How to get Started as an Open Source Contributor

The open source space is consistently improving, with a growing number of initiatives and projects built in the open. As the community continues to engage and advocate for new contributors, it can often be overwhelming and intimidating to know where to start.

Join Gift Egwuenu for a live discussion on the importance of open source as well as how you can get started as a contributor, including:

How to make your first open-source contribution

Ways to overcome awkwardness and conflict in the open-source process

Tips for finding and making meaningful contributions to the projects you love

And more!

Transcript

1. How To Get Started as an
   Open Source Contributor
   PLURALSIGHT WEBINAR
   Gift Egwuenu
   @lauragift_
   

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2. Gift Egwuenu
   Frontend Developer at Passionate People
   & Tech Content Creator
   Find me @lauragift_ on social media.
   Hi I'm
   

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3. What is Open Source and Why Contribute?
   How to make your first open source contribution?
   Ways to overcome awkwardness and conflict in the open source process.
   Tips for finding and making meaningful contributions.
   How Maintainers can make the process more open and welcoming.
   What'll Cover In this Webinar?
   

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4. What is Open Source?
   REDHAT.COM
   Open source is a term that originally referred to open
   source software (OSS). Open source software is code that
   is designed to be publicly accessible—anyone can see,
   modify, and distribute the code as they see fit.
   

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5. Why Contribute?
   Do you want to contribute to open source but not
   certain what's in it for you?
   Help Build the Tools you love using
   Improve and Grow your Skills
   Find Mentors and Teach Others
   Build a Professional Network and Portfolio
   

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6. How Can You Contribute?
   Open Source can be done in many different ways you're not locked in to
   only contributing code to a project. The main goal of contributing to help
   improve the project and create value in one way or another.
   There are more ways than one you can make a contribution and be
   involved in a project let's cover them.
   

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7. CONTRIBUTE CODE
   You can make code contributions to a tool or project by helping with open issues or bug fixes
   can be a valuable contribution or even helping build out a new feature.
   

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8. DESIGN
   Design in Open Source is another untapped area. If you're a designer, there's a space for you
   in open source, contributing logo designs for projects, creating style guides, conducting user
   research are some examples of activities you can participate in as a contributor.
   

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9. COMMUNITY BUILDING
   There's a community behind every open source project, you can contribute to a project by
   helping answer questions on Stack Overflow, Issues, Discord. Write articles, speak at
   conferences, organize workshops and conferences doing any of these counts as open source.
   

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10. DOCUMENTATION
    Documentation is the backbone of any project. Writing documentation can help more
    developers on board and use a project quickly when it's well written. There's a lot of open
    opportunities to help improve the documentation of the project you use.
    

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11. How to Make Your First
    Contribution?
    source: upsplash.com
    

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12. What to Consider?
    Understand the structure and setup of the project.
    Familiarize yourself with the processes used in the project.
    Look up the Contributing Guidelines, Readme, License, Code
    of Conduct, Wiki to get all the context required.
    Find a project you want to make a contribution to.
    Browse through the Issue tracker to figure out where help is
    needed.
    First Contribution?
    If you've not made a contribution before and
    this is your first one, I'll recommend reading
    a bit about how contributing works and how
    to contribute to the specific project.
    Resources like - First Timers Only, Open
    Source Friday, 24 Pull Requests, Up for
    Grabs, GitHub Explorer can help you find a
    good place to start.
    

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13. How to Overcome
    Awkwardness and Conflict in
    the Open Source Process.
    

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14. Clear Communication
    is important.
    Treat people with
    equality and respect.
    Open Source is all about the people and the project...
    

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15. Tips for finding and making meaningful contributions
    READ ISSUES AND
    DISCUSSION
    Join in the discussions in issues or
    pull requests and engage with the
    project.
    

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16. Tips for finding and making meaningful contributions
    READ ISSUES AND
    DISCUSSION
    Join in the discussions in issues or
    pull requests and engage with the
    project.
    PROVIDE CONTEXT
    Provide as much context and information
    as possible when submitting a pull request
    to enable the reviewer to understand your
    contribution.
    

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17. Tips for finding and making meaningful contributions
    READ ISSUES AND
    DISCUSSION
    Join in the discussions in issues or
    pull requests and engage with the
    project.
    BE KIND
    When communicating with other
    contributors be kind to them and
    communicate in the best way
    possible.
    PROVIDE CONTEXT
    Provide as much context and information
    as possible when submitting a pull request
    to enable the reviewer to understand your
    contribution.
    

