TYPO3 Surf Camp 2025

What is the TYPO3 Surfcamp?

Participants: About 30 young TYPO3 enthusiasts up to age 30, supported by experienced mentors and a dedicated organizing team

Location: In the very south of Fuerteventura, offering the perfect blend of focus and relaxation.

Task: To build a TYPO3 extension from scratch in just one week—in interdisciplinary teams, guided by mentors, with expert input, and plenty of teamwork.

Goal: To foster a new generation of TYPO3 developers. For us, that means: learning from one another, advancing TYPO3, building networks—and having a really great time in the process.

Seven Teams, One Mission: FC Bigfoot 2025

This year, the TYPO3 Surfcamp was held under the overarching theme of FC Bigfoot —a project that was first launched in 2024 and has now been further developed this year.

This week,seven interdisciplinary teams tackled various challenges within the FC Bigfoot universe—all with the goal of creating sustainable value for the TYPO3 ecosystem. Here’s a look at the projects:

• Restaurant Toolbox: Table reservations, a digital menu, and flexible hours all in one easy-to-use module.
• WaveCart: A user-friendly shop extension with product variants, discount codes, a simple checkout process, and invoicing.
• Plugsy: A feature for aggregating and displaying external data sources for integrators and editors.
• Surfey: An intuitive “ Backend ” module for creating and managing surveys—no programming knowledge required.
• MemSy: A comprehensive membership management system for easy user administration.
• Event Management: An extension for planning recurring events, including time zone support.
• Marketing Enablement: Presentation-ready pitch decks for agencies—industry-specific, bilingual (DE/EN), and ready for use in the TYPO3 Sales Enablement Hub.

Work Hard, Play Hard – Our Daily Camp Routine

Our daily schedule was intense but well-planned. A typical daily schedule looked like this:

9:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.: Team Daily & Dev Time
11:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.: Mentors’ Daily
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.: Team Activities (e.g., Aquafusion, Volleyball)
1:00 PM–2:00 PM: Lunch
2:00 PM–6:30 PM: Surfing (~2h) + Dev Time (incl. Mentor Mixer)
7:00 PM–8:00 PM: Dinner
8:00 PM–8:30 PM: Team Recap & Lightning Talk
starting at 8:30 PM: Quiz Night, Coding Night, or Chill-Out Session

Surfing was on the agenda for at least three afternoons—the perfect balance to the intensive project work. And yes: Sore muscles were guaranteed, both from riding the waves and from all that coding.

Lightning Talks: Insights Straight from the Pros

In the evenings, there were regular Lightning Talks —short, concise knowledge sessions led by our mentors that introduced us to exciting topics from the world of TYPO3 and beyond. Among other things, the talks covered:

• Lit – Modern Web Components in Action
• Playwright – Automated Testing in Practice
• Content Blocks – the future of page layout in TYPO3
• Data Handler – Deeper Insights into the TYPO3 Data Model
• Core Contribution – how to actively contribute to the TYPO3 core

Contribution Night: Hands-On Core Contribution

A special highlight was Contribution Night: Together, we learned step by step how to set up the TYPO3 core repository, prepare a pull request (PR), and submit it—including practical, first-hand tips. For many of us, it was our first real contribution to the TYPO3 core—and a wonderful moment that demonstrated just how open and supportive this community is.

What did we accomplish?

Our main goal was clear: to work together to get a functioning TYPO3 project up and running in just one week. And we achieved that—by the end of the week, every team delivered a tangible, practical result. The energy generated in such a short time was impressive.

A special highlight was the final presentation, livestreamed during the keynote at TYPO3Camp Vienna. Each team had the opportunity to present their own project there, supported and moderated by Benjamin Kott.

This moment demonstrated just what’s possible when motivated people with a shared vision and a healthy dose of team spirit work together. This is also evident from the impressive figures Susi Moog compiled for us:

🚗 6 days (+ travel to and from the event)
🏄‍♂️ more than 3 days of surfing
👥 7 teams
✅ 6 team recaps
👤 approx. 1,000 hours of work
📄 629 commits
🖥️ 28 presentations

What are we taking away from this?

“Work Hard, Play Hard” —that phrase probably sums up our week best. After all, when you focus on your work during the day, you can switch off in the evening with a clear conscience—or keep coding. The balance provided by shared activities—especially surfing—wasn’t just a way to unwind, but part of an overall sense of fulfillment: hard work, real achievements, and shared experiences.

Building a new project in just one week with a completely new team is an enormous challenge—technically, communicatively, and organizationally. But it’s doable, and it works when everyone pulls together.

Beyond the technical progress, it was above all the sense of camaraderie that left a lasting impression on us. We were able to make many new connections in the TYPO3 community, exchange ideas with other participants, and learn from one another.

We’re already looking forward to seeing everyone again—for example, this summer at the TYPO3 DevDays or the next surf camp.

And one thing is certain: We’ve truly found our place in the TYPO3 community.