How to Contribute to Open Source as a Beginner

Open source contributions are some of the most important experiences that help you build your portfolio. Not only do they help you build a strong resume, but they also help you learn multiple things.

The knowledge you acquire from open source contributions is not limited to technical aspects. It also helps you develop employability skills such as communication, leadership, and collaboration.

However, starting open source as a beginner can be very challenging. A lot of things are happening at once, and feeling lost is quite common.

So, here's a guide to approaching open source as a beginner:

1. Grasp the Basics
   You do not need to be a pro coder to get started, but you do need to learn the fundamentals of at least one programming language before you begin.

   Along with this, make yourself familiar with Git and GitHub and their basic features.

   Do not feel the need to start contributing immediately. Take your time to understand how the basic functions and workflows work.

2. Browse Repositories
   Before raising any issue in a repository, read the README carefully. The README file usually contains information about the project, setup instructions, contribution guidelines, and technologies used.

   Understand how the project runs locally, what technologies are being used, and how the front end and back end are structured.

   Once you are familiar with the repository, run the project locally and look for issues.

   Make sure the issues you raise are genuine and beginner-friendly.

   Starting with basic interface or UI changes can help you gain confidence.

3. Raise an Issue
   Once you decide on an issue to raise, check whether someone is already working on it. This helps avoid duplicate work and saves you time.

   Once sure the issue has not already been reported, raise an issue describing the problem clearly.

4. Fork the Repository
   A fork is your personal copy of a repository on GitHub. It allows you to make changes without affecting the original project.

   To work on the issue, you need a copy of the repository on your system. Fork the repository on GitHub and clone it to your local machine.

   Once done, make the necessary changes and save them.

5. Check for Changes
   After making the changes, run the project locally again to verify that the changes were successfully implemented and that everything is working as expected.

6. Commit
   Now you can commit all the changes you have made in your cloned repository and push them to your forked repository on GitHub.

7. Raise a Pull Request (PR)
   A Pull Request is a request to the maintainers to review and merge your changes into the main project.

   GitHub will automatically show a "Compare & Pull Request" option once you successfully push your changes.

   Explain the changes you made, reference the issue if required, and submit your PR.
   Congratulations! You have successfully raised your first Pull Request.

Conclusion

Open source can seem overwhelming in the beginning, I was at this stage too when I started, but every contributor starts somewhere.
Your first contribution may be small, but it is the first step toward becoming a better developer.