DEV Community: Manik Sharma

good post

Manik Sharma — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 17:58:54 +0000

My First Godot Engine Contribution (and how YOU can start)

Manik Sharma ・ Feb 2

I Stopped Writing Boilerplate Code and My Productivity Doubled (Here's What I Learned)

Manik Sharma — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 15:14:29 +0000

The Wake-Up Call

So last month, I found myself writing yet another CRUD API for the millionth time. You know the drill - controllers, routes, validation, error handling, the whole shebang. And I'm sitting there at 11 PM thinking "there's gotta be a better way."

That's when I actually started using AI coding assistants for more than just autocomplete.

What Changed?

I'm not talking about just accepting suggestions anymore. I mean actually collaborating with AI tools to speed up the boring parts so I can focus on the interesting problems. Here's what surprised me:

1. Boilerplate Became a Non-Issue

Remember spending 20 minutes setting up test scaffolding? Yeah, that's like 2 minutes now. I just describe what I need and boom - proper test structure, mocks, assertions. Sure, I still review and tweak it, but the cognitive load is way less.

2. Documentation Stopped Being a Chore

Hot take: I actually started writing better docs because it doesn't feel like pulling teeth anymore. Generate a draft, make it sound like me, done. My team actually reads the docs now (shocking, I know).

3. Learning New Tech Got Easier

Picked up Rust last week for a side project. Instead of spending hours digging through docs for basic syntax, I could just ask questions and get example code. It's like having a patient mentor who never gets annoyed at "dumb" questions.

The Reality Check

Look, I'm not gonna pretend it's all perfect. Here's the stuff that still trips me up:

The hallucination problem: Sometimes the AI confidently suggests code that looks right but doesn't work. You still need to know what you're doing.
Over-reliance is real: I caught myself accepting suggestions without thinking. Bad habit. Now I force myself to understand every line.
It's not magic: Complex architecture decisions? That's still on you. AI can help implement, but it won't design your system.

What I Actually Do Now

My workflow changed to something like this:

Break down the problem (still me, still important)
Let AI handle the repetitive parts (tests, basic implementations, config files)
Review everything (seriously, EVERYTHING)
Focus my brain on the hard stuff (architecture, edge cases, performance)

The Controversial Part

Here's what I think: if you're not using AI tools in 2026, you're like someone refusing to use Stack Overflow in 2015. It's just a tool that makes you more efficient.

But also - and this is important - you still need to be a good developer. AI doesn't replace understanding your craft. It just removes the tedious parts so you can focus on being creative and solving real problems.

The Bottom Line

My productivity legit doubled. Not because AI writes all my code (it doesn't), but because I spend less time on stuff a junior dev could do and more time on problems that actually matter.

Plus, I leave work at 6 PM now instead of 9 PM. That alone is worth it.

What About You?

How are you using AI coding tools? Are you in the "this is amazing" camp or the "this is concerning" camp?

Drop a comment - genuinely curious what everyone's experience has been.

P.S. - No, AI didn't write this post. Well, okay, it helped with that one paragraph I rewrote three times. But mostly me. Mostly.

My First Godot Engine Contribution (and how YOU can start)

Manik Sharma — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 12:03:41 +0000

Why I’m writing this

Like many developers, I used open source every day, but contributing always felt intimidating.

Huge codebase. Thousands of files. Very experienced developers.

Eventually, I made my first real contribution to the Godot Engine, and this post is about:

What I contributed
How I got started with open source
The basic workflow anyone can follow

Here is my pull request:

https://github.com/godotengine/godot/pull/115729

What I contributed

Instead of trying to add a big feature, I focused on understanding the existing codebase and making a small, meaningful improvement.

This was my contribution. I changed the length of the selected line!!

Before

After

So i basically changed 2 lines of code.

This helped me learn:

How large projects structure their code
How reviews work in real open-source projects
How to communicate changes clearly

The biggest lesson: your first contribution does not need to be big, it needs to be correct.

How to get started with open source (Godot example)

1. Fork the repository

Go to the main repository:

https://github.com/godotengine/godot

Click Fork to create your own copy.

2. Clone your fork and set upstream

git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/godot.git
cd godot
git remote add upstream https://github.com/godotengine/godot.git

3. Create a new branch

Always work on a separate branch. Never make changes directly on master or main.

git checkout -b my-fix

4. Build, make changes, and commit

Before pushing anything, make sure the project builds correctly. After making a small and focused change, commit it with a clear message.

git add .
git commit -m "Fix: clear description of the change"

Keep commits minimal and related to a single purpose.

5. Push and open a Pull Request

Push your branch to your fork:

git push origin my-fix

Then open a Pull Request and clearly explain:

What the change does
Why the change is needed
Any edge cases you considered

What happens after opening a PR

Your pull request will be reviewed by maintainers.

You may be asked to update or improve parts of your code.
This is normal and expected.
Reviews are not criticism; they are collaboration and learning.

Final thoughts

Open source teaches you how real software is built at scale. You learn by reading existing code, fixing real issues, and discussing changes publicly. If you use open-source software, contributing back is one of the best ways to grow as a developer.

Sources

The official docs are really good. if i would have flowed it form start i could have saved myself a lot of time.
Contribution Guide: https://contributing.godotengine.org/en/latest/organization/how_to_contribute.html

DEV Community: Manik Sharma

good post

My First Godot Engine Contribution (and how YOU can start)

Manik Sharma ・ Feb 2

I Stopped Writing Boilerplate Code and My Productivity Doubled (Here's What I Learned)

The Wake-Up Call

What Changed?

1. Boilerplate Became a Non-Issue

2. Documentation Stopped Being a Chore

3. Learning New Tech Got Easier

The Reality Check

What I Actually Do Now

The Controversial Part

The Bottom Line

What About You?

My First Godot Engine Contribution (and how YOU can start)

Why I’m writing this

What I contributed

Before

After

How to get started with open source (Godot example)

1. Fork the repository

2. Clone your fork and set upstream

3. Create a new branch

4. Build, make changes, and commit

5. Push and open a Pull Request

What happens after opening a PR

Final thoughts

Sources

Feel free to ask question in the comments section.