Your first open-source contribution

Programs like GSoC, Outreachy, and Summer of Bitcoin expect evidence you can ship. One merged PR beats a long résumé.

1. Choose a project

• Pick from find-organizations.md or a program you plan to apply to.
• Prefer repos with good first issue, help wanted, or a clear CONTRIBUTING.md.

2. Set up locally

• Fork the repo (or follow their forkless workflow if documented).
• Clone, install deps, run tests — note what fails before you change anything.
• Create a branch: fix-typo-docs or issue-123-short-desc.

3. Make a small change

• Docs fixes, tests, typos, and small bugs are valid first PRs.
• One logical change per PR. Link the issue: Fixes #123 if applicable.

4. Open the pull request

• Fill the PR template if the repo has one.
• Say what you tested and what you did not (e.g. “docs only”).
• Be polite and patient — maintainers are volunteers.

5. Review cycle

• Address feedback with new commits or squash as they ask.
• If the PR goes quiet, one polite ping after ~1–2 weeks is OK.

6. After merge

• Add the link to your application / portfolio.
• Introduce yourself on their official chat (Matrix, Slack, Discord, mailing list — use what they list).
• Pick the next slightly harder issue.

Common mistakes

• Opening a PR without reading CONTRIBUTING.md
• Large “rewrite” as a first PR
• Cold-emailing mentors when the org says “use GitHub issues only”
• Applying with zero interaction on that org’s tracker

Next steps

• how-to-apply.md — proposals and timelines
• templates/gsoc-proposal-outline.md