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Ask HN: Want to work on open-source, don't know where to start. Advice?

17 points by dblock 12y ago

orta 12y ago
I'm a pretty prominent Cocoa OSS guy: I've always figured that you "just start", but that's a bit like the draw an owl image. So I'll say how I got started. I started by dealing with issues on a large project (CocoaPods). I read all documentation then started dealing with issues that were user errors rather than code. It gave me exposure to the devs in a large project, gave a sense of where common problems lay. Instead of directly working on the product I started to expand the tooling around the project, building websites / logos. Eventually it just gets to a point where writing a PR to anyone on any project is no-effort at all. If you really want a one step start: go fix typos in other people's READMEs.
- dblock 12y ago
  The typos advice is really, really good. Here's such a PR: https://github.com/intridea/grape/pull/741 https://github.com/intridea/grape/pull/741
  - orta 12y ago
    Agree, I merged one today: https://github.com/paulsamuels/SBConstants/pull/3 https://github.com/paulsamuels/SBConstants/pull/3
    - dblock 12y ago
      I just can't believe you misspelled `storybaords` :)
dllthomas 12y ago
You might want to check out OpenHatch: https://openhatch.org https://openhatch.org "OpenHatch is a non-profit dedicated to matching prospective free software contributors with communities, tools, and education."
K0nserv 12y ago
I am actually writing a blog post about my own experience starting out with open source contributions. Here's (https://gist.github.com/k0nserv/2d24d54c9d9a2c648833 https://gist.github.com/k0nserv/2d24d54c9d9a2c648833) the current draft. I am focusing on why some people have the mentality of Orta, e.g "Just start" while I had a lot of doubts. Feedback is very welcome.
creichert 12y ago
Do you use any open source software on a daily basis? I enjoy contributing to the tools I personally use. Start with small contributions that are not too high commitment. Engage authors on their issue trackers and ask questions. Read the source code for the tools you use and depend on. Always ask yourself how you could make it better.
- dblock 12y ago
  I think the initial question is very important. A lot of people aren't actually using open-source software on a daily basis, so maybe that's where they need to start.
joeya 12y ago
I suggest: (1) choose a tool/language/library you want to learn, (2) work through a use case and write a blog post about it to help the next person do the same, (3) consider how the README or docs should be updated accordingly. Writing up your experience is often a useful trigger to create an open-source tool/library or modify an existing one. It forces you to consider how your own experience can be made useful for others. Also read the source of tools/libraries you use. Often, gaps or modifications jump out readily.
AshFurrow 12y ago
I think one of the best ways to start is by just using open source software. Many developers don't realize that they're already part of the community, and can begin contributing by submitting feature requests and bug reports.
loumf 12y ago
Whenever I use OSS and run into a bug, I try to fix it. If I can't, I open an issue and try to be as helpful as I can in reproducing it.
- joshschreuder 12y ago
  Same for me. If you use OSS stuff quite often, especially in production projects, you'll generally run into bugs or unexpected behaviour. Often enough it's just edge cases the author didn't think about or small programming errors and is quite easy to fix.
steve_g 12y ago
If python is your thing, you might want to check out http://pythonmentors.com/ http://pythonmentors.com/ "The mission of the Python Core Mentor Program is to provide an open and welcoming place to connect students, programmers – and anyone interested in contributing to the Python Core development."
sarciszewski 12y ago
Well, what do you already know or use? That's where I started. My story: I'm a PHP programmer who got tired of being ridiculed for by security people for using PHP as my main language, so I decided to go around to popular PHP projects, review their code, and submit vulnerability fixes. This transformed into a dozen or so pull requests and a BSides talk, and is an ongoing effort to clean up their libraries.
- dblock 12y ago
  That's a great and a pretty unique story, thanks for sharing!
dblock 12y ago
Blogged: http://code.dblock.org/i-want-to-contribute-to-open-source-where-do-i-begin http://code.dblock.org/i-want-to-contribute-to-open-source-w...

