The latest articles on DEV Community by Alexander Wang (@alexwdeveloper). https://dev.to/alexwdeveloper https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4001322%2F1d99b451-d830-415e-bbc1-f5a36ab33317.png https://dev.to/alexwdeveloper en Alexander Wang Mon, 29 Jun 2026 08:41:01 +0000 https://dev.to/alexwdeveloper/what-it-feels-like-to-get-your-first-star-f27 https://dev.to/alexwdeveloper/what-it-feels-like-to-get-your-first-star-f27 <p>I recently got my first star on my <a href="https://github.com/alex-w-developer/GetBlocked" rel="noopener noreferrer">GitHub repository</a>!</p> <p>It may sound silly to the "seasoned devs" who have hundreds or thousands of stars and view these yellow icons as just byproducts of their amazing work. However, for me (a relative newbie to GitHub), it feels pretty good.</p> <p>When you spend hours just staring and working on code, hitting roadblocks/bugs that seem Unsolvable™, and just wondering if your project will even impact the lives of people, it feels nice to realize that someone actually saw your repository and felt inclined to star it.</p> <p>It gives you this massive boost of motivation to keep on working on your project and gives you the fuel to try and expand it a lot.</p> <p>To everyone else working away on a quiet project right now, keep going, you never know when you might actually help someone out.</p> <p>To the veterans, how did you feel when you got your first star? What was the project?</p> opensource software learning community Alexander Wang Sat, 27 Jun 2026 01:47:50 +0000 https://dev.to/alexwdeveloper/looking-for-contributors-for-getblocked-a-small-chrome-tracker-blocking-extension-791 https://dev.to/alexwdeveloper/looking-for-contributors-for-getblocked-a-small-chrome-tracker-blocking-extension-791 <p>Hi everyone,</p> <p>I am currently a high schooler working on summer projects before I go to school and get busy.</p> <p>I'm working on <strong><a href="https://github.com/alex-w-developer/GetBlocked/" rel="noopener noreferrer">GetBlocked!</a></strong>, a local-only Chrome extension that helps block common web trackers and clean tracking links.</p> <p>I'm looking for contributors who want to help improve it.</p> <p>Useful PRs could include:</p> <ul> <li>adding more tracker domains</li> <li>testing websites and reporting broken pages</li> <li>improving the popup UI</li> <li>improving docs</li> <li>adding tests</li> <li>reviewing the tracker categories</li> <li>suggesting safer MV3 patterns</li> </ul> <p>I tried to make contributions easy. A small useful PR can be as simple as adding one tracker domain and one test fixture.</p> <p>The project is intentionally small, local-only, and beginner-friendly. It does not use analytics, telemetry, accounts, or a backend.</p> <p>Repo:<br> <a href="https://github.com/alex-w-developer/GetBlocked/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/alex-w-developer/GetBlocked/</a></p> <p>Small PRs are very much welcome.</p> <p>If you find this project to be interesting and would like to show support, starring the repo would definitely help a lot.</p> programming javascript opensource learning