Are you a Linux user group leader? Please see this essay.

Notes:

1. CocoaHeads Silicon Valley was revived in Jan. 2011 after a two-year hiatus.

2. Internet Developer Group shut down in 2003 (because founder Bill Selmeier suffered burnout). CCSF LUG revived in 2013 but then died again, but its Google Group remains usable. Bay Area Wireless User Group folded. Silicon Valley Linux User Group's last meeting was in July 2018. San Francisco OpenBSD User Group folded. San Francisco Bay Area NetBSD User Group folded. Silicon Valley BSD User Group folded. SJSU LUG folded. Stanford U. LUG folded. Bay Area FreeBSD User Group's server seems non-functional; meanwhile, the group has devolved to a Meetup (note). LinuxDojo aka Linux Users Group Hayward was shut down by its founder, Tim Tuck. Oakland Perl Mongers is gone. SoCoSA has been inactive since 2010, but its Web site and mailing lists (1, 2) persist. Smaug ceased to hold meetings in 2012, but its mailing list and Web site persist for anyone who wants to revive it. Linuxstammtische have ended. PenLUG has been inactive since 2011, but its wiki Web site and mailing lists (1, 2) persist. ACCU Silicon Valley Chapter dropped its Internet domain, and devolved to a Meetup (note). BayLISA ceased maintaining its Web site, though all pages except the front one and its mailing lists remain reachable, and has devolved to a Meetup (note). Linux Consultants Lunch will be revived if I re-find its old mailing list roster.

3 Starship Augusta Ada's Web site / mailing list machine has been offline since a 2009 server collapse, even though backups have been found. A substitute Google Group then serve in its place, but activity apparently ceased Jan. 2017.

4. SlugLUG revived in 2014 with a new Web site at sluglug.soe.ucsc.edu and discussion and announcements Google Groups, but then died again in 2018.

5. Every effort is made to keep these listings accurate. If they aren't, please let BALE know, so we can fix the problem. (Please include the word "BALE" in your Subject header.)

To the Other Local Linux Resources Page
(Linux-oriented businesses in the Bay Area)

Group Descriptions:

Association of C and C++ Users, Silicon Valley Chapter
meets a few times a month in Mountain View, Berkeley, and San Francisco, but not following a regular pattern. What:Main meetings feature discussion and publications about coding in C, C++, Java, Python, and other languages, national and local journals, conferences, monthly meetings, mailing lists, and more. Workshops have presentations and interactive discussion

Directions/Transit/Parking: See the ACCU Meetup (note) page.

Further Info: See the ACCU Meetup (note) page. It seems as if the group's separate mailing lists are no more.

Bay Area Debian
is an active community of Debian GNU/Linux developers and users. What: Holds informal meetings, usually with keysignings, at various places and times. There's a "Shotgun Rules" protocol for calling upcoming meetings (which are sporadic, but traditionally on 2nd Wednesdays), and you should check recent mailing list posts to spot them.

Further info: See Bay Area Debian 's Web site and discussion mailing list.

Bay Area FreeBSD User's Group (BAFUG)
meets 2nd Thursdays, 7-10 pm, at Markov, 900 Commercial Street (enter through back). What: The Bay Area's FreeBSD user group, serving the Peninsula, San Francisco, and much of the East Bay.

Further info: There is now a Meetup (note) in place of the dysfunctional BAFUG Web pages and mailing lists.

Bay Area Linux Users Group (BALUG)
meets every 3rd Tuesday, 7pm sharp, generally at Henry's Hunan Restaurant, 110 Natoma St. (between 2nd & New Montgomery), San Francisco. What: Dinner is ordered at 7pm; the meeting follows. Past meetings have featured a broad range of interesting Linux-oriented speakers

By Muni: Any line that goes near the Market or Mission downtown corridors, of which there are many. By BART: Exit at Montgomery, walk 5 very short blocks south on 2nd Street: Cross-streets will be Stevenson, Jessie, Mission, Minna, and Natoma. Turn right (southwest) on Natoma, walk 1/2 block to 110 Natoma on your right. By CalTrain: The San Francisco terminus is at 4th Street and King. Take a cab, or take Muni's 10-Townsend bus to 2nd and Howard. Walk 1 short block further northwest along 2nd to Natoma, turn left, walk 1/2 block to 110 Natoma on your right. By car: Your favourite route to south of Market. There is limited parking, as this is near Moscone Center.

