What Is Hacktoberfest?
Hacktoberfest is a month-long celebration of open source, organized annually by DigitalOcean (in partnership with community sponsors) to encourage people (developers, designers, writers, and non-coders too) to get involved in open-source projects.
Since its inception, the mission remains simple:
- Encourage contributions to open projects
- Bring in new contributors
- Celebrate open source communities and maintainers
- Provide incentives (digital badges, T-shirts, recognition) Over the years, Hacktoberfest has grown from just hundreds of participants to tens of thousands.
Timeline: When & How It Runs
Phase | What Happens | Notes |
---|---|---|
Pre-September (“Preptember”) | Get ready: find projects, add hacktoberfest topic, brush up on Git |
The official site encourages prep in September. |
October 1 – October 31 | Main event: submit pull/merge requests, community events | Your PRs must be accepted/merged/approved during this window (or within the review window). |
Review window / wrap-up | Some PRs may be accepted within a grace window; organizers finalize awards | Maintainers may label PRs or merge them within a few days after October. |
Afterwards | Prize distribution, badges, reflection, stories | T-shirts, digital badges, contributor features, etc. |
Key Dates in 2025
- Hacktoberfest 2025 is officially open.
- The global kickoff “From Code to Community” is on October 1st, virtual gathering.
- Events (satellite sessions, workshops, meetups) are held throughout October.
How to Participate: Step by Step
Here’s how you can get involved and make the most of Hacktoberfest:
1. Register / Sign Up
Go to Hacktoberfest.com and connect your GitHub account. This links your contributions to your profile.
Once you register, you’ll get a digital badge (or “pin”) that upgrades as you complete accepted PRs.
2. Find Suitable Projects
- Only repositories that have opted in (i.e. have the
hacktoberfest
topic) count as eligible. - Many projects label beginner-friendly issues as “good first issue” or “help wanted”. These are great for newcomers.
- You can contribute to non-code areas as well: docs, translation, design, writing, tutorials, etc.
- Keep your eyes on Hacktoberfest’s official event listings and community shared project lists.
3. Make Pull or Merge Requests
- Fork or clone the repo
- Create a new branch
- Make your changes or additions
- Submit a PR (or merge request)
- Be sure to follow the project’s contribution guidelines
- Maintain good PR hygiene: clear commit messages, description of what you did, link to issue (if any)
- Engage with maintainers: respond to feedback and revise if needed
4. Ensure PRs Are Accepted / Approved
For a PR to count:
- The repository must be eligible (have
hacktoberfest
topic) - The PR must be merged, or labeled
hacktoberfest-accepted
by a maintainer - Some PRs may be accepted after the October window within a review grace period
- The total needed for “completion” is currently 6 accepted PRs in many Hacktoberfest editions.
5. 🎁 Hacktoberfest 2025 Rewards
- 🪪 Holopin — Earn a digital Hacktoberfest badge + unique Holopin sticker for socials.
- 👕 Swag (T-Shirt) — Exclusive T-shirt for Super Contributors (6 accepted PRs/MRs, first 10,000 only).
- 🌱 TreeNation — With the T-shirt reward, a tree is planted to support a greener planet.
👉 Even if you don’t hit the T-shirt tier, every contributor gets digital recognition and a chance to showcase their journey!
Why You Should Join Hacktoberfest
Whether you’re a seasoned developer or just starting out, Hacktoberfest offers many benefits:
- Skill growth & learning — working on real projects improves your coding, collaboration, and review skills
- Portfolio & visibility — your GitHub contributions are public and can be shown to employers
- Community & networking — meet contributors, maintainers, and mentors worldwide
- Giving back — open-source projects power much of the tech stack we rely on
- Fun & motivation — friendly challenge, rewards, and shared energy through October
- Non-code opportunities — docs, design, translation, writing, testing are also valid ways to contribute.
Pitfalls & Best Practices (Don’t Become “Spamtoberfest”)
Over the years, maintaining event integrity and quality has been a challenge. Here are things to watch out for:
Common Pitfalls
- Submitting many trivial PRs (e.g. white-space fixes) just to hit count
- PRs to ineligible repos (without the
hacktoberfest
topic) - Not responding to maintainer feedback, resulting in PR rejections
- Working on mega complex issues without understanding the project
- Ignoring contribution guidelines
- Assuming every PR will be accepted — some valid ones might still be rejected or need revisions
Best Practices & Tips
- Aim for quality over quantity — better fewer meaningful contributions
- Choose beginner-friendly issues first
- Communicate early — open an issue or comment before heavy work
-
Always read the project’s
CONTRIBUTING.md
/ code of conduct - Write clear PR descriptions: what you changed, why, link to related issue
- Be responsive to maintainer feedback & revise your code
- Track your PRs and deadlines — maintainers often leave reviews near the end of October
- Don’t be discouraged by rejections — learn and try again
Example Projects & Organizations Participating (2025 Highlights)
-
Jenkins — They encourage PRs in Jenkins repositories with
hacktoberfest
topic. - Interledger — showing examples of non-code contributions (documentation, issues) in their repos.
- Defold — flagged some repos for “good first issue” contribution during Hacktoberfest.
- ServiceNow — their community is active in Hacktoberfest, with advocacy and blogs.
Additionally, many local and global events will run alongside Hacktoberfest (workshops, meetups, hackathons) — check the Hacktoberfest Events page.
Useful Resources & Repositories
Here are essential resources and repositories to kickstart your Hacktoberfest journey:
- Hacktoberfest Official Website — Participation guide, FAQs, and events.
- Good First Issues — Curated beginner-friendly open source issues.
Beginner-Friendly Contribution Platforms
- First Contributions — Beginner-friendly repo to learn contribution workflow.
- Public APIs — Large collection of free APIs for developers.
- Awesome for Beginners — Curated list of repositories with “good first issues.”
- FreeCodeCamp — Large open-source learning platform, issues labeled for beginners.
- EddieHubCommunity — Welcoming open-source community for first-time contributors.
- Mozilla’s Good First Bugs — Issues labeled “good first bug” across Mozilla repos.
Other Beginner Contribution Platforms
- Up For Grabs — Projects with curated tasks for new contributors.
- CodeTriage — Find open issues based on interest.
- First Timers Only — Guides and issues for first-time contributors.
- Contribute.dev — Discover projects and their beginner-friendly issues.
Join Telegram group for more resources & discussions!
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