How to contribute to Open Source : Beginners Guide

Open Source Culture is one of the best things that came up in the software industry so far. We are seamlessly growing much faster in the field just because high end software like apache, mysql, nginx, nodejs, linux, etc. are available to use and reprogram as per our needs for free. But the thing is, it works only when people like us contribute to the community.

Most of the programmers want to contribute to open source but they think it as difficult and time consuming. They assume that to make an effective contribution they need a big project and unlimited free time.

This is not true at all. Most of the Open Source projects are made by diversified programmers with small changes. Actually the hardest part is

“How to get started?”

So I tried to figure out some of methods through which you can make effective contributions and here they are

1. Register on Github

Github is social networking for open source projects. You may find all open source software’s code there. It works on git version control system, so you need some knowledge of that too. And yes We have our projects there 😛

Now you are ready for next step.

2. Find the project you are really want to contribute to.

So how to find the project ? Well, the best is the one you actively use because you are aware of its functionalities, bugs, problems you have encountered, features that are needed, etc. If you choose a project on which you work, you won’t need any extra knowledge to figure out what to do. Even doing documentation of some part that is not present, it would attract users and help in spreading knowledge. After you have chosen the project, here are the following things you can proceed with

2.1 Report a bug.

A Screenshot from jQuery Library Issues

When you find a bug in a project, share it immediately with the community. To get the thing fixed in future upgrades with better resolutions, one should actively report bugs.

When you found a bug in the package, just report it on its page / tracking system. Try to explain the bug to other developers with proper examples. A good write-up would make clear understanding and quick fix.

2.2 Pick a reported bug and try to resolve it.

You can choose the bug that was raised on your end or you may pick one from the bug list available. For resolution, first step is to try to verify the bug at your end. If not replicated, go to the threads where the discussion is going on and mark it as invalid. It will help the existing developers who are mind-blogging on the issue.

2.3 Adding Examples for the available library / plugin

onChange() example from DroopeJS

Some of the libraries don’t come with example sets. This is really a great way to contribute by creating examples for them. Small examples showing basic features are really effective.

3. What to do next, when I have added a feature ?

After forking the repository and making changes you can create a pull request to the main repository with proper coding standards and documentation of your change that is easy to understand. Once owners verify the bug fix, they will merge your pull request into the main repository.

4. Other options if you don’t find any lead from above!

You can talk about new projects in group meetings or tech talks among your friends, colleagues, etc. Sharing knowledge increases use of projects that are hidden gems.

Stack Overflow is also a great platform for developers which almost everyone uses to seek help. Try to help other developers by answering questions from the topics of your interest. Since most of the questions are asked by newbie programmers, it will not be very difficult to answer them and you will gain reputation as a counterpart.

Try the above methods to make effective contributions to open source community. Since open source software are easily available to use, we are aggressively using them so now its time to give back to the society so that everyone can use things seamlessly and software industry will grow much fast.

To contribute to our open source projects, here is the list