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Ask HN: Where can I start contributing to open source efforts?

13 points by jat850 ↗ HN
I have some spare time at my disposal and am looking to contribute to open source projects. I am not really sure where to start. I've browsed through the "Explore Github" trending section, but I haven't had much luck finding anything that I would be best suited to offer whatever I might be able to.

I largely specialize in C and JavaScript (especially node.js), but I also suffer a little from imposter syndrome and I think this would help me combat that some, and to learn and grow and improve.

15 comments

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tatigo22
There is a nice DNN (DotNetNuke) community, it's web CMS written in .Net. Lot's of JavaScript (no C though). you're welcome to join and contribute.
jat850
Thank you, I'll certainly check it out. I do have some (admittedly outdated) experience in .Net as well.
Warewolf-ESB
Come check out Warewolf ESB - https://github.com/Warewolf-ESB/Warewolf-ESB

It's recently become open source so now is a good time to get in early and stick your name on it. It's .Net based, so a little bit of polishing up will need to happen.

Looking forward to your contribution :)

misframer
You can always start your own projects.
jat850
I do have a very small handful of my own projects on the go, for sure. I just wish I could do a little bit more to contribute back to a community that I've drawn a lot from (knowledge and tangible products).
creichert
Do you currently use any free or open source software you would like to improve?
joshschreuder
I always agree with this - start by looking at the software you use.

Read the documentation. Are there any inconsistencies or poorly written docs?

Have you run into any bugs or odd behaviour when using the software? If so, reproduce it and write a test case. Once you have written a test case, work on developing a fix.

If you're really stumped, take a look at open issues that people have raised and if they don't appear to have anyone working on them, or no one has opened a pull request, start looking into the issue and try to achieve the above.

Alternatively, if the product has a feature gap that you think would be valuable, contact the maintainer and see if they agree. If they agree, then ask if you can start working on it and get the feature merged back into the core software.

jat850
These are both excellent replies. I hadn't thought of that - thank you. Appreciate the input from both of you.
atmosx
Contribute to Ghost[1] it's a considerably new blogging node.js platform and has a fairly good bit of popularity. Having your code in the main tree, would add some points to resume.

[1] https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost

jat850
Thank you. I'm absolutely going to check it out.
bjourne
"I've browsed through the "Explore Github" trending section, but I haven't had much luck finding anything that I would be best suited to offer whatever I might be able to."

Why not? Not to be a jerk, but try googling "how to start contributing to open source" and maybe even read the ask hn archives because your question gets asked a lot. I'll be glad to help you after you've done this basic groundwork yourself, then describe what you have tried so far, what your hangups are and exactly what you need help with.