any company whose product touches a particular language or framework, the language’s flagship conference is one of the most leveraged DevRel investments available. A sponsored speaking slot at GopherCon, KotlinConf, or PyCon US reaches a deeply qualified audience that paid marketing channels cannot replicate.
Practitioners generally rank these conferences higher than vendor flagships for community trust even though vendor flagships rank higher for scale and product news.