Never contributed to open source before?
This repository is for you.
For this activity, you don't need to know Git commands or understand complicated Git workflows. We'll start with something simple: make a small change to this README and submit your first Pull Request.
The basic flow is:
Fork → Edit → Commit → Pull Request → Merge
That's it.
Open this repository on GitHub.
Click the Fork button in the top-right corner.
This creates your own copy of the repository under your GitHub account.
You can make changes to your fork without affecting the original repository.
After forking, GitHub will take you to your copy of the repository.
You'll see something similar to:
your-username/repository-name
Make sure you're working on your fork, not the original repository.
Open the README.md file.
Click the pencil (✏️) icon to edit it directly on GitHub.
Now make a small contribution.
For example, you can:
- Add your name to the Contributors section
- Add your GitHub profile
- Fix a typo
- Improve a sentence
- Add a useful resource
- Improve the formatting
- Add something useful to the README
Make sure your change is meaningful and appropriate for the repository.
After making your changes, scroll down.
You'll find the Commit changes section.
Add a short message describing what you changed.
For example:
Add Mithul to contributors
Then click:
Commit changes
You have now made a change to your fork.
Go back to your fork.
GitHub will usually show a message saying that your branch is ahead of the original repository.
Click:
Contribute → Open pull request
You should now see that your changes are going from:
Your fork → Original repository
Add a simple title and description explaining what you changed.
Then click:
Create pull request
Congratulations!
You just opened your first Pull Request.
A maintainer will review your Pull Request.
They may:
- Merge it
- Ask you to make changes
- Suggest improvements
- Ask questions
Don't worry if you receive review comments.
Code review is a normal part of open source.
If changes are requested, make the changes in your fork and update the Pull Request.
You just went through the basic open source workflow:
Repository
↓
Fork
↓
Edit your copy
↓
Commit
↓
Pull Request
↓
Review
↓
Merge
This is the same basic idea used when contributing to much larger open source projects.
The only difference is that real projects may involve more code, testing, discussions and review.
For your first contribution, keep it small.
You don't need to fix a huge bug or build a new feature.
A contribution can simply be:
- Fixing a typo
- Improving documentation
- Adding an example
- Updating a README
- Fixing incorrect information
- Adding a useful resource
- Improving accessibility or formatting
The goal of your first contribution is not to impress anyone.
The goal is to understand how contributing works.
Find something small you can improve.
Fork it.
Change it.
Open a Pull Request.
Welcome to open source.
Your first contribution starts here.