Ask HN: What is the hottest OSS software I should contribute to

17 points by neo2006 6y ago ↗ HN

I mostly program in Go, Java and C++ (been a while since i used C++). I have a lot of spare time with the lockdown situation and would like to use the time to contribute more to open source. I already contributed some small fixes/features to projects like terraform or gogen-avro but would like to do more. I would like a friendly project where I can learn fast or where the community is able to get you to speed.

Any suggestions?

16 comments

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Dahoon 6y ago ↗

Wouldn't it be better to contribute to something totally uncool instead since those projects are more in need of developers? Something like libraries maybe. If you are new(ish) there's a helpful site here:

https://www.firsttimersonly.com/

neo2006 6y ago ↗

Thank you for the advice, I will start here.

souprock 6y ago ↗

I think "the hottest" would be "totally uncool" by definition.

Here are a few projects, many unmaintained, which qualify:

https://www.archlinux.org/packages/community/x86_64/cpuburn/ https://core-electronics.com.au/tutorials/stress-testing-you... https://packages.debian.org/jessie/cpuburn https://github.com/patrickmn/cpuburn http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/trusty/man1/cpuburn.1.ht... https://patrickmn.com/projects/cpuburn/

neo2006 6y ago ↗

I found out this github repo that label first timer issues. https://github.com/MunGell/awesome-for-beginners

notRobot 6y ago ↗

The Tor project. Millions of users who care about their privacy or live in oppressed regimes rely on it for unrestricted access to the internet.

https://www.torproject.org/

morceauxdebois 6y ago ↗

Matrix, there's a very real chance that a FOSS, E2E, federated messaging service can topple all the proprietary market giants. It's fully featured and just needs some polish to fully enter mass adoption.

stakkur 6y ago ↗

It's awesome that you suggested Matrix to a user named Neo.

RealStickman 6y ago ↗

Should've started with "Hello Neo"

neo2006 6y ago ↗

I chose the blue pill!!!

kxh6 6y ago ↗

Could we create like a hiring thread for floss contribution? I already asked about this yesterday but since my account is new it got marked as dead.

verdverm 6y ago ↗

I'll post our project here, we have some good open issues they are pretty easy and help to know the code base.

It's a code generation framework written in Go and uses https://cuelang.org which we believe is an up and comer.

https://github.com/hofstadter-io/hof

neo2006 6y ago ↗

Thank you, I will try to grab one of the issues and see if I can help. I used some go code generation while working with gogen-avro

diehunde 6y ago ↗

Question for people who contribute: how do you familiarize yourself with the project at the beginning? I'm talking about the actual source code. Do you have any strategy to start? Maybe debugging API calls, or study single files? Thanks.

throwaway158497 6y ago ↗

If it is a random project, then you are pretty much lost. So, Do not contribute to them. Think of a project you use and where you would like to see a few features. Pick it up, subscribe to the issues for a few days and get some familiarity. After that, compile it and put a few debug points.

Also, write to the developer(s) of the project that you are looking for something to work on. If they suggest something, work on it.

That said, I think Apache Foundation projects are pretty well documented. Try them.

This is all advice from a person who never contributed to OSS.

fullito 6y ago ↗

I thought about looking for projects which are open source and used very very often but are totally boring like image libraries, encryption etc.

Then doing performance analysis and optimization.

itm 6y ago ↗

I guess your best bet to keep motivation on the long term is to contribute to projects your are using daily.