open_source.md

open source

guide to open source

• pick a project that interests you

• open the repo and read the README.md

  • understand
    • what the project does
    • how to set it up
    • if they have contributing guidelines
  • go to the "issues" tab
    • choose a good first issue or project with the tag help-wanted
      • every open source project has a /contribute page (e.g. https://github.com/facebook/react/contribute)
    • check if nobody has claimed it (look at the comments)
    • the task is still relevant (check date and recent activity)
  • leave a comment before starting

• learn how to name and document commits in the project

• learn the pull request template

• learn from successful PRs

• pay attention to test coverage

• master the code and submit changes to it

• keep your fork updated

• good places to start

  • typos
  • good first issue
  • need help
  • documentation
  • translation
  • commenting or reviewing other PRs
  • CI pipelines

• advantages

  • learn how to understand a new codebase
  • learn from other developers
  • improve your code via feedback
  • gain validated experience for your career
  • contributing adds more to your portfolio and experience

• document your progress, maybe share progress in social media

• challenges

  • repos can have thousands/millions of lines of code
  • hundreds of issues
  • incoming changes
  • bad decumentation
  • requirements and constraints that might not be clear

• recommended open source projects to contribute:

  • uses languages you know
  • your interests
    • productivity tools
    • devops
    • cli tools
    • nvim plugins
  • maybe check out trending repositories

checklist before contributing to open source

• check the license
• does the project actively accepts contributions?
  • when was the last commit?
  • how many contributors the does the project have?
  • do maintainers respond quickly to issues when they are opened?