One of the top questions I get is “How do I find an open-source project to contribute to?” It’s a fair question because there’s a lot of encouragement to contribute, but not a clear path to find the right issue for you. In this guide, we’ll walk through strategies to discover open-source projects that align with both your skills and interests.
Understand Your Skills and Interests
This is really important and one of the top reasons I see new contributors get frustrated and give up. You should start by doing a personal inventory to understand your skill-level and what you have the ability to take on. It’s so important, in fact, that I wrote a whole post on it: How to Assess Your Skill Level Before Contributing to Open Source.
Once you have a good understanding of where your skill level is, you can better assess if you can take on an issue. If you’re a beginner, don’t take on a complicated issue that requires more experience. Likewise, if you are an experienced programmer, don’t take an issue that’s meant for someone in their early career stages.
Explore Projects
Using OpenSauced to Find Open Source Projects
At OpenSauced, you can use our explore page to find projects with topics that are interesting to you. Once you click on a project, you can learn more about the type of activity and who is contributing to the project. This can both help you to see who you can reach out to, the activity level (you don’t want to contribute to an inactive project), and understand the project dynamics.
Using GitHub to Find Open Source Projects
Another option is to use GitHub to explore open source projects. You can use GitHub’s search and explore features to discover projects that match your interests. Filter repositories by language, topic, and more. Visiting the “Trending” section can also provide insights into popular projects that might need contributors.
Find an Open Source Community
Getting involved in an open source community decreases the barrier to entry and allows you to understand the type of project and support that you’ll be offered if you contribute to their projects. General tech communities often share project recommendations, discuss common challenges, and offer support for newcomers. A specific open source community can offer you more information about their project and how to contribute. For instance, if you join the Remix Discord, you’ll learn about how they interact with the community, the types of questions answered and support given, and more.
Talk to Other Open Source Contributors
A good place to start when connecting with other contributors is by talking to them in their communities, following them on social media, or interacting with their content (reading and commenting on their blog posts, watching or commenting on their videos, listening to their podcasts, etc.). Following other open source contributors and maintainers can provide valuable insights into the open source ecosystem. Many of these individuals share updates about their projects and often highlight opportunities for new contributors. You can follow them on social media or GitHub to stay informed.
Another great way to find out about open source contributors is by asking StarSearch. If you want to find out who’s contributing to projects you’re interested in, have areas of experience that overlap with the types of projects you’re looking at, or are experts in the projects you’re looking at, StarSearch is a great tool to get you started and to help you keep track of those connections.
Use Tools and Websites for Recommendations
Tools like Up for Grabs, CodeTriage, and Good First Issues are designed to help you find beginner-friendly open source projects. These platforms curate lists of issues that are suitable for beginners and folks new to contributing, making it easier to find projects where you can make contributions right away.
Attend Open Source Events and Hackathons
Attending open source events, conferences, and hackathons is a great way to meet and connect with the community. These events provide opportunities to meet other contributors, learn about new projects, and sometimes include workshops or sessions dedicated to helping newcomers get started.
Look for Project Tags and Labels
Many open source projects use tags and labels like “good first issue” or “help wanted” to indicate tasks that are suitable for beginners. These tags make it easier to find issues that match your skill level and provide a clear entry point for contributing.
Write Your Own Issue
Remember, good first issues don’t exist; the best issue for you is probably the one that you write yourself.
Use Open Source Software
When you use open source software, it’s more natural to belong to an open source community and to identify areas where contributions are made. Personally, I’ve made contributions to open source project documentation because when I was using the documentation to implement the technology into my project, I found that something was missing or there was an error because the docs hadn’t been updated. I would even go as far to say that the more you use a product, the better contributor you’ll be because you have a depth of understanding that helps you identify what’s useful for a project and its community.
Scouring the internet for a project to submit a one-off Pull Request (PR) to decreases your connection to the project and your desire to see it be successful. When you are invested in a project, you’re more likely to navigate challenges, ask meaningful questions, and to grow and progress.
Takeaways
Finding the right open source project to contribute to can be a rewarding journey. But remember, it is a journey and it might take a while for you to find the right project and space to contribute to. That’s ok. Consider your growth and the ultimate goals you have as a contributor.
