FOSS4G NA 2026: Registration Is Open and the Schedule Is Live
The wait is over. Two big milestones just landed for FOSS4G North America 2026, and both mean the same thing: it's time to start planning your trip to Sacramento. Registration is officially open, and the full conference schedule is now live.
That means you can lock in your spot and map out your days in one sitting. Whether you write the code, wrangle the data, or build the maps, this is the moment the open-source geospatial community has been waiting for.
Here's what you'll find in this post:
The essential event details for FOSS4G NA 2026
How the three-day schedule is structured
Standout sessions across all four tracks
Exactly where to register and browse the agenda
Welcome to a Milestone Moment
FOSS4G North America is a volunteer-organized conference built around one idea: free and open-source software for geospatial belongs to everyone. It's where developers, GIS & Geospatial professionals, data scientists, and open-source builders gather to swap ideas, share their work, and push what's possible with open tools.
This year, the community heads to California's capital with a clear focus. The 2026 theme is Resilience and Innovation, zeroing in on the challenges that matter most right now: open data, water policy, wildfire, and environmental resilience.
If you've been waiting for the right year to attend, this is it.
Event Details at a Glance
Here's everything you need to mark your calendar:
When: November 2–4, 2026
Where: Downtown Sheraton Grand Sacramento, Sacramento, CA
Theme: Resilience and Innovation
Sacramento sits at the heart of many of this year's themes — water policy, wildfire, and environmental resilience are lived realities here, not abstract topics. That local context runs through the whole program.
How the Schedule Works
Three days, each with its own rhythm. Here's how it breaks down.
Monday, November 2 — Workshops
The conference opens with hands-on workshops during the day. These are deep, practical sessions where you roll up your sleeves and build something. As the evening begins, a Welcome Icebreaker sets the tone — giving you the chance to connect with fellow attendees before the main event gets underway.
Tuesday, November 3 — Plenary and Sessions
Tuesday opens with a plenary, then moves into concurrent sessions across the day. This is where the bulk of the talks happen, with multiple tracks running at once so you can build a schedule that fits your interests.
Wednesday, November 4 — More Sessions to Close
The final day brings another plenary plus more concurrent sessions to round out the conference. Expect to leave with a notebook full of ideas and a network of new contacts.
A quick tip: workshops and talks tend to fill fast, so skimming the schedule early pays off.
Standout Sessions Across Four Tracks
The agenda spans four tracks, each built for a different part of the open-source geospatial world. Here's a taste of what's waiting for you.
Technical — Go Deep on the Stack
If you live in the code, this track is your home base. Highlights include:
Wrangling uncomfortably large spatial data with Python and SedonaDB
DuckDB and Spatial Datasets: A Geo-Practitioner's Feedback
Building Geospatially Aware LLM Agents with Graphs and DGGS
Exploring Cloud Native Geospatial Data Formats: Hands-on with Vectors
Giving LLMs a Sense of Place: a Spatial MCP Server
From cloud-native formats to spatial AI agents, this track shows where the tooling is heading — and how to get there.
Application — Real Problems, Real Solutions
This track connects open tools to the challenges people face on the ground. Sessions to watch:
Wildfire Intelligence with Open Geospatial AI
Routes to Safety: A Wildfire Evacuation Map from Open Data
Empowering people to map the urban heat island effect
From QGIS to the Field and Back with Mergin Maps
Fitting the theme, wildfire and environmental resilience take center stage here, alongside practical field workflows.
Community of Practice — Learn from the People Building It
The community track is about the human side of open source: how we grow, teach, and sustain it. Don't miss:
AI, Open Source, and the Future of Entry-Level GIS
Geospatial Workforce trends: The demand for open source
Building a Regional Geospatial Community: Lessons from BayGeo
If you care about where geospatial careers are headed, these talks tackle it head-on.
Business of Open Source — Sustain What You Build
Great software needs a foundation to stand on. This track covers the strategy and structure behind healthy projects:
Building Open Source Teams
Leveraging Open-Source to Build Cost-Effective Supply Chain Systems
For leaders, founders, and anyone thinking about long-term project health, this track earns its place on your calendar.
Ready to Join Us?
Two clicks, and you're set. First, secure your spot. Then start building your personal agenda.
Don't Wait — Spots Fill Fast
Every year, FOSS4G NA draws a crowd, and 2026 is shaping up to be no different. Popular workshops and hands-on sessions reach capacity quickly, so the earlier you register, the more of the program stays open to you.
Here's the simple plan:
Register today to lock in your place.
Skim the schedule and flag your must-see talks.
Build your days around the sessions that matter most to your work.
Three days in Sacramento, four tracks of open-source geospatial talent, and a community ready to build the future together. That's what's waiting for you this November.
See you in Sacramento.