How to make your first contribution to an Open Source Project

#opensource #github #beginners

Yeah! I made my first pull request on GitHub. 😎

Today, I was learning how to use Python Masonite Framework through the docs. Then I noticed something intriguing with the docs.
There was a missing parameter leading to Error and freezing your application if you were following the doc
So I click on the GitHub button to edit the doc and then made a pull request.

1 - You don't need a big issue to contribute

I thought that the first time I will contribute, I would have to deep inside the code like a terminator and then find a big issue to fix.
But there a lot of people on GitHub contributing by simply correcting grammar or adjusting icons.
Just do it even if it’s a simple thing.

2 - Be sure to read the code of conduct before contributing

It’s very important to read the code of conduct ( Don’t worry. They are never that long.) to know how you can express yourself and make your first pull request.
Also, be sure that the issue doesn’t exist yet or have been resolved before opening a new one.

3 - Be simple and concise about what you modified

When making the pull request, you will have to describe what you’ve done.
Be simple and concise.
If you need to add more details, there is a description field that you can use and tell more about the correction you are making.

4 - Now Merge your changes

I didn’t add that sometimes you must fork the project if you want to make deep modification and see what happens locally and if everything goes well.
For little edits like I made, you can go directly to the project.
GitHub will automatically fork the project for you and you will able to merge to the master branch and wait core contributors to approve your edits.🤓

Now that’s all. You will just have to wait for confirmation.
And if you followed the code of conduct, you will get a quick answer.
That will be noticed on your activity tracker on GitHub. 🤓

Thanks for reading 📖 ! If you have questions on how to contribute on GitHub, you are welcome in the comment section.

Top comments (7)

Hina-softwareEngineer • Dec 9 '19

Do we make pull requests only when we want to upload project on my GitHub profile and fork only when we want to make changes to other one code in our computer??? Actually i am new to GitHub so I don't much know about working on others Project except uploading the project which i have made completely.