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How to contribute to an open source project on GitHub

blog.davidecoppola.com

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Re: How to contribute to an open source project on GitHub

#32

Post by angry-hacker »

logn wrote: post #24
atemerev wrote: post #5

Step 1: stumble upon a terrible bug (or that really obvious missing feature that _should_ be there) in your favorite library / framework / app. Step 2: rant about it on HN / Github issues / whatever. Step 3 (optional): try to reach developers on GitHub and get the obligatory "pull requests are welcome" response. Step 4: In frustration, clone the repository, fix the damn bug and submit your pull request. Steps 5..41:…

> Step 4: In frustration... Step 4 requires no frustration. It should be a relief you can fix it yourself rather than hope for some opaque engineering team to maybe fix it at some future date since your company doesn't have the Platinum Support package. > Steps 5..41: ... I think maintainers of small projects should do their best to merge whatever is given to them without back and forth or delay--just a prompt and si…

Yes.

I remember when my first ever request was accepted. The fev thanked and with next release I saw he changed few things in my code, small things. Nevertheless it made me more comfortable submitting pull requests and really happy at the time.

Re: How to contribute to an open source project on GitHub

#33

Post by danso »

csl wrote: post #14

There is one very important tip that's missing: Follow the original coding style exactly . Not just spaces vs tabs or block styles, but idioms and other idiosyncrasies, too. Why? Imagine reading a source repo where every second block uses different bracket styles, mixing spaces with tabs and so on. It's going to look like a kludgy mess, and will be distracting to read. There is no correct style for most languages (pe…

I agree, and it's one of the reasons why novice-to-intermediate programmers should try to pitch in to a project, even for something very minor. I remember making a pull request to a Ruby project and getting rejected and being told to fix all the rubocop errors, which made me aware of the existence of tools for auto-style-detection/linting, and of best practices in style that greatly improved my programming experience.

That kind of practical thing is not well-covered in tutorials and self-learning curriculums.

Re: How to contribute to an open source project on GitHub

#34

Post by cloudjacker »

atemerev wrote: post #5

Step 1: stumble upon a terrible bug (or that really obvious missing feature that _should_ be there) in your favorite library / framework / app. Step 2: rant about it on HN / Github issues / whatever. Step 3 (optional): try to reach developers on GitHub and get the obligatory "pull requests are welcome" response. Step 4: In frustration, clone the repository, fix the damn bug and submit your pull request. Steps 5..41:…

> And this is how you become a contributor to high-profile projects like Docker, Akka, Spark etc, and now free to boast about it in your CV!

And get the same pay as everyone else that doesn't play any of these reindeer games, because recruiters already know how to find us and setup the interviews!

Re: How to contribute to an open source project on GitHub

#35

Post by sctblol »

csl wrote: post #14

There is one very important tip that's missing: Follow the original coding style exactly . Not just spaces vs tabs or block styles, but idioms and other idiosyncrasies, too. Why? Imagine reading a source repo where every second block uses different bracket styles, mixing spaces with tabs and so on. It's going to look like a kludgy mess, and will be distracting to read. There is no correct style for most languages (pe…

flake8 for Python is nice, although defaults can be a bit weird...

Re: How to contribute to an open source project on GitHub

#36

Post by hzoo »

This is a great start!

Contributing can be a lot more than just PRs though: - answering questions on stack overflow, chat (irc, gitter, slack)

- creating a minimal code repro, checking for duplicates, checking if a bug is fixed in a later release/master branch

- writing tutorials/usage scenarios, giving talks, just using the project and providing feedback

- helping with documentation + website

- translations if possible

- reviewing other PRs

- helping with the changelog, testing prereleases

- adding to the discussion on issues

Bigger projects can have a pretty hard time with maintenance: fixing bugs, juggling PRs, making releases, answering questions, etc.

(We're looking for help on https://github.com/babel/babel and trying to figure out how we can make the project more contributor friendly!)

Re: How to contribute to an open source project on GitHub

#38

Post by cthulhuology »

For many projects, Github is just a place to publish yet another public repo. Using github issues and pull requests is a sure fire way to feel ignored. If you want to contribute, e-mail the lead maintainer. Do not submit patches to the ether. Do not think anyone will look at your patches. Having started several large open source projects, and started / worked for a number of open source companies, I can tell you the best way to get involved is to work on your personal relationship with the other developers. If that means hanging out in IRC or Slack, that's what it takes. Github is a terrible form of communication, especially when your org / developers have 100+ repos.

Re: How to contribute to an open source project on GitHub

#40

Post by Mz »

hzoo wrote: post #36

This is a great start! Contributing can be a lot more than just PRs though: - answering questions on stack overflow, chat (irc, gitter, slack) - creating a minimal code repro, checking for duplicates, checking if a bug is fixed in a later release/master branch - writing tutorials/usage scenarios, giving talks, just using the project and providing feedback - helping with documentation + website - translations if possi…

helping with documentation + website

I am not a programmer. I do copywriting for pay and I have run a bunch of different personal websites over the years (15+ years, I think). I know a little HTML and CSS.

I am interested in getting involved in open source via first working on copywriting and website stuff, since that is what I already have a background in. I am finding it extremely opaque to figure out how on earth to do that.

I left a couple of related comments on HN recently:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12860294

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12851361

I do have a github account and I recently went through the Hello World on how to do pull requests.

Any tips on how to begin interacting with open source projects on the copywriting and website development piece of things?

Thanks.

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