James Henstridge
Ubuntu Desktop Developer at Canonical Ltd.
Perth, Western Australia
Summary
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Rockstar🎓
Top SchoolJames Henstridge is an experienced Ubuntu Desktop Developer at Canonical with 22 years in software engineering, specializing in C, Python, and JavaScript for both GTK/GNOME desktop apps and Zope-based web services. He has played a key role in improving Snap support on the desktop—designing features in snapd and snapcraft—and has deep practical knowledge of D-Bus, systemd, AppArmor, and container interactions. His contributions span core GNOME libraries (glib), xdg-desktop-portal, and database adapters like psycopg2, reflecting a strong backend and systems orientation as well as UI theming work on Yaru. A former Launchpad and Ubuntu One developer, he combines low-level C expertise with Python web service experience and an academic background in pure mathematics and IT. Notably, he has driven subtle reliability and testing improvements (e.g., portal fallbacks and signal handling) that enable safer desktop integration for confined apps. Based in Perth, Australia, he is an active open-source contributor who bridges system architecture and pragmatic engineering.
22 years of coding experience
13 years of employment as a software developer
BSc (Hons), Pure Mathematics & Information Technology, BSc (Hons), Pure Mathematics & Information Technology at The University of Western AustraliaHollywood Senior High School
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Github Skills (74)
postgresql10
wordpress-themes10
python10
testing10
databases10
c1110
glib10
c1710
gtk10
systemd10
concurrency10
linux10
snapcraft10
inkscape10
database10
Programming languages (17)
Github contributions (5)
flatpak/xdg-desktop-portal
Apr 2017 - Nov 2020
Desktop integration portal
Role in this project:
Back-end Developer & System Architect
Back-end Developer & System ArchitectContributions:30 reviews, 10 commits, 9 PRs in 3 years 7 months
Contributions summary:James primarily contributed to the core functionality of the `xdg-desktop-portal` project, focusing on improving its integration with various desktop environments. They implemented and refined logic for identifying applications, including those confined by Flatpak and Snap, and added testing for these functions. Several commits involved modifying the document portal implementation, improving file access handling. The user also made architectural changes related to the handling of file access and inter-process communication.
desktop-integrationflatpaklinuxlinux-desktopsandboxing
canonical/snapd
Feb 2017 - Dec 2022
The snapd and snap tools enable systems to work with .snap files.
Role in this project:Back-end Developer
Back-end DeveloperContributions:349 reviews, 817 commits, 161 PRs in 5 years 11 months
Contributions summary:James primarily focused on implementing new features within the snapd project related to desktop portal integration and service control. This involved writing tests for xdg-desktop-portal filechooser integration, adding a test for the desktop portal screenshot API, and implementing a "session-agent" command to manage user session services. The user demonstrates an understanding of D-Bus communication, apparmor, and systemd, by interacting with related features within the snapd environment, including both service management and API design.
snapdsnap
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