Developers want more efficient software. Here’s what over 1000 GitHub users told us they need.
New research from GitHub and Yale Program on Climate Change Communication finds strong demand for tools, measurement, and practical guidance that can help developers reduce wasted compute. The post Developers want more efficient software. Here’s what over 1000 GitHub users told us they need. appeared first on The GitHub Blog .
Developers recognize the importance of efficient software, but a recent survey of over 1,000 GitHub users reveals that many struggle to identify inefficiencies, measure improvements, and advocate for change. Eight in ten respondents expressed interest in tools that aid in writing more energy-efficient code, while 74% wanted to measure the environmental impact of their software or development process. Moreover, 75% believed it was crucial for their employer to actively reduce its environmental footprint.
The survey, conducted in the United States, focused on climate change, AI, software efficiency, and responsible behavior across the tech sector. Concerns were high: 79% of respondents worried about global warming, and 71% were concerned about AI systems' environmental impact, including energy and water usage and carbon emissions.
When compared to the broader U.S. adult population, GitHub users exhibited greater concern about climate change. They were more likely to acknowledge the personal importance of global warming (82% vs. 65%), its potential harm to themselves (68% vs. 45%), future generations (82% vs. 68%), and were more worried about global warming overall (79% vs. 66%).
However, only 10% of respondents believed that their development practices significantly reduced their personal environmental impact, while 63% felt the impact was small. Nevertheless, a majority (80%) expressed interest in tools for writing more energy-efficient code, 78% wanted to learn best practices for reducing software's environmental footprint, and 74% were keen on contributing to open-source sustainability-focused projects.
Developers' requests for environmental improvement align with their expectations in other engineering fields: practical tools, credible measurements, and changes they can review. In response, the survey suggests identifying measurable waste in four areas: code, data, network and I/O, and frontend. Developers should focus on measurable waste, such as repeated computation, inefficient algorithms, unnecessary allocations, and over-fetching data.
Each identified issue should be accompanied by before-and-after measurements and any trade-offs in memory or maintainability.
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