The latest articles on DEV Community by Amarnath Ps (@amarnath_ps). https://dev.to/amarnath_ps https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3842435%2Fb7ad2ea8-dcd4-4e36-ad54-7602110b9098.jpg https://dev.to/amarnath_ps en Amarnath Ps Wed, 25 Mar 2026 03:33:55 +0000 https://dev.to/amarnath_ps/my-first-steps-into-open-source-setting-up-wagtail-for-gsoc-2026-4g5c https://dev.to/amarnath_ps/my-first-steps-into-open-source-setting-up-wagtail-for-gsoc-2026-4g5c <p>As a first-year BTech student, I always thought open source contribution was something only experienced developers did. GSoC 2026 proved me wrong.</p> <h2> Why GSoC? </h2> <p>When I first heard about Google Summer of Code, I was intimidated. But then I saw Wagtail — a Django-based CMS with a friendly community and a history of mentoring newcomers. Six years, fourteen successful projects. That felt like a sign.</p> <h2> Picking Wagtail </h2> <p>I looked at a few organizations. Some required deep math knowledge, others needed years of experience. Wagtail was different — their contributor guide was clear, their Slack was welcoming, and their project ideas made sense to me even as a beginner. The Demo Website Redesign project caught my eye immediately.</p> <h2> The Setup </h2> <p>I started with the basics — forking the repository on GitHub and cloning it locally. Sounds simple, but for someone who had only used Git for personal projects, working with an upstream remote was new territory.</p> <p>The first real lesson came with virtual environments. I had heard of them before but never fully understood why they mattered. Setting up Wagtail's bakerydemo taught me the hard way — without isolating dependencies, things break fast. Now I get it.</p> <h2> What Surprised Me </h2> <p>I expected the codebase to be overwhelming. It wasn't. Wagtail's templates are readable, the structure is logical, and the issues tracker is active. I could actually understand what was going on — and that matters a lot when you're just starting out.</p> <p>I also learned that open source isn't just about writing code. Reading issues, understanding discussions between maintainers, and following how decisions get made — that's a skill in itself.</p> <h2> What's Next </h2> <p>I'm working on my GSoC proposal for the Demo Website Redesign project. The goal is to make Wagtail's demo site more flexible and suitable for different verticals — not just a bakery, but any kind of content-driven site.</p> <p>For any other first-year students reading this — don't wait until you feel "ready." Fork the repo, run the project locally, and start reading issues. That's all it takes to begin.</p> <p>The deadline is March 31. Let's go. 🚀</p> beginners django opensource python