Further Info: See BALUG's Web site, discussion mailing list, announce mailing list, and admin mailing list.

Bay Python Interest Group (BayPIGgies)
meets 4th Thursdays, 7 - 9 pm, at LinkedIn, Unify Meeting Room, 950 W. Maude Ave, Sunnyvale. What: Study and use of Guido van Rossum's Python programming language.

Further Info: See BayPIGgies's Web site and discussion mailing list.

BayLISA (Bay Area Large Installation System Administrators)
meets 3rd Thursdays at 7:30 - 10:30 pmat Paypal (TownHall Bldg), 2161 North First St., San Jose What: For people interested in system / network / related administrative issues for any size system, not just large ones ("large", here, meaning multiuser-capable), and all OS interests.

Further info: See the Meetup (note), which BayLISA has almost entirely devolved into, except for its apparently vestigial mailing lists and some other of its former Web pages that are still reachable.

Berkeley Pi Meeting
meets 1st Sundays, 11 am - 2 pm, at Cafe Blue Door, 2244 Bancroft Way nr. Ellsworth St., Berkeley. What: Non-structured "Maker"-inspired meeting for enthusiasts of the Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and similar small embedded devices. A theme or challenge may be suggested (on BerkeleyLUG's Google Group) in advance a particular meeting.

By car: From I-880, navigate to Berkeley, exiting eastbound on University Ave. Proceed 1.5 miles turn right (south) on Shattuck, go 6 blocks to turn left (east) on Ellsworth, 2 blocks to turn left (west) on Bancroft. Good luck with parking. (There are public pay lots, nearby.) By BART: Exit at downtown Berkeley station via the "Allston Way West" stairs, then walk east 1 block to turn right (south) onto Oxford St, then two short blocks to turn left (east) onto Bancroft. Cafe Blue Door will be near the block's end. By AC Transit bus: AC Transit lines F, 6, 12, 36 51B, 52, 79, 800, and 85 stop nearby. Transit511.org has details. (map)

More info: See Berkeley Pi Meeting's founder's description and coverage on related group BerkeleyLUG's WordPress site and forum and Google Group.

BerkeleyLUG (Berkeley Linux Users Group)
meets 2nd and 4th Sundays, 11 am - 2 pm, at Cafe Blue Door, 2244 Bancroft Way nr. Ellsworth St., Berkeley. What: Provide a fun and active user and support community in Berkeley. Improve Linux through local projects. Actively promote the spread of Linux and open source in the East Bay. BerkeleyLUG tries to create a community of people who use Linux primarily on the desktop (laptops, netbooks, and mobile devices included).

By car: From I-880, navigate to Berkeley, exiting eastbound on University Ave. Proceed 1.5 miles turn right (south) on Shattuck, go 6 blocks to turn left (east) on Ellsworth, 2 blocks to turn left (west) on Bancroft. Good luck with parking. (There are public pay lots, nearby.) By BART: Exit at downtown Berkeley station via the "Allston Way West" stairs, then walk east 1 block to turn right (south) onto Oxford St, then two short blocks to turn left (east) onto Bancroft. Cafe Blue Door will be near the block's end. By AC Transit bus: AC Transit lines F, 6, 12, 36 51B, 52, 79, 800, and 85 stop nearby. Transit511.org has details. (map)

More info: See BerkeleyLUG's WordPress site and forum and Google Group.

BUUG (Berkeley Unix User Group)
meets 1st and 3rd Thursdays at 7-9 pm at Cafe Au Coquelet, 2000 University Ave. at Milvia, two blocks west (downhill) of Shattuck, Berkeley. What: A support network for residents of the greater Berkeley area who want to learn and discuss Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, or other Unix-type operating systems.

By BART: Exit at Berkeley Station onto University Avenue, and head downhill (west) one long block to the corner of Milvia Street. Cafe Au Coquelet is on the near side, on the left. By AC Transit: Any of the numerous bus lines that stop at or near Berkeley BART will do. By car: Take I-80 to Berkeley, exiting eastbound onto University Avenue, and proceeding about 1.5 miles uphill (east) to the corner of Milvia Ave. (map)

More info: See the BUUG Web site, which includes info. on BUUG's discussion mailing list.

