Introduction.
Lot of questions pops up on tech twitter from newbie developers and writers asking how they can contribute to open source and how they can be useful to the community. I know you are wondering and looking for a way to contribute too. Do not worry, this article was written just for you. Take a seat, let me take you on a 4 minutes journey on how to be a contributor to the open source community.
What is open source?
Open source is a type of software that is designed to be publicly accessible by anyone, which means anyone can modify and distribute the code as they see it. Open-source software is developed in a decentralized and collaborative way, relying on peer review and community production.
The notion is that certain individuals from all over the world, can come together and collaborate to create something that is beneficiary to everyone. It is evident that by working together, we can come up with great ideas.
Some examples of open-source software include:
GNU/Linux
Mozilla Firefox
VLC media player
Apache web server
LibreOffice
Improving your skills and empowering yourself:
Contributing to open source is an excellent place to start if you want to improve your abilities in a certain field. You can choose projects depending on the particular skill sets you want to sharpen and rely on the community to assist you in getting better. You will have to improve your documentation and communication skills as a result of the learning and cooperation processes, which will also help you become a better team player.
As a bonus, you may feel more confident because it feels good to make even a small contribution to a project that will benefit the next person who uses it.
How can I contribute to open source?
Contributing to open-source software does not require you to be a proficient programmer. Even if you don't know how to code, there are many ways you can contribute and network with the people who have made contributions to your tech stack but it will be much more beneficial for you and the projects if you know how to code.
You may have been considering how you might contribute to open source and how to start by getting in touch with particular programmers. Do not worry, I had the same thought when I first learned about Open Source and I told myself to "try at least, begin with something." I am going to explain how here.
Here are the common ways you can contribute to getting started :
Study GitHub and Git: Before looking for repos to contribute to, familiarize yourself with the GitHub platform and Git commands by Learning the fundamentals of:
How to fork a repository
making commitments
Merging commits
submitting a pull request
These are some of the most crucial Git/GitHub ideas among many others.
Support with documentation: Understanding a project or the job would be impossible without appropriate documentation, which is why documentation is the core of every project. One of the most crucial, yet frequently disregarded, components of open-source projects are documentation. You can contribute by authoring or modifying project documentation if you have strong writing abilities. These could include FAQs, user manuals, and troubleshooting manuals. With open source, you may even work together on projects and accomplish a lot more.
Interpretation: you can contribute to open-source projects by helping to interpret. These projects frequently require interpretations so that users of the software who speak other languages can use it without any difficulty. You can contribute by interpreting the software and its documentation if you are fluent in another language.
Help with Designs: if you are a designer, you can help the community create posters, images or carousels for the open-source organization because designers are very crucial for organizations projects.
Proofreading: you can contribute to open source by helping to fix any typing errors and by helping in systematically arranging all the work folders.
Inspiration To Get Started.
Your First contribution is exceptional but can also be overwhelming. Look for open-source projects in your area of expertise to find the correct GitHub repo. Connect with the individuals that have contributed to your tech stack, recognize the procedure and begin to participate.
If you make mistakes, do not worry, it is all part of the learning process.
At the beginning of my Open Source contribution, I also made a few mistakes but I also learned from them and that is how you learn. You learn from your mistakes and never be afraid to seek assistance, People in the open-source community are always willing to assist you if you run into a problem or require assistance with a task.
Not to forget, you can create a portfolio of work that showcases your abilities and experience to prospective employers by taking part in Open Source projects. It offers the chance to network with other developers and industry experts.
Let Us Start!
You are motivated now, so let's start the adventure.
what do you need to get started, Here are the steps you should take to get started:
Launch your prefered web browser
Create an account and Setup the profile
To learn more about Open Source and How Git and GitHub works, this short yet explicit tutorial will help you get started https://youtu.be/GbqSvJs-6W4
to find a popular open-source project on GitHub, you can click this link
Conclusion.
With all being said above, we've covered all of the fundamentals you'll need to get started with your Open Source Contribution, I hope you find this article useful in your Open Source journey.
Happy Contributing!
Feel free to message me on my Social accounts for any help.
https://twitter.com/tech_Olaide