🚀 Everything You Need to Know About the GitLab Community Hackathon! 🦊

🚀 Welcome to the GitLab Community Hackathon Guide!

Are you looking to get involved in open source, level up your skills, and earn some exclusive swag? The GitLab Community Hackathon is a week-long virtual event where anyone can contribute to GitLab projects[cite: 1]!

Whether you're interested in coding, documentation, UI/UX design, or translation, there is a place for you[cite: 1].

Here is your comprehensive README.md guide on how to jump in, start contributing, and win big.

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🛠️ How to Join & Get Started

Participating in the hackathon is completely remote and designed to be accessible. Here is how to get started:

1. Onboard & Setup

• Start Onboarding: Head over to the GitLab Contributor Platform and click "start onboarding"[cite: 1]. You'll receive a personal onboarding issue sent straight to your email[cite: 1].
• Prep Your Environment: Follow the instructions in your onboarding issue to set up your local development environment[cite: 1].

2. Find an Issue

• Pick a Quick Win: Look for "quick-win" issues to get the hang of the workflow[cite: 1].
• Get Assigned: Before you open a merge request (MR), make sure you are assigned to the issue[cite: 1]. You can assign yourself using the issue finder or simply ask in the issue thread[cite: 1].

3. Contribute!

• Accept the Rules: You must accept the hackathon rules (via the popup or button on the platform page) for your contributions to count[cite: 1].
• Submit Your MR: Create a merge request anytime during the 7-day hackathon period[cite: 1].
• The Magic Bot: The @gitlab-bot will automatically apply the Hackathon label to your MR to denote that it qualifies[cite: 1].
• The Deadline: To score points for an MR, it must be merged within 31 days after the 7-day hackathon ends[cite: 1]. If no MRs are merged in that window, you won't earn any points[cite: 1]!

💡 Pro Tip: You can also earn points for non-code contributions during the 7-day period! This includes opening issues, adding notes, sending Discord messages, creating forum posts, translating, and more[cite: 1].

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🏆 Prizes & Scoring

The Community Hackathon rewards contributors with credits that can be redeemed in the Contributor Success store[cite: 1].

Here is the prize breakdown[cite: 1]:

• 🥇 First Place: 200 credits to the individual with the most points[cite: 1].
• 🥈 Second Place: 150 credits to the individual with the second most points[cite: 1].
• 🥉 Third Place: 100 credits to the individual with the third most points[cite: 1].
• 🎉 Merged MR: 50 credits to everyone who successfully gets at least one MR merged[cite: 1]!

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🌍 Why Participate?

Beyond the prizes, the GitLab Community Hackathon is an incredible way to:

• Gain real-world, practical experience in a massive codebase[cite: 1].
• Collaborate with a globally diverse, welcoming open-source community[cite: 1].
• Unlock exclusive GitLab profile achievements to show off on your resume[cite: 1].

Are you ready to make your first contribution? Head over to contributors.gitlab.com/hackathon and sign up today! Happy hacking! 🦊💻