17 points by dblock 12y ago

orta 12y ago

I'm a pretty prominent Cocoa OSS guy: I've always figured that you "just start", but that's a bit like the draw an owl image. So I'll say how I got started. I started by dealing with issues on a large project (CocoaPods). I read all documentation then started dealing with issues that were user errors rather than code. It gave me exposure to the devs in a large project, gave a sense of where common problems lay. Instead of directly working on the product I started to expand the tooling around the project, building websites / logos. Eventually it just gets to a point where writing a PR to anyone on any project is no-effort at all. If you really want a one step start: go fix typos in other people's READMEs.

dblock 12y ago
The typos advice is really, really good. Here's such a PR: https://github.com/intridea/grape/pull/741 https://github.com/intridea/grape/pull/741
- orta 12y ago
  Agree, I merged one today: https://github.com/paulsamuels/SBConstants/pull/3 https://github.com/paulsamuels/SBConstants/pull/3
  - dblock 12y ago
    I just can't believe you misspelled `storybaords` :)

dllthomas 12y ago

You might want to check out OpenHatch: https://openhatch.org https://openhatch.org "OpenHatch is a non-profit dedicated to matching prospective free software contributors with communities, tools, and education."

K0nserv 12y ago

I am actually writing a blog post about my own experience starting out with open source contributions. Here's (https://gist.github.com/k0nserv/2d24d54c9d9a2c648833 https://gist.github.com/k0nserv/2d24d54c9d9a2c648833) the current draft. I am focusing on why some people have the mentality of Orta, e.g "Just start" while I had a lot of doubts. Feedback is very welcome.

creichert 12y ago

Do you use any open source software on a daily basis? I enjoy contributing to the tools I personally use. Start with small contributions that are not too high commitment. Engage authors on their issue trackers and ask questions. Read the source code for the tools you use and depend on. Always ask yourself how you could make it better.

dblock 12y ago
I think the initial question is very important. A lot of people aren't actually using open-source software on a daily basis, so maybe that's where they need to start.

joeya 12y ago

I suggest: (1) choose a tool/language/library you want to learn, (2) work through a use case and write a blog post about it to help the next person do the same, (3) consider how the README or docs should be updated accordingly. Writing up your experience is often a useful trigger to create an open-source tool/library or modify an existing one. It forces you to consider how your own experience can be made useful for others. Also read the source of tools/libraries you use. Often, gaps or modifications jump out readily.

AshFurrow 12y ago

I think one of the best ways to start is by just using open source software. Many developers don't realize that they're already part of the community, and can begin contributing by submitting feature requests and bug reports.

loumf 12y ago

Whenever I use OSS and run into a bug, I try to fix it. If I can't, I open an issue and try to be as helpful as I can in reproducing it.

joshschreuder 12y ago
Same for me. If you use OSS stuff quite often, especially in production projects, you'll generally run into bugs or unexpected behaviour. Often enough it's just edge cases the author didn't think about or small programming errors and is quite easy to fix.

steve_g 12y ago

If python is your thing, you might want to check out http://pythonmentors.com/ http://pythonmentors.com/ "The mission of the Python Core Mentor Program is to provide an open and welcoming place to connect students, programmers – and anyone interested in contributing to the Python Core development."

sarciszewski 12y ago

Well, what do you already know or use? That's where I started. My story: I'm a PHP programmer who got tired of being ridiculed for by security people for using PHP as my main language, so I decided to go around to popular PHP projects, review their code, and submit vulnerability fixes. This transformed into a dozen or so pull requests and a BSides talk, and is an ongoing effort to clean up their libraries.

dblock 12y ago
That's a great and a pretty unique story, thanks for sharing!

dblock 12y ago

Blogged: http://code.dblock.org/i-want-to-contribute-to-open-source-where-do-i-begin http://code.dblock.org/i-want-to-contribute-to-open-source-w...