A team of free software contributors from Télécom Paris, Open edX, OpenStack, and Wikipedia has just released Open Source Masterclass — a free, CC-BY-SA licensed online course that teaches you how to contribute to FLOSS projects.
What's in it?
The course is a 7-module MOOC covering:
- History of free software — from the GNU Manifesto to modern forges
- Software forges — navigating GitHub, GitLab, and project infrastructure
- Community dynamics — how open source projects organize and communicate
- Making your first contribution — a guided pathway from finding a project to landing your first PR
- Project selection — each chapter helps you identify and assess projects that match your skills
Why this course?
Most "get started with open source" guides stop at "find a project and submit a PR." This course goes deeper into the social and organizational aspects — understanding how communities work, how decisions are made, and how to communicate effectively as a newcomer.
It was built collaboratively by people who've spent years in major open source projects, and it's published as a digital common under CC-BY-SA so institutions and communities can freely adapt it.
Try it
The source is on GitLab — contributions welcome. If you teach or mentor developers, consider integrating it into your onboarding.
The course is produced by IMT/Télécom Paris with contributions from OpenCraft, the OpenInfra Foundation, and the Wikimedia community.
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