What is Naglasúpan? Iceland’s software community

Naglasúpa means “nail soup” in Icelandic; Naglasúpan means “the nail soup”. The name comes from a story about a traveller who starts making soup with a few nails. Curious villagers each bring something to add to the pot, until their small contributions become a shared meal. You can read the version that inspired this project in Naglasúpan’s own introduction.

That is the idea behind this software community in Iceland. One person brings a side project, another tries it and gives feedback, and someone else offers a skill. A contribution does not have to be large to help a project move forward.

On naglasupan.is, the shared work is software: apps, tools, and experiments made by the community. Start with a project that interests you, or read how to get involved for a first step you can take today.

The project directory is the starting point on Naglasúpan. Browse the projects, open something that interests you, and read what its creator says it does. A working demo, a screenshot, and a recent update tell you different things: what you can try, what it looks like, and what has changed.

Naglasúpan focuses on work people are making and sharing. For a broader view of the startup ecosystem, Northstack describes its reporting and community initiatives. These are different entry points into Iceland’s tech community; neither is a complete map of everyone building here.

Use the guide to finding Icelandic software projects to turn a directory visit into a shortlist of things to try.

You do not need a finished application to have something useful to offer. Choose an action that fits what you have today:

• Curiosity: try a project and describe what you expected to happen.
• A project: explain who it is for, show its current state, and ask one specific question.
• A skill: offer a bounded task such as improving setup instructions or testing a screen on mobile.
• A discovery: suggest someone else’s project as a tipoff and keep its creator clearly credited.

For an introduction you can adapt, read how to join through a project. If you are ready to share your own work, move to the side-project guide.

Naglasúpan gives projects a public page and a place for discussion. Creators can describe their work and publish articles about it; interested people can follow projects. Community competitions provide another way to take part, with details on each competition page.

Creating a draft, publishing a project, and entering a competition are separate steps. Publishing submits a project for review; it does not make it immediately visible or automatically enter it into a competition. Read the sharing checklist before submitting.

The longer-term ambition includes more collaboration and shared infrastructure. The project’s purpose explains that direction; it should not be read as a list of services already available.

Pick one project, spend a few minutes understanding its purpose, and leave a message tied to something you actually tried. A report such as “I could find the map, but I could not tell how to add a marker on my phone” gives a creator something concrete to investigate.

When you return, check whether the creator has replied or shared an update. A continuing conversation can be more useful than introducing yourself to many people at once. The contribution guide explains how to turn that first interaction into a manageable piece of work.