During January 2026, Fotherby focused on improving startup reliability for the MeanderingProgrammer/neovim repository by addressing issues caused by stale IPC sockets left behind by crashed Neovim instances. He implemented a solution in C and Lua that automatically detects and removes orphaned socket files at startup, using liveness checks to ensure only inactive sockets are cleaned up. This approach reduced the need for manual maintenance and prevented startup failures across sessions. Drawing on skills in socket programming, system programming, and functional testing, Fotherby delivered a targeted bug fix that enhanced the robustness of Neovim deployments without introducing new features.