How to Support the Heads Project

Heads is free and open source, but keeping the firmware and this wiki maintained is ongoing work that is not free. The project page lists two ways to contribute financially: GitHub Sponsors (tlaurion) or Open Collective (Insurgo). For the full details, see the "Supporting the Project" section on the Community page of the Heads wiki.

Why Support Matters

Heads is a custom firmware and OS configuration for laptops and servers that aims to provide better physical security and data protection than a traditional installation. It combines hardware hardening with flash security features, custom coreboot firmware, and a Linux boot loader in ROM. That moves the root of trust into the write-protected region of SPI flash and lets the TPM measure each boot step so the machine can attest it has not been tampered with.

Maintaining that stack—supported hardware platforms, firmware builds, documentation, and the wiki—takes continuous effort. The project states plainly that this maintenance is not free, which is why the sponsorship channels exist.

The Two Support Channels

Both are named directly on the Heads wiki. The wiki does not publish pricing tiers, amounts, or payment details for either channel, so check each platform for current options before committing.

GitHub Sponsors (tlaurion)

Use this if you already manage open-source funding through GitHub and want a recurring sponsorship tied to a GitHub account. It suits individuals and teams who prefer one dashboard for the projects they back.

Open Collective (Insurgo)

Use this if you want a transparent, collective-style funding route, typically associated with an organization rather than a single maintainer account. It can fit supporters who want to see how funds are handled at the organizational level.

Before You Contribute

• Confirm the recipient. The wiki names tlaurion on GitHub Sponsors and Insurgo on Open Collective. Verify the account or collective matches these names before paying.
• Check the current terms on the platform. Sponsorship tiers, one-time versus recurring options, and any fees are set by the platform, not described on the Heads wiki.
• Read the Community page first. The "Supporting the Project" section is the canonical place for details and may list additional guidance beyond the two links.

Non-Financial Ways to Help

The wiki's framing is about funding maintenance, but the project is open source, so the usual contributions apply: testing on supported hardware, reporting issues, and improving documentation. If you are deciding between giving money and giving time, financial support directly addresses the stated maintenance gap, while testing and documentation help keep the supported platform list and wiki accurate.

Quick Answer

To support Heads, go to the Community page of the Heads wiki and open the "Supporting the Project" section. From there, choose GitHub Sponsors (tlaurion) for account-based recurring support or Open Collective (Insurgo) for collective-style funding. Confirm the recipient names and current platform terms before contributing.