How to Contribute to Your First Open Source Project: A Step-by-Step Guide

Illustration by geekforgeeks

Open-source projects provide an excellent opportunity for developers to collaborate, learn, and contribute to real-world applications. If you’re eager to get involved but don’t know where to start, this guide will walk you through the process of creating and assigning your first open-source project. We’ll use a specific example where a user has identified an issue in a project related to a missing “About Us” section in the toggle button on the navbar.

Step 1: Find a Suitable Project

To begin your open-source journey, identify a project that aligns with your interests and skill set. In this case, we have a project with issues tagged with “hacktoberfest,” making it a great candidate for first-time contributors.

Step 2: Choose an Issue

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Navigate to the project’s issue tracker, where contributors and maintainers discuss problems and improvements. Look for an issue that you find interesting or feel capable of tackling. In this example, the user wants to add an “About Us” section to the toggle button on the navbar and has identified issue #43, opened by codeLogs.

Step 3: Comment on the Issue

Express your interest in working on the chosen issue by commenting on it. Clearly state your intention and ask if the maintainers can assign the issue to you. In this case, you might say:

Hi @codeLogs, I'm interested in working on this issue. Could you please assign it to me? I'll be happy to contribute!

Step 4: Wait for the Assignment

Maintainers or project collaborators will review your comment and, if everything looks good, assign the issue to you. Be patient, as it may take some time for them to respond.

Step 5: Set Up Your Development Environment

Once assigned, set up your development environment by cloning the project repository. Follow the project’s README or contributing guidelines for specific instructions on setting up dependencies and running the application locally.

Step 6: Make Changes

Navigate to the relevant files, implement the changes, and test your modifications locally to ensure everything works as expected. In this case, add the “About Us” section to the toggle button on the navbar.

Step 7: Commit and Push

Once satisfied with your changes, commit them and push them to your forked repository. Make sure to follow the project’s commit message conventions.

Step 8: Create a Pull Request

Illustration by Blessed Emoefe

Create a pull request (PR) from your forked repository to the original project repository. Include a detailed description of your changes and reference the issue number. For example:

Closes #43 Added "About Us" section to the toggle button on the navbar.

Step 9: Participate in Code Review

Expect feedback from project maintainers during the code review process. Address any suggested changes and iterate on your code until it meets the project’s standards.

Step 10: Celebrate Your Contribution

Once your PR is accepted and merged, congratulations! You’ve successfully contributed to your first open-source project. Take pride in your accomplishments and consider continuing your journey by exploring and contributing to more projects.

Remember, open source is about collaboration and learning. Don’t hesitate to ask for help or guidance from the project community. Happy coding!