feat(gsoc): spack upstreaming of key4HEP package recipes

[wdconinc]

This PR adds a GSoC 2026 project on spack, with the goal of upstreaming key4HEP packages which are leaving downstream support by the key4HEP team.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This PR adds a new GSoC 2026 project proposal focused on upstreaming key4HEP Spack package recipes from the third-party key4hep-spack repository to the main Spack repository. The proposal addresses the sustainability challenge of maintaining a large collection of HEP software packages as the key4HEP project transitions from centralized support to a community-driven model.

Changes:

• Adds a new GSoC 2026 proposal for migrating key4HEP packages to upstream Spack
• Describes a medium-difficulty, 175-hour project with mentorship from the University of Manitoba
• Outlines tasks including package enumeration, categorization, upstreaming, and CI integration

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[vvolkl]

Great project. Not sure how much time I can dedicate, but I would be willing to be backup mentor at least ( Since I wrote most of these recipes...) A more ambitious plan could also be to find some compatibility layer on package recipes between spack/easybuild/bits - maybe generating bits package recipes from a concretized spack environment. I've been talking to easybuild people at Fosdem and there seems to be some potential here.

[wdconinc]

Great project. Not sure how much time I can dedicate, but I would be willing to be backup mentor at least ( Since I wrote most of these recipes...) A more ambitious plan could also be to find some compatibility layer on package recipes between spack/easybuild/bits - maybe generating bits package recipes from a concretized spack environment. I've been talking to easybuild people at Fosdem and there seems to be some potential here.

Sure! Feel free to add you (if you write permissions) or make a comment with suggestions with your contact info.

The addition/connecting with other third party packaging solutions is also under discussion with pip for example. A general approach would have many benefits but is a significant project. I think a crisp narrow focus at the start would be great, and likely better as a separate GSoC project due to the different coding skill level required.

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