CABAL (Consortium of All Bay Area Linux)
meets 2nd Saturdays, 4 pm - midnight at 1105 Altschul Ave. near Gordon Ave., Menlo Park. What: CABAL coordinates Linux InstallFests / social meetings at 1105 Altschul Avenues. Always feel free to bring computers to install Linux on, using your own or the distributions on hand. There will also typically be a barbecue dinner, in the evening.

By car: From I-280: Exit eastbound onto Sand Hill Road, going downhill 1.5 mile to turn left (logical north) at the first major intersection, onto Santa Cruz Avenue. After two long blocks at the first traffic light, bear left (still logical north) onto Alameda de las Pulgas. In four blocks (1/8 mile) you will cross Avy Avenue, which has a Shell station and Starbuck's. Proceed two more blocks to turn left (logical west) onto Ashton Avenue, climbing up one block to turn left (logical south) onto Altschul Ave. 1105 Altschul Ave. is on the right, near the next cross-street (Gordon Ave.). From US-101: Exit westbound onto Marsh Road, turning left (logical south) when Marsh Road ends after 1 mile, onto Middlefield Road. Go 1/2 mile, past Watkins Ave., Lane Place, Prior Lane, Encinal Ave. (note schoolyard), and Surrey Lane, to turn right (logical west) onto Glenwood Ave. In one mile, Glenwood crosses El Camino Real at a traffic light, becoming Valparaiso Ave. Proceed 2 miles, one long block past the traffic light at Alameda de las Pulgas (fire station on the corner), to turn left (logical south) onto Altschul Ave. (That intersection lacks street signs, but you'll see "Sharon Hills Park" on the far-right corner.) Proceed four blocks (1/8 mile) to 1105 Altschul Ave., on your right need the corner of Gordon Avenue. By CalTrain: Exit at Menlo Park station, then walk 2 miles logical west along Santa Cruz Avenue. Alternatively, call us at 650-283-7902, and we'll come pick you up. After 1.8 miles, you'll see a graveyard on the left. Just after that, Santa Cruz Avenue turns half-left (south): Ignore that turn, proceeding straight onto Avy Avenue. Proceed five blocks (crossing Alameda de las Pulgas) to turn left (logical north) onto Altschul Avenue. 1105 Altschul Ave. will be on your left at the end of the block. By bus: Unfortunately, SamTrans routes 295 San Mateo - Menlo Park Caltrain Feeder and 282 Portola Valley-Palo Alto CalTrain, as well as Stanford University's free Marguerite shuttle bus route M (Menlo Line) run weekdays only, and therefore are no use for these events. (map)

Further Info: See CABAL's Web site and discussion mailing list.

City College of San Francisco (CCSF) GNU/Linux Users Group — inactive
is an on-campus official student group, most recently active in 2014. What: Linux discussion, installation help, library of books and CD-ROMs.

Further info: See CCSF LUG's Web site, Google Group, and Facebook page.

CocoaHeads, Silicon Valley Chapter
meets 3rd Thursdays at 7 - 9 pm at Bodega Bay Tech Talk Room, Google, 1950 Charleston Rd. Mountain View What: For people interested in Cocoa programming and related projects.

Further info: See CocoaHeads Silicon Valley chapter's Web site and Google Group, and the umbrella organisation's (mostly unused) discussion mailing list and announce mailing list.

Diablo Valley Linux User Group (DVLUG)
meets 2nd and 4th Fridays at 7 pm inside Caffe La Scala, 1655 N Main St at Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. What: Serving Linux users in the north-east San Francisco Bay Area — Concord, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Danville, Lamorinda, Walnut Creek, and nearby areas in Contra Costa County — aiming to advocate and spread Linux, do LUG events in the Diablo Valley area, and have fun doing it.

Further info: See DVLUG's Web site. There is a discussion mailing list.

East Bay Linux User Group (EBLUG)
meets the 3rd Wednesday of every month, 7 - 9 pm, at Hurricane Electric, 760 Mission Court, Fremont. What: Linux events for residents of Silicon Valley East.

By BART: Exit at Fremont station, and then take AC Transit Route 28 Fremont BART - Milpitas to the Warm Springs Blvd. / Mission Blvd. exit. By VTA bus: Routes 140 Fremont BART - Sunnyvale and 520 (Express) Fremont BART - Shoreline Industrial Park stop nearby. By AC Transit bus: Route 22 Fremont BART - Milpitas stops nearby and Route 28 Fremont BART - Milpitas stops one block south. By car: From I-880, exit eastbound at the Mission Blvd./Warm Springs District exit, proceeding 1/2 mile to turn left (north) onto Warm Springs Blvd. Turn left (west) at the first intersection, Mission Court. Hurricane Electric is 760 Mission Court. From I-680, exit westbound at the Mission Blvd./Warm Springs District exit, proceeding 1/2 mile to turn right (north) onto Warm Springs Blvd. Turn left (west) at the first intersection, Mission Court. Hurricane Electric is 760 Mission Court. (map)

Further info: See EBLUG's Web site, announce Google Group, and discussion Google Group.

