MTechZilla | Blog | Open-Source Contribution 101: A Beginner's Guide to Making a Meaningful Difference

Contributing to open-source projects is a great way to improve your programming skills, build your portfolio, and work on real-world projects. But for people who have never done it before, it can be scary to start. We'll show you how to contribute to open-source projects in this guide.

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Find a project to contribute to

The first step to contributing to open-source projects is to find a project that interests you. There are several websites, like GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket, where you can find open-source projects in different programming languages. You can also look for projects that interest you or have problems that need to be fixed.

Once you find a project, read through its documentation and look for a guide that tells you how to help. Many open-source projects have a file called "CONTRIBUTING.md" that shows how to start.

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Familiarize yourself with the codebase

Before making any changes to the project, it's important to get to know the codebase. This includes knowing how the code works and how the project is put together. You can start by reading the documentation, code comments, and the project's issue tracker.

For example, let's say you want to contribute to the React project. Start by reading the documentation for React and looking at the source code on GitHub.

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Pick an issue to work on

Once you know how the codebase works, you can start looking for problems to fix. You can sort issues based on your level of expertise, the programming language you use, and the topic you are interested in. It's best to start with simple problems and then move on to more complicated ones.

Say, for example, you want to help with the React project. You can look for tags like "good first issue" or "help wanted" on the React GitHub issues page. Most of the time, these issues are easy to understand and a good place to start.

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Ask questions

Don't be afraid to ask questions if you don't understand something or need more information. Most projects have a place where you can ask for help, like a forum, chat room, or mailing list. You can also talk to the people in charge of the project. Not only does asking questions help you understand the project better, but it also shows that you're interested and want to learn.

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Make your contribution

Once you've found a project you're interested in and a task you'd like to work on, it's time to make your contribution. You'll need to take the following steps:

Clone the repository: Use Git to copy the repository for the project to your own computer.
Install dependencies. Before you can start contributing to most open-source projects, you'll need to install a set of dependencies. Programming languages, libraries, and frameworks could be some of these dependencies. The README file for the project should have instructions on how to install these dependencies.
Make a new branch: Make a new branch in Git before you start working on your contribution. This will keep your changes from getting mixed up with the main codebase.
Change what you want: Follow the project's standards and rules for writing code when you write the code for your contribution. When you're done, make sure to test your changes carefully to make sure they work the way you want them to.
Create a pull request: When you're ready to send in your contribution, make a pull request. This is a request to the people who are in charge of the project to look over your changes and add them to the main codebase.
Respond to feedback: Before the maintainers will accept your contribution, they may ask you to change it. Listen to what they say and try to fix any problems they point out.

Here's an example of how you might make a contribution to an open-source project:

Let's say you want to help with a project called "AwesomeProject". You've found a bug in the project and would like to fix it. Here are some steps you might take:

Cloning the repository: Run the following command in your terminal to copy the project's repository:

git clone https://github.com/username/AwesomeProject.git

Install dependencies: Navigate to the project's directory and run the following command to install its dependencies:

import { createClient } from "@supabase/supabase-js";

const supabaseUrl = "https://<your_supabase_url>.supabase.co";
const supabaseKey = "<your_supabase_api_key>";

export const supabase = createClient(supabaseUrl, supabaseKey);

Create a new branch: Create a new branch for your changes using the following command:

git checkout -b fix-bug

Make your changes: Fix the bug in the code. In this case, you might update a specific function or line of code that is causing the issue.

Test your changes: Run the project's test suite to ensure that your changes haven't introduced any new bugs. You can run the tests with the following command:

npm test

Create a pull request: Once you're confident that your changes are working as expected, create a pull request on the project's GitHub page.

Respond to feedback: The project maintainers may ask you to make changes to your code before they'll accept it. Be responsive to their feedback and work to address any issues they identify.

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Keep Contributing

Contributing to open-source projects is a constant process. Continue to look for new issues to work on and to learn and grow as a contributor. Over time, you might become a core contributor and have a bigger impact on the project.

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Celebrate your contribution!

Once your code has been merged into the project, celebrate! Your contribution will help the project move forward and have a positive effect in the developer community.

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Conclusion

By following these steps, you can make useful contributions to open-source projects and help the wider developer community. Remember that the key to success is to find a project that you're excited about and that fits with your skills and interests. With a little bit of time and effort, you can make a big difference in the world of open source.