Hey guys,
After contributing to my first open-source project, PhysicsHub, I wanted more.
More repositories. More bugs to fix. More contributions.
But it wasn't easy.
Scouring every inch of GitHub just to find one worthwhile issue, then spending several hours creating one pull request... only for it to sometimes get rejected or closed.
That's frustrating.
More importantly, it's highly inefficient.
One thing I've realized is that efficiency matters a lot in coding. I needed some way to make contributing easier and, more importantly, consistent.
"I needed a system."
Building My Open Source Workspace ⚙️
The first thing I did was select a handful of repositories that genuinely interested me.
Then I:
- Forked each repository
- Cloned my forks locally
- Placed everything inside one folder called
Open-Source-Contributions
Now I had all my projects in one place.
But I wasn't done yet.
I then used ChatGPT to help me craft a master prompt for Claude Code.
The idea was simple:
- Create one central
CLAUDE.mdcontaining my personal workflow and rules - Create an individual
CLAUDE.mdinside each repository so Claude could understand that project's codebase, conventions, and file structure
And... voilà.
My workflow was ready. Ready and efficient 😎
My Daily Routine ☀️
Around every noon, I open my GitHub tab group on Chrome.
It instantly opens every one of my forked repositories.
From there, I simply check the latest issues.
If I find an untouched issue that looks interesting, I dive right in.
I ask Claude to:
- 🔍 Analyze the issue
- 🧠 Identify the likely cause
- 💬 Explain what's happening
- 🛠️ Suggest a possible fix
Then we solve it together, open a pull request...
...and wham, bam, thank you ma'am 😅
Another contribution done.
Watching those little green squares slowly start flooding my GitHub activity chart is honestly immeasurably satisfying.
How I Pick Repositories 🔍
A few people asked me how I actually find projects worth contributing to.
My first project, PhysicsHub, came from Good First Issue — I talked about that in my previous open-source blog.
But after that, I wanted something bigger.
So I asked Claude to recommend GitHub projects that prioritized three things:
- Plenty of beginner-friendly issues
- Active maintenance
- Responsive maintainers
It generated a list of around 10 repositories.
From there, I filtered them based on:
| Filter | Why It Mattered |
|---|---|
| Projects that genuinely interested me | Keeps motivation high |
| Tech stack I wanted to improve at | Every PR becomes a learning opportunity |
Eventually, I narrowed everything down to these five repositories:
PhysicsHub.io
freeCodeCamp
openlibrary
appwrite
cal.diy
The Result 📈
Having a proper workflow completely changed how I contribute.
Instead of making one or two pull requests whenever I randomly felt motivated...
...I now have around 20 pull requests spread across five different repositories.
The biggest difference wasn't becoming a better programmer overnight.
It was becoming consistent.
Final Thoughts
This workflow didn't just make contributing faster.
It made me actually want to keep contributing.
Before this, the thought of endlessly searching GitHub for a tiny issue was honestly discouraging.
Now:
- ✅ Everything is organized
- ✅ Everything is ready
- ✅ All I have to do is open my workspace and start contributing
Eventually, I'd love to contribute more than just bug fixes — maybe even build entirely new features.
But for now...
I'm enjoying learning one pull request at a time. 🚀
See y'all next time.
Happy learning! 👋
Top comments (1)
Please drop a ❤️, if I was able to help you solve your contribution inconsistency as well.