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OPEN-SOURCE-NOTES.md

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Basic notes on contributing to open source

These are hodge-podge notes on contributing to open-source projects on GitHub or other sites.

THOUGHTS: THE AMOUNT OF TIME YOU NEED TO SPEND TO FIND SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN DO IS RIDICULOUS. AND THEN YOU HAVE TO GET TO IT BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE DOES.

PR and issues search

You want to search for either a subject or programming language/technology that you feel would work for you.

TIP 1: Try searching for good first issue

is:open is:issue archived:false label:"good first issue" language"javascript"

TIP 2: Search the project for To Do or ToDo or To-Do- they often get forgotten about

  • Check the issues tab – on a repo or the main one on GH – search by specific Labels – like good first issue and javascript

Here are examples of the search criteria you can use searching for open issues or pull requests:

<!-- issues tab -->
is:open is:issue label:question
is:open is:issue label:bug
is:open is:issue label:Content:Accessibility
is:open label:Content:JS

<!-- pull requests tab -->
is:open is:pr label:bug
is:open is:pr label:"good first issue"
is:open is:pr label:Content:CSS

Must have elements in all Open-Source projects

  1. License: If a project does not have an open-source license, then it is not open source.
    1. For a simple guide how to add a license, check out Adding a license to a repository in the GitHub docs.
  2. README file: lists the requirements for contributing to the project.
  3. A good README should contain everything a potential contributor would want to know about the project
  4. Contribution Guidelines: These are guidelines that help people who contribute to the project know exactly what is expected from them
  5. Code of Conduct: a document that establishes your expectations for how your contributors and participants behave

Links

Check out First Timers Only for a list of links for contributing,, but here are some of those links:

Final thoughts

What are you supposed to get from this? Job leads, references, bullet points for your resume, experience working on a team, working remotely, using git/GitHub?

WHY DOESN'T .prettierignore WORK?