With Joomla 6.1 now available, attention turns to what comes next. Joomla 6.2 is scheduled for release on 13 October 2026, and at the helm are two release managers who bring very different backgrounds to the role. This month we meet Charvi Mehra, whose journey into Joomla began not through code but through a university semester project in Delhi. In just four years she has gone from newcomer to GSoC contributor, GSoC mentor, Bug Squad and CMS Release Team member, and now release manager. She co-manages the 6.2 release with Martin Kopp, whom we will meet next month.
To start off, could you tell us a bit about yourself? Who are you, where do you come from, and what's your background, both professionally and personally?
Charvi: I am Charvi Mehra, currently based in India. I come from a background in computer science, with a strong interest in open source development and artificial intelligence. Over time, I have been actively involved in contributing to projects that focus on improving developer workflows and making technology more accessible.
Everyone needs something outside the code. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time that has nothing to do with Joomla or the web?
Charvi: In my spare time, I like stepping away from screens and doing things that help me reset mentally. I enjoy listening to music, going on walks, and occasionally reading.
Every Joomler has their origin story. How did you first discover Joomla, and what made you decide to try it?
Charvi: I first came across Joomla during a semester project. I was particularly drawn to the ability of Joomla to balance ease of use with the ability to customise and extend functionality, which made it interesting from both a user and developer perspective. What really made me continue, though, was the community and the opportunity to contribute meaningfully. I found that people were open to helping, reviewing contributions, and guiding newcomers, which made the learning curve much more approachable.
So your entry into Joomla was through a semester project at the Cluster Innovation Centre rather than through GSoC initially. Could you tell us about that project, and how did it lead to deeper involvement?
Charvi: The project focused on improving the testing process for Joomla by making it simpler and more efficient. At that time, one of the main challenges was that testing Joomla updates was very manual and time-consuming. So, the idea behind the project was to automate this process. I worked on creating a system where a user could quickly set up a Joomla instance and run automated tests on it. To achieve this, I used tools like Docker to create isolated environments and Cypress to run browser-based automated tests. This made it possible to test a Joomla site in a much faster and more reliable way, reducing the need for repetitive manual work.
Working on this project gave me a much deeper understanding of Joomla's structure, testing workflows, and the challenges faced by the community. It also allowed me to interact with contributors and get feedback, which naturally led to more involvement in the Joomla ecosystem beyond just the project. Overall, what started as a semester project became a gateway to contributing more actively and exploring larger opportunities like GSoC.
You went on to be selected for GSoC 2025, where you built the provider-agnostic AI API framework for Joomla. What did that experience teach you about building architecture at scale, and how has it shaped your thinking about where Joomla should go with AI?
Charvi: GSoC 2025 was a major learning experience. Building a provider-agnostic AI API framework taught me how important abstraction and flexibility are when designing systems meant to scale. Instead of tying the implementation to a single provider, the focus was on creating a clean interface that could support multiple integrations. This approach not only reduces duplication but also makes the system easier to extend and maintain as new providers and technologies emerge.
It also highlighted how critical developer experience is. A well-designed foundation allows others to build powerful features without worrying about underlying complexities. Overall, it shaped my view that Joomla should approach AI as a flexible, provider-neutral layer rather than a set of isolated features, enabling the ecosystem to innovate while staying adaptable to the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
You are now a GSoC 2026 mentor, just one year after being a GSoC contributor yourself. What is it like being on the other side, and what do you try to give your mentees that you valued most when you were in their position?
Charvi: Being on the other side has been both exciting and humbling. As a contributor, you focus on solving problems; as a mentor, you focus on guiding someone else through that journey. I try to be approachable and supportive, and to share context wherever I can. These were the things I personally found most helpful during my own GSoC experience.
You have described yourself as naturally introverted, yet you presented at JUG London and are now co-managing a major release. How have you navigated that, and what advice would you give to other contributors who might hold back because they are not naturally outgoing?
Charvi: I am actually very introverted, and this didn't come naturally to me at all. What really helped was the community. People were welcoming, supportive, and made me feel comfortable enough to gradually step out of my comfort zone. I didn't suddenly become confident; it was a gradual process. Small interactions, supportive feedback, and just feeling like I belonged made a big difference over time.
My advice would be: you don't have to change who you are. Just take small steps and let the environment support you. The open source community is very encouraging, and it becomes much easier to participate and grow at your own pace.
Becoming a release manager is quite a commitment. What inspired you to take on that responsibility, and what does it mean to you at this stage of your career?
Charvi: Taking on the role of release manager wasn't something I initially planned as a "next step." For me, it was more about staying connected with the community while still contributing in a meaningful way. I wanted to stay involved, understand things more holistically, and be useful where it mattered. Release management felt like a way to do that: being part of the process, helping coordinate things, and contributing beyond just code. At this stage, it means a lot in terms of learning and staying engaged. It's not just technical work; it is also about collaboration, communication, and being part of something larger than individual contributions.
You are co-managing 6.2 with Martin Kopp, who has previous release management experience from Joomla 4.4. How are the two of you dividing responsibilities, and what is it like working together?
Charvi: Working with Martin has been a great experience. Since he brings prior release management experience, there's a lot to learn from him, especially in understanding how the release process works end-to-end. It's also a bit full-circle for me, since Joomla 4.4 was around the time I initially started getting involved, so being part of release management now feels quite meaningful in that sense. We divide responsibilities across coordination, tracking progress, and handling different parts of the release cycle, while staying aligned on decisions. It's been a very collaborative process.
Your release testing automation work with Docker and Cypress made pre-release testing dramatically easier. Are there further improvements to the release process that you would like to see for 6.2?
Charvi: There is always room for improvement. One area I'd like to focus on is enhancing automation to catch edge cases earlier in the cycle. The goal is to make the process more efficient while also encouraging more community participation in testing.
Let's talk about the road ahead. What are your main goals or priorities for Joomla 6.2?
Charvi: The primary goal is to ensure a stable and well-tested release. An important priority is also improving collaboration, whether that's through clearer processes, better communication, or easier testing. Along with that, a key focus for 6.2 is improving speed and efficiency, especially for larger Joomla production systems. We want this release to meaningfully improve performance in real-world use cases, so that sites handling higher scale or complexity can run more smoothly and reliably.
The release process depends on many helping hands. From your perspective, how can the wider Joomla community best support the upcoming release?
Charvi: The biggest support comes from testing and feedback. Trying out pre-release versions, reporting issues, and validating fixes make a huge difference. Even small contributions, like reviewing pull requests, improving documentation, or helping others in the community, add up. The release process is truly a collective effort.
Finally, is there anything you would like to say to the Joomla community?
Charvi: I'd like to thank the community for being so welcoming and collaborative. It's one of the reasons it's so rewarding to contribute here. My hope is that more people, especially newcomers, feel encouraged to get involved. You don't need to know everything to start; just curiosity and willingness to learn are enough. Every contribution matters, and the community grows stronger because of it.