FeltonLUG (Felton Linux Users Group)
helps promote GNU/Linux and free/open source software in Felton and the surrounding San Lorenzo Valley area, meeting 1st Saturdays, 1 pm at Scotts Valley Library, 251 Kings Village Rd. near Bluebonnet Ln., Scotts Valley (but moving to the new Felton Library starting March 2020). What: Linux and open source in the San Lorenzo River valley.

Further info: See FeltonLUG's Facebook page and Google Group.

North Bay Linux Users' Group
meets 2nd Tuesdays at 7:00 - 9 pm at Sonic, 2260 Apollo Way nr. Corporate Center Parkway, Santa Rosa. What: General Linux coverage.

By car: From the US-101/CA-12 junction in central Santa Rosa, take CA-12 westbound 1 mile to the second exit, exiting left (south) onto Stony Point Road, proceeding one long block to turn right (west) onto Sebastopol Road. Proceed 1/2 mile to turn left (south) onto Corporate Center Pkwy. Proceed 1/3 mile (4 blocks ) to turn left (east) onto Apollo Way. Sonic is on the right. (map)

Further info: See NBLUG's Web site, discussion mailing list, and announce mailing list.

OLPC-SF is the One Laptop Per Child user group for the San Francisco Bay Area, meeting 2nd Saturdays, 10am - 1pm at SF State Downtown campus, 6th floor, 835 Market, San Francisco. What: To promote interest in the OLPC XO Laptop, generate ideas, and learn from each other in a face-to-face environment.

Directions: by car, by Muni, and by BART.

Further info: See OLPC-SF's Web site, OLPC-SF's Web page on OLPC Project's wiki, and the discussion mailing list.

Peninsula Linux Users' Group (PenLUG) — inactive
in the past met 4th Wednesdays, 6 - 8 pm, at Peter Knaggs's townhouse, 2607 Hastings Shore Lane off Redwood Shores Parkway, Redwood City (Redwood Shores, Bay side of US-101), but PenLUG has been inactive since 2011. What: A Linux group for San Mateo County and surrounding areas.

Directions and transit details: The group covers this on a comprehensive Web page.

Further info: See PenLUG's Web site / wiki, discussion mailing list, and announce mailing list.

San Francisco Linux Users' Group (SF-LUG)
is a group for users of Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, Mac OSX, and similar systems. It meets 1st Sundays 11 am - 1 pm, at Cafe Enchanté, 6157 Geary at 26th, San Francisco.

Further info: See SF-LUG's Web site and discussion mailing list.

San Francisco Perl Users Group (SFPUG), aka San Francisco Perl Mongers
meets on various dates as can be arranged, subject to scheduling, somewhere in San Francisco. What: The first San Francisco Bay Area Perl Users' Group.

Further Info: See the SFPUG Web site, discussion mailing list, Meetup (note) page, and Facebook page.

San Jose State U. LUG — inactive
is a college Linux User Group affiliated as an official student group at SJSU. What: Online discussion among Linux users, with a focus on SJSU.

Further info: See SJSU LUG's Google Group. The Web site has ceased to exist.

Silicon Valley Linux User Group (SVLUG)
meets irregularly when there's a speaker at 7 - 9 pm, at HackerDojo, 3350 Thomas Road, Ste. 150, Santa Clara. What: SVLUG features Q & A, technical presentations, and product demos.

Main Meeting Directions/Transit/Parking: See the SVLUG general meeting directions page, for details.

Further Info: See SVLUG's Web site, discussion mailing list, announce mailing list, volunteers mailing list, and related Meetup (note) page.

SlugLUG — inactive
is the Linux user group of University of California at Santa Cruz. What: (Was) an ASUC-accredited student Linux group at UC Santa Cruz.

Further Info: See SlugLUG's discussion Google Group and announcements Google group.