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18. Tips for finding and making meaningful contributions
    READ ISSUES AND
    DISCUSSION
    Join in the discussions in issues or
    pull requests and engage with the
    project.
    ASK QUESTIONS
    No question is irrelevant, ask away
    and be patient.
    BE KIND
    When communicating with other
    contributors be kind to them and
    communicate in the best way
    possible.
    PROVIDE CONTEXT
    Provide as much context and information
    as possible when submitting a pull request
    to enable the reviewer to understand your
    contribution.
    

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19. Maintainers
    HOW TO MAKE THE OPEN SOURCE PROCESS MORE OPEN AND WELCOMING.
    

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20. Maintainer's Note
    Being a maintainer has a huge impact in shaping in the project.
    Creating a space where new contributors can thrive and feel welcome is
    important for the project.
    How do you create a space where contributors can feel welcome:
    source: wocintechchat.com
    WRITE USEFUL DOCUMENTATION
    ORGANIZE AND TRIAGE ISSUES
    BE KIND IN CODE REVIEWS
    ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY - DISCUSSIONS, BLOGS,
    CONFERENCES,
    HELP NEW CONTRIBUTORS BE SUCCESSFUL
    

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21. MAINTAINING OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE
    WRITE USEFUL DOCUMENTATION
    Documentation is the pillar of any project.
    Having documentation that is both easy to
    understand and use will go a long way in
    helping developers use and contribute to
    the project.
    

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22. MAINTAINING OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE
    WRITE USEFUL DOCUMENTATION
    Documentation is the pillar of any project.
    Having documentation that is both easy to
    understand and use will go a long way in
    helping developers use and contribute to
    the project.
    ORGANIZE & TRIAGE ISSUES
    Provide as much context and information
    as possible when submitting a pull request
    to enable the reviewer to understand your
    contribution.
    

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23. MAINTAINING OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE
    WRITE USEFUL DOCUMENTATION
    Documentation is the pillar of any project.
    Having documentation that is both easy to
    understand and use will go a long way in
    helping developers use and contribute to
    the project.
    BE KIND IN CODE REVIEWS
    When communicating with other
    contributors be kind to them, show
    empathy and communicate in the
    best way possible.
    ORGANIZE & TRIAGE ISSUES
    Provide as much context and information
    as possible when submitting a pull request
    to enable the reviewer to understand your
    contribution.
    

    View Slide

24. MAINTAINING OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE
    WRITE USEFUL DOCUMENTATION
    Documentation is the pillar of any project.
    Having documentation that is both easy to
    understand and use will go a long way in
    helping developers use and contribute to
    the project.
    BE KIND IN CODE REVIEWS
    When communicating with other
    contributors be kind to them, show
    empathy and communicate in the
    best way possible.
    ORGANIZE & TRIAGE ISSUES
    Provide as much context and information
    as possible when submitting a pull request
    to enable the reviewer to understand your
    contribution.
    HELP ONBOARD NEW
    CONTRIBUTORS
    Have a good Contributing guide in place
    to help onboard new contributors to the
    project.
    

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25. MAINTAINING OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE
    WRITE USEFUL DOCUMENTATION
    Documentation is the pillar of any project.
    Having documentation that is both easy to
    understand and use will go a long way in
    helping developers use and contribute to
    the project.
    BE KIND IN CODE REVIEWS
    When communicating with other
    contributors be kind to them, show
    empathy and communicate in the
    best way possible.
    ORGANIZE & TRIAGE ISSUES
    Provide as much context and information
    as possible when submitting a pull request
    to enable the reviewer to understand your
    contribution.
    HELP ONBOARD NEW
    CONTRIBUTORS
    Have a good Contributing guide in place
    to help onboard new contributors to the
    project.
    ENGAGE WITH THE
    COMMUNITY
    Be open to discussion, connecting with
    the members of the community through
    meetups, live chats etc.
    

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26. What is Open Source and Why Contribute?
    How to make your first open source contribution?
    Ways to overcome awkwardness and conflict in the open source process.
    Tips for finding and making meaningful contributions.
    How Maintainers can make the process more open and welcoming.
    Summary
    

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27. Resources
    First Timers Only
    These are helpful resources that can help you navigate your journey to
    contributing to open source.
    FreeCodeCamp's Guide on Contributing to Open
    Source
    GitHub Explore
    Open Source Friday
    Up for Grabs
    

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28. Questions?
    Thank you!
    SOCIAL MEDIA
    @lauragift_
    WEBSITE
    giftegwuenu.com
    

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