Get the lead developers together in a hotel for four days. Remove all distractions. Feed them. Stand back and watch bugs get fixed, problems get solved, and new ideas implemented.

Earlier this month 38 Perl toolchain developers assembled in Lyon for the Perl Toolchain Summit, the event previously known as the QA Hackathon. This is an annual gathering where we pull together the lead developers of the core systems and tools in the CPAN ecosystem. We aim to provide an environment where for four days they can work on the tools we all rely on, with the right people around them.

This blog post is a summary of the summit. We can't cover everything, but our goal is to give you a flavour of the work that went on, and hopefully get across why the attendees typically rate this as their favourite event to attend. You can read more of the individual accomplishments on the results page of the event wiki.