How to Make Your First Open Source Contribution Without Feeling Lost

Rohit Sharma — Mon, 11 May 2026 16:30:55 +0000

Getting into open source for the first time can feel confusing.

You open GitHub, see hundreds of files, random issues, people discussing things you don’t understand… and suddenly you close the tab.

Totally normal.

A lot of beginners think open source means you need to be some expert developer who understands massive codebases and writes perfect code from day one.

Not true.

Your first contribution can literally be fixing a typo in documentation.

Seriously.

The goal isn’t to make some huge contribution. The goal is to start.

Start Small, Really Small

One common mistake is picking giant projects like React or Kubernetes for the first contribution.
That’s just unnecessary pain.

Pick beginner-friendly projects instead.

Look for issue labels like:

good first issue
beginner friendly
help wanted
documentation

And choose something in tech you already know.

If you know React, pick a React project.
If you know Python, go for Python projects.

Don’t make life harder by learning new tech and open source workflow together.

You Don’t Need to Understand Everything

This is probably the biggest fear.

“Bro I don’t understand the whole codebase.”

You don’t need to.

Just figure out:

what the project does
where the relevant files are
how to run it locally
contribution rules

That’s enough.

Read:

README.md
CONTRIBUTING.md
issue discussion

That alone clears a lot of confusion.

Your First Contribution Doesn’t Need to Be Code

People forget this.

Open source isn’t only coding.

You can contribute by:

fixing docs
correcting grammar
improving setup instructions
fixing broken links
updating UI text
small CSS fixes
accessibility improvements

These are valid contributions.

Git Workflow Looks Scarier Than It Is

At first Git feels complicated, but basic flow is simple:

git clone "repo-link"
git checkout -b fix-small-issue

Make changes, then:

git add .
git commit -m "Fix issue"
git push origin branch-name

Then open a pull request.

That’s it.

You don’t need to memorize 50 commands.

Please Comment Before Starting

A simple mistake beginners make: working on an issue without saying anything.

Then after hours of work, someone says it’s already being handled.

Pain.

Just comment:
Hey, I’d like to work on this issue. Can I take this?

Simple and saves time.

Code Review Isn’t Rejection

Your PR might get comments like:

please rename this variable
formatting issue
can you add tests?
this approach needs changes

That doesn’t mean you failed.

That’s literally how open source works.

Even experienced devs get review comments.

Avoid These Beginner Mistakes

Don’t:

pick giant complex repos
make huge first PRs
ignore contribution guidelines
take review feedback personally
submit untested code

Keep first win small.

Best Way to Start

A simple progression:

First PR → documentation fix
Second PR → small UI issue
Third PR → minor bug
Then slowly bigger stuff

That’s a much better path than trying to become some “open source beast” on day one.

Final Thought

Everyone feels lost in the beginning.

Literally everyone.

The people contributing today were confused beginners once too.

The only difference?

They started anyway.

So pick one small issue, make one PR, and get your first contribution done.

DEV Community: Rohit Sharma

How to Make Your First Open Source Contribution Without Feeling Lost

Getting into open source for the first time can feel confusing.