DEV Community: Shashank Saxena

🌱 My Hacktoberfest 2025 Experience: Learning, Contributing, and Growing with Open Source

Shashank Saxena — Sat, 11 Oct 2025 06:51:04 +0000

This is a submission for the 2025 Hacktoberfest Writing Challenge: Open Source Reflections

Every October, developers around the world come together for Hacktoberfest — a celebration of open source, collaboration, and community. This year, I finally decided to dive in. And honestly? It’s been one of the most rewarding learning experiences I’ve had as a developer.

🚀 Getting Started

When I first heard about Hacktoberfest, I imagined it was only for experienced programmers. But as I explored GitHub and saw beginner-friendly repositories labeled “good first issue”, I realized open source wasn’t about perfection — it was about participation.

I started small: fixing typos, improving documentation, and adding simple features. Each pull request taught me something new — from understanding project structure to using Git commands efficiently. The excitement of getting my first PR merged was unbeatable!

💡 What I Learned

Participating in Hacktoberfest 2025 taught me more than just code. Here are my biggest takeaways:

Open source is about collaboration, not competition.
Everyone is working toward a shared goal. Maintainers are supportive, and feedback helps you grow as a contributor.

Documentation matters.
I learned how vital clear documentation is — not just for users but for future contributors too. Writing good README files or contribution guides can make a real difference.

Consistency beats complexity.
Even small, consistent contributions — fixing a bug, improving accessibility, updating comments — collectively create a big impact.

🌍 What Open Source Means to Me

Before Hacktoberfest, open source felt abstract — like something “big developers” did. Now, it feels like home.
Open source means sharing knowledge, lifting others, and building things together that anyone, anywhere, can benefit from. It’s a reminder that technology isn’t just about writing code — it’s about creating connections.

💬 Advice for Future Participants

If you’re thinking of joining Hacktoberfest next year, here’s my advice:

Start small, but start. Don’t wait until you feel “ready.” The community is beginner-friendly and always willing to help.

Read and respect project guidelines. It’s the best way to show professionalism and appreciation for maintainers’ work.

Celebrate learning, not just merges. Every issue you explore, every discussion you join, every PR you attempt — it’s progress.

Give back beyond October. Hacktoberfest might end, but your contributions can continue all year round.

🎉 Wrapping Up

Hacktoberfest 2025 reminded me why I fell in love with tech in the first place — curiosity, creativity, and community.
It’s not just about earning a digital badge or planting a tree — it’s about realizing that we all have something valuable to contribute, no matter our level.

If you’re on the fence about joining next year — go for it. The open-source world is waiting for your pull request. 🌍💻💕

Hacktoberfest 2024!

Shashank Saxena — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 13:47:20 +0000

This is a submission for the 2024 Hacktoberfest Writing challenge: Contributor Experience

Hello DEV Community! 👋

It's hard to believe it’s already been over four years since I first joined this incredible DEV community, and looking back, it’s easily one of the best choices I made for leveling up my skills. The endless recommendations, the deep dives into new tech, and all the hands-on "how-to" guides have been game-changers. Huge shout-out to Hacktoberfest for putting me on this platform back in 2020!

My Hacktoberfest Journey

Hacktoberfest 2020 was my entry point, and since then, October has become the month I eagerly look forward to for this open-source celebration. Each year has been a blast, and 2023 was no exception! As usual, Hacktoberfest came through with some sleek digital badges via Holopin that really make the contributions feel special.

This year, I’m taking on the dual role of contributor and maintainer. I'm diving into both code and non-code contributions—it's all about the spirit of open source, after all. My passion lies especially with penetration testing repositories (like gobuster and others), and I'm also maintaining a repo of my own tools that I’ve developed over time. Building, testing, and refining tools, especially in cybersecurity, is a thrill, and Hacktoberfest keeps that momentum going every year.

To all those considering getting into open source or still on the fence—jump in! Whether it’s code contributions, documentation, or testing, there’s something for everyone. Let’s make this Hacktoberfest one to remember!

I wish you all the best for Hacktoberfest.
Thank you!

Hacktoberfest 2023: Let's hack!

Shashank Saxena — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 11:33:06 +0000

Intro

Hey everyone! It's been around 3 years joining this amazing community of DEV and it has been one of the best decisions for my skill improvement! DEV has really upskilled me these years by suggesting awesome reads about new tech and various how-to's. I would like to extend my gratitude to Hacktoberfest for making me aware of this platform.

Background

So, I have been participating in Hacktoberfest since 2020 and I really wait for the month of October to attend and participate in this festival of open source and try to contribute to open source. This year was really fun and Hacktoberfest gave us really cool digital badges from Holopin like the previous year.

Pledge

I'm taking part as a contributor and a maintainer this year and I would be looking forward to contributing in some code as well as non-code. However, I really enjoy contributing to repos of penetration testing tools like gobuster, etc, and also maintaining a repository of my own developed tools.

I wish you all the best for Hacktoberfest.
Thank you!

Hacktoberfest 2022 done!!

Shashank Saxena — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 12:04:07 +0000

First of all, thanks to Hacktoberfest (2020) for making me aware of this platform. In past two years, its been a roller coaster. I learnt a LOT from here, things which I won't realize they existed. From "Hello World" to Real World Programs :D

I have successfully completed my Hacktoberfest 2022 challange 🥳 YAY!

I loved the Holopin Badges they added this year.

Thank You Hacktoberfest once again!!

New to this lovely community!

Shashank Saxena — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 12:50:16 +0000

Hi everyone, my name is Shashank and I don't have much to tell about me but the most importantly I am a "developer". I would like to acknowledge Hacktoberfest 2020 for making me a part of this community and I hope that I will learn much from here.
Thank You!
YouTube (Hindi) - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwXln15OdezXd_ktDAbP0MA?view_as=subscriber