Smaug (in Santa Cruz) — inactive
serves (mostly) Linux and *BSD users in the greater Santa Cruz area, but has been dormant since 2012. What: A user group for all the truly interesting computer systems, serving the Santa Cruz region.

Further info: See Smaug's Web site and discussion mailing list.

SoCoSA (Sonoma County System Administrators) — inactive
has in the past met 1st Tuesdays at 6 - 8:30 pm at the O'Reilly Media building, 1005 Gravenstein Highway North (CA-116) Sebastopol, at the north end of town, but has been inactive since 2010. What: A group of SysAdmins in Sonoma County and the surrounding areas (Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Petaluma, Novato, Windsor, etc.). Social hour and food at 6pm, speaker at 7pm, finished at 8:30. Meetings are open to all and free except for the pizza. Feel free to bring your own food.

By car: From US-101 in Santa Rosa, exit onto CA-12 westbound, proceeding about 6 miles to turn right (north) onto Petaluma Ave. / CA-116. Follow CA-116 about 1 1/2 miles, as it turns three times and changes street names four times, eventually becoming Gravenstein Highway North at the final turn. The new[er] O'Reilly campus is at the north edge of town. (map)

Further info: See SoCoSA's Web pages, discussion mailing list, and announcements mailing list.

Starship Augusta Ada — inactive
used to meet third Saturdays at 2 pm at any of several San Francisco locations, but hasn't lately. (See Google Group postings. Generally at Kawika's Ocean Beach Deli, 734 La Playa near Balboa, Outer Richmond District.) What: A group for those who are fans of both Linux and the Star Trek mythos. It is also a branch of Starfleet International, an SF/Trek fan organisation promoting volunteerism and community service.

By car: Your favourite route to San Francisco's Outer Richmond District. By BART/Muni: Muni bus routes 5, 31, 38, and 18 pass nearby. Route 38 connects with Route 28, which connects with BART at the Daly City station, while route 38 itself connects with BART at the Montgomery station. By CalTrain: From the 4th & King terminus, transfer to Muni Metro N/Judah, take that to Montgomery, and change to the 38 bus. Beware of infrequent CalTrain service on weekends.

Further info: See Starship Augusta Ada's Google Group, Facebook group, and blog. You can also query ops@starshine.org. The Web site is currently offline.

Groups in Nearby Areas

Linux User Group of Davis (LUGOD)
meets every third Monday, 7 - 9 pm, usually at Davis Public Library, 315 East 14th Street nr. F Street, Davis, and every first Tuesday, 7 - 9 pm as a social gathering at a Davis restaurant or cafe. What: Geekify the populace, and have fun doing it. LUGOD serves Yolo County and the city of Davis.

To the library, by car: From I-80 west, take CA-113 north towards Davis / Woodland. Exit at the Covell / Road 31 exit (the third exit), and turn right onto Covell. Turn right onto F Street (after about 1 mile). Turn right onto 14th Street. The library is on the right (north) side of 14th.

Further Info: See LUGOD's Web site, technical mailing list, general mailing list, and announce mailing list.

Linux User Group of Davis (LUGOD) Installfests
are on a Saturday or Sunday, as can be arranged, 10 am - 6 pm at UC Davis's Kemper Hall, Room 1003. Please RSVP on the InstallFest Web page (linked below). Further Info: See the LUGOD InstallFest page for details including map and directions, for those events.

Linux User Group of Sacramento (SacLUG)
holds meetings (if scheduled) 4th Thursdays at 7 - 9 pm at Hacker Lab, 1715 I St., Sacramento. What: Learn more about Linux, or share your knowledge.

By car: From Business Loop I-80 / Capital City Freeway East, take N Street exit (Exit 7A), turning sharp left at the end of the exit onto N Street westbound. Go nine blocks to turn right (north) onto 21st Street, proved ten blocks to turn left (west) on I Street, 1 1/2 blocks to 1715 I Street. From Business Loop I-80 / Capital City Freeway West, take the E Street exit (Exit 7B), proceeding straight (south) onto 29th Street, and going one block along 29th Street to turn right (west) on E Street, then 11 blocks to turn left (south) onto 18th Street, then four full blocks to turn right (west) onto I street, then 1/2 block to 1715 I Street.

Further Info: See SacLUG's Web pages and discussion mailing list.

Tote That BALE!

Don't just sit there! If you have information on local Linux events, or resources BALE should know about, use this-here handy BALEing Wire to give your fellow Linuxers a shout. Thanks.