Alexis M

About

Professionally, I am a developer with a particular fondness for free/open-source software and its culture. I believe our technical tools can be places of empowerment, rather than places of dispossession.

My personal history has led me to question well-being within self-managed collectives, so I am training in conflict resolution.

To contact me, send me an email at alexis@ this domain (removing blog.).

🌟 Values and Interests

Free/Open-Source Software
I have been working for and with free software for years. It is both a pleasure and a no-brainer. I have encountered a mindset and a culture of openness that I would find hard to do without!
Cooperation and Mediation
I enjoy working collaboratively with others and finding ways to make our interactions as healthy as possible. The quality of interactions matters to me as much as the work itself.
Pragmatism
Striving for perfection also means not dwelling too long on certain details. Sometimes, "perfect is the enemy of good."
Good Humor
Because we only live once, so we might as well have fun :-) #yolo

Projects

I have been able to play with work on several projects over the years. Quite often I have handed over the ones I initiated.

Here are some pieces of software I have contributed to. You can also check out my public repositories (Github or Gitlab)

⚠️ Dangerzone (since 2024, for Freedom of the Press Foundation)
A tool to convert potentially dangerous documents into safe ones, on behalf of the American foundation for press freedom.
🗺️ uMap (2023-2025)
A web map creation tool. I worked on adding collaborative features, allowing multiple users to edit the map simultaneously while seeing each other's edits, in "real time."
🚨 Argos (2023-2024, Framasoft Association)
A website monitoring tool and a status board to facilitate system administration work.
🧶 Jacquard Pattern Generator (knitting) (2022)
A small tool to make life easier for a friend who hand-knits slippers. The idea is to be able to choose patterns and colors and preview the result. (coded in Elm)
🙌 Copanier (2019-2024)
A web application created in 2019 for organizing group purchases. I took over and adapted the software for use by a buying group I participate in. (coded in Python)
💸 I Hate Money (2011-2025)
A website for managing group expenses, which I created at the end of 2011. You can enter who paid what and for whom, and a balance is managed for you. I maintain an open instance at ihatemoney.org. (coded in Python+Flask)
🔄 Kinto (2012-2015)
A generic backend for web applications. I initiated this project with colleagues in 2012 while working at Mozilla. The project is currently used to manage the synchronization of certain data in Firefox. (coded in Python+Pyramid)
✍️ Pelican (2010-2020)
A static site generator that I created in 2010. This site runs on this software, and it is used by projects such as the Linux Kernel and Debian. The idea is to convert files in Markdown format into a website that does not need to be regenerated on every request, making it very easy to host. (coded in Python)

Experience

Independent Developer (since 2023)
I work as a developer within my own structure.
Brasserie du Vieux Singe (2017 - 2023)
I co-founded an organic craft brewery that champions values of cooperation, sharing, and gastronomy. I left in the summer of 2023 to return to software development. The brewery still exists.
Mozilla (2011 - 2016)
I worked for Mozilla within the "Services" team. I worked on projects around user data, encryption, and synchronization, as well as on scaling certain sites such as addons.mozilla.com.
Le Grappe (2007 - 2012)
During my student years, I participated in the creation and running of a network of associations "carrying projects in the environment." A great way to meet other people driven by collectivist values, and to seek to organize against the artificialization of the world.

🧑‍🔧 Technology

Python
I use Python on a daily basis — it is my Swiss army knife. I am familiar with its ecosystem and community.
Linux
I use Linux as my operating system, as well as for server management. I am comfortable with Arch Linux and Debian systems.
Frontend
Although it is not my specialty, I have greatly enjoyed working with the Elm language, which allows for serene front-end development thanks to strong typing. I have mainly worked on small projects. I am also comfortable with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
System Administration
I manage a few services for others and for myself. Server maintenance is therefore part of the package :-)

🎓 Education