How to Start Contributing to Open Source

Contributing to open source can be a fun and rewarding experience, but it can also be difficult to know where to start. This article will guide you through making your first contribution to the world of open source; from deciding which project you want to get involved in, right through to raising your first issue and making your very first code contribution.

If you're not a programmer, or you just fancy a break from coding, this article also includes a list of ways that you can get involved in open source, without writing a single line of code.

What is Open Source & GitHub?

Open source is a method of software development that promotes transparency and collaboration. When a project is open source, not only can you download and use it, but you can view its source code too. This means that you can fix bugs, add new features, and generally make changes to the project. Being able to view the source code, also gives you a greater understanding of how the software works.

If you've used open source software before, chances are you're already familiar with GitHub. GitHub is a website that provides repositories where developers can store and share their open source projects, but it's also a way for people from all over the world to collaborate on a single project. Once you've registered with GitHub, you can raise issues, suggest new features, and even contribute your own code to projects hosted on the website. Although GitHub is far from the only code hosting service out there, its popularity in the open source community means that it's a good place for newcomers to start.

GitHub

Choosing a Project

After you've created your GitHub account, you need to decide which project you want to get involved in. This is where the sheer number of projects on GitHub can be overwhelming. In December 2013, GitHub announced that it had reached 10 million repositories, so you'll need a way of narrowing down your options, if you've ever going to choose a project:

How GitHub Projects are Structured

Every GitHub project is stored in its own repository, which usually consists of multiple folders and files. Although projects owners have the freedom to structure their GitHub projects however they like, there's some files that are common across most projects.

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How to Start Contributing to Open Source