Top 10 Open Source Projects for Beginners to Contribute To
Getting into open source feels intimidating at first. You’re staring at thousands of lines of code, unfamiliar tools, and the fear of saying the wrong thing in a PR comment. But here’s the truth: every maintainer was once a beginner. The best way to grow as a developer is to read real code, collaborate with others, and ship something that matters—even if it’s just fixing a typo.
This list isn’t about the flashiest repos. It’s about real projects with welcoming communities, clear contribution guides, and bite-sized issues perfect for your first PR.
Let’s cut the fluff and get you contributing.
1. first-contributions / first-contributions
GitHub: https://github.com/first-contributions/first-contributions
This repo is the tutorial. It walks you through forking, cloning, making a change, and opening a PR. It’s intentionally simple—just adding your name to a list.
git clone https://github.com/your-username/first-contributions.git
cd first-contributions
# Add your name
echo "Your Name" >> Contributors.md
git add Contributors.md
git commit -m "Add <Your Name> to Contributors"
git push origin main
Why it’s great: No code required. Pure workflow practice.
2. publiclab / plots2
Public Lab builds open tools for environmental science. Their Rails app is beginner-friendly, and they label issues as status:help-wanted or first-timers-only.
They use Rake tasks to help you get started:
bundle install
rake db:setup
rails server
Look for issues tagged beginner—many involve writing tests or improving UI text.
Pro tip: They respond fast and appreciate documentation fixes. That counts.
3. 24 Pull Requests / 24pullrequests
A community-driven project encouraging open source contributions during December. But you can contribute year-round.
It’s a Rails app with clear CONTRIBUTING.md and issues like:
- Fix broken links
- Improve accessibility labels
- Write beginner guides
# After setup
bin/rails server
# Visit http://localhost:3000
Bonus: Great for learning how open source communities run events.
4. freeCodeCamp / freeCodeCamp
You’ve probably used their curriculum. Now help improve it.
Most beginner contributions are in the /curriculum or /news directories. For example, fixing a typo in a lesson:
// In curriculum/challenges/javascript/basic-js-example.md
- Use var to declare a variable
+ Use `let` or `const` instead of `var`
Run the app locally:
npm run develop
Why it’s good: Massive community, instant impact, and every PR gets reviewed.
5. scikit-learn / scikit-learn
Yes, the scikit-learn. Don’t panic.
They tag beginner issues as "good first issue" and many are documentation or testing tasks. For example, improving docstrings:
def fit(self, X, y):
"""
Fit the model.
Parameters
----------
X : array-like, shape (n_samples, n_features)
Training data.
y : array-like, shape (n_samples,)
Target values.
"""
You don’t need to understand the full algorithm—just follow the NumPy docstring format.
Tip: Run tests with pytest sklearn/linear_model/tests/test_base.py -v
6. microsoft / vscode
VS Code is huge, but they have a "good first issue" label and a detailed Contribution Guide.
Many starter issues are in the frontend (TypeScript/React) or docs.
Example: Fix a typo in a tooltip or command label.
// src/vs/workbench/contrib/terminal/common/terminalCommands.ts
// Before:
contextKey: 'terminalFocus'
// After:
contextKey: 'terminalFocus', // typo fix in comment
Build and run:
yarn
yarn watch
# Open in dev mode
Reality check: It takes time to build, but the community is supportive.
7. vercel / next.js
Next.js powers millions of apps. They welcome docs and small bug fixes.
Look for issues labeled good first issue or documentation.
Example: Fix a code block in the docs:
md
<!-- docs/pages/api-reference/next-config.md -->
- `assetPrefix: '/
---
☕ **Appreciative**
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