SoK25 Highlights: My Season of KDE Journey With KEcoLab
Hi everyone! I’m excited to share my experience so far as a mentee in the Season of KDE program. For those unfamiliar, Season of KDE is an amazing initiative by the KDE community that allows students and newcomers like me to contribute to open-source projects under the guidance of experienced mentors. This year, I’m working on the KDE Eco project, specifically creating comprehensive documentation—both written and video—for the KDE Eco Remote Eco Lab. This blog post is a chance for me to reflect on what I’ve accomplished, the challenges I’ve encountered, and my plans moving forward.
What is the KEcoLab?
The KDE Eco Remote Eco Lab is a project within the KDE Eco initiative, which is part of the KDE community's efforts to promote sustainability through energy-efficient Free Software. Specifically, the Remote Eco Lab provides a way for developers to measure the energy consumption of their software remotely, using a specialized lab located in Berlin. This lab was established with support from KDAB. My role is to develop clear and accessible documentation to help users understand how to set up, use, and benefit from this tool. This includes written guides and video tutorials. I’m thrilled to be working on the video part of the project!
What I’ve Done So Far
Since starting the program, I’ve been diving into the project and making steady progress. Here’s a rundown of what I’ve accomplished so far.
First, there was research and familiarization. I began by exploring the Remote Eco Lab—reading any existing materials, studying its features, and understanding its purpose. I also had productive discussions with my mentor to align on goals and expectations.
Second, work on written documentation. In the KDE Eco Remote Eco Lab project, we’re working as a tight-knit team, with tasks divided among us to cover all bases. My main focus is on creating video documentation, but I also get to collaborate with my teammates who are tackling the written documentation. I often sit down with them to brainstorm, which has been a fantastic way to contribute beyond my primary role. It’s exciting to see how our efforts—video and written—come together to make the project more accessible to users.
Finally, video documentation prep. For the video documentation, I’ve been working on a script to guide users through the Remote Eco Lab’s features. It’s currently being refined with feedback from my mentors, who are helping me make it sharper and more user-friendly.
I initially created a simple script to guide myself while making the video. As I progressed, I developed it into a much more detailed version to give others a clear understanding of the video’s structure and flow. The mentors appreciated the detailed script and gave me their approval, as it provided them with a clear idea of how the video would take shape. You can refer to that detailed script here.
To finalize how we’re going to present the concept of reiterating until an energy drop is visible in our software, I’ve created a small proof-of-concept video. This video effectively demonstrates how, after reviewing your software reports, you can make the needed tweaks and then re-check the results using KEcoLab to decrease energy consumption and contribute to sustainability.
While that’s in progress, I’ve been digging deeper into the Remote Eco Lab itself—especially the energy consumption reports it generates, which are key for developers aiming to optimize their software. At the same time, I’m learning Kdenlive, an KDE's video editing tool, to bring the script to life. It’s been a fun challenge to master, and I’m excited to create tutorials that will help users get the most out of KEcoLab.
These steps have helped me build a solid foundation for the documentation, and I’m proud of the progress I’ve made!
Challenges I’ve Faced
Of course, the journey hasn’t been without its hurdles. Here are a couple of challenges I’ve encountered:
My work on the KDE Eco Remote Eco Lab hasn’t been without hiccups. Initially, I struggled to understand the final energy consumption reports—the data felt overwhelming and confusing. With help from my mentors and some extra digging, I’ve started to get it, which is key for my video tutorials. Another challenge was setting up OBS Studio for recording—it kept crashing on my system. After some trial and error, including updating my drivers, I got it running smoothly. Beyond these, things have gone pretty well, and I’m learning a ton!
While these challenges slowed me down at times, they’ve also been valuable learning opportunities. I’m growing more confident with each step!
Outlook for the Future
I’m honestly so excited to keep going with the KDE Eco Remote Eco Lab project. My big focus right now is the video documentation—I’ve been messing around with my script, getting some awesome feedback from my mentors, and I’m almost ready to hit record. I’m hoping to have a handful of tutorials done by the time Season of KDE wraps up. I’ll be using OBS Studio to capture everything and Kdenlive to edit it into something that’s easy to follow and actually looks good. My teammates are busy crushing it on the written guides, and I can’t wait to see how it all comes together. Oh, and guess what? I just found out my talk got picked for the KDE India Conference 2025, happening April 4-6 in Gandhinagar! I’ll be sharing my KDE Eco adventure and what I’ve been up to as a Season of KDE mentee. It’s a little nerve-wracking but mostly thrilling, and I’m pumped to prep for it while juggling my video stuff!
Final Thoughts
Participating in Season of KDE has been an incredible experience so far. I’m not only sharpening my technical and creative skills but also getting a front-row seat to the collaborative spirit of the KDE community. I’m grateful to my mentors Aakarsh, Kieryn, Karanjot, and Joseph for their guidance and to the community for this opportunity. I can’t wait to see how the project evolves and to share my final update in the next blog post!
Interested In Contributing?
KEcoLab is hosted here. If you are interested in contributing, you can join the Matrix channels Measurement Lab Development and KDE Eco and introduce yourself. Thank you to the Season of KDE 2025 admin and mentorship team, the KDE e.V., and the incredible KDE community for supporting this project.
Please feel free to contact me here:
matrix id - @utkarshumre:matrix.org
Email - utkarshumre@outlook.com
Thanks for reading!