Hacktoberfest 2026: Help Build a Tamagotchi That Lives in VS Code

Every October, thousands of developers go hunting for an open-source project to contribute to. Most of them land in repos with 400-page setup guides, a Docker compose file that doesn't compose, and a maintainer who reviews PRs sometime around Christmas.

This is not that repo.

DevGotchi is a free, open-source VS Code extension that turns your editor into a cyberpunk RPG. A little developer avatar lives in your side panel. It has stats — Focus, Motivation, Energy, Health — that decay in real time while you code. You earn XP and Coffee Beans for saves, commits, and bug fixes. Lint errors become a boss fight whose HP equals your actual error count. Let your health hit zero and you hit burnout: the UI glitches red and locks you out until you take a break.

It's silly. It's also weirdly effective at making me fix lint errors. And this Hacktoberfest, I'm opening it up properly — with real, mergeable work scoped for first-time contributors.

What you get out of it

• A merged PR in a live, published extension (real users, real installs — it's on both the VS Code Marketplace and Open VSX)
• A Hacktoberfest-counted contribution (the repo carries the hacktoberfest topic, and quality PRs get the hacktoberfest-accepted label)
• A maintainer who actually reviews — I'm one person, reviews happen in the evenings (CT), but they happen
• Bragging rights: your name in the credits of a game about a tiny developer who judges people's work ethic

The one rule

No telemetry. Ever. DevGotchi's core promise is that everything runs locally — no accounts, no servers, no analytics, nothing phoning home. Any PR that adds tracking or external requests gets rejected, kindly but firmly. Everything else is fair game.

Ways to contribute (some need zero code)

Issues are labeled good first issue and hacktoberfest. Current menu:

No code required

• ✍️ Write new random events — the little surprises that fire while you code ("Found a forgotten coffee stash! +20 beans"). Just strings and stat effects.
• 🏅 Design achievements — name, emoji, unlock condition. Spec it or code it, both count.
• 🎨 New shop skin concepts — name, emoji, stat effect. Pixel art welcome but not required.
• 🌍 Translations — help bring the UI to Spanish, French, Hindi, Portuguese, or your language.

Code, beginner-friendly

• 🎮 A new mini-game — 60-second distractions for the Challenges panel (there's a Bug Hunt and a typing Speed Test to copy the pattern from).
• ☕ Streak-freeze potion — a shop item, purchasable with coffee beans, that protects one missed day.
• 📜 Tutorial copy pass — the first-run walkthrough could be funnier. Make it funnier.

Code, meatier

• 🐉 Boss variants, quest chains, story-mode chapters — if you want something with teeth, open an issue and let's scope it together.

Getting started

Meanwhile, in the game itself

All October, DevGotchi is running its Hacktoberfest event: your dev earns bonus XP for open-source commits, so the avatar you've been neglecting can level up because you contributed. Yes, I built a game that rewards you for improving the game. The recursion is the point.

Keep your developer alive, your streak unbroken, and your coffee cup full. ☕

Questions? Drop them in the comments — I read everything.