There's a buzz in the air that's unique to this time of year—it's the unmistakable feeling that Hacktoberfest is just around the corner, and I am absolutely ecstatic! It’s our own developer version of Octoberfest: a global celebration where we exchange steins of beer for open-source pull requests (PRs)!
If you're like me, you've probably been meaning to dive into open source for a long time. Maybe you've felt that a lot of projects are too big, too complex, or that you just wouldn't know where to start. Well, Hacktoberfest is the yearly, month-long global event that tears down those barriers. It's truly the best opportunity to finally make that leap!
Tapping into My First Contributions
As a developer who's still gaining experience, contributing to the massive projects I use every day has always felt like a faraway dream. But this year, I'm treating Hacktoberfest as a personal challenge and a long-overdue commitment to finally try!
I couldn't wait until October 1st, so I'm already spending my evenings doing a deep search on GitHub, looking for repositories that have caught my eye. The goal isn't to fix a critical bug, it's to get my first few PRs successfully merged—that's my equivalent of raising the first full stein!
Right now, I'm focused on:
- Scanning repositories with the official
hacktoberfesttag. This is the key to finding participating projects that are ready and eager for contributions, even from beginners. - Selecting issues labeled with "good first issue" or "documentation." These are the true entry points! I'm deliberately starting small—maybe fixing a typo, clarifying a sentence in a README, or adding a missing link. I want to get the process right: forking, cloning, creating a branch, and submitting a high-quality PR.
- Reading Contribution Guidelines. This is crucial! Every project is different, and reading their CONTRIBUTING.md file shows respect for the maintainers' time and ensures my first contribution is valid.
I am treating this month as a huge step forward in my career. Seeing my name pop up in an open-source contribution log? That's the real reward for any novice dev!
What's the Hacktoberfest Brew?
For those of you hearing this term for the first time, Hacktoberfest is an annual, month-long celebration of open-source software, primarily organized by DigitalOcean and DEV.
The goal is simple: encourage people around the globe to contribute to open-source projects throughout the month of October. Whether you're a seasoned pro or a complete beginner, you can participate. Your contributions don't even have to be code! You can make meaningful contributions by:
- Fixing a typo in documentation.
- Adding a new feature.
- Updating a tutorial.
- Writing tests.
- Translating content.
The primary requirement is to submit six quality pull/merge requests to participating public repositories during October. Completing the challenge often earns you a digital badge and, for a limited number of participants, sometimes even physical swag! But honestly, the real reward is the feeling of becoming part of the global open-source community.
Where to Learn More and Get Started
Ready to jump in and start your open-source journey with me? You can find all the official rules, registration info, and a ton of resources here:
👉 The Official Hacktoberfest Website
Go sign up, read the guidelines, and get ready for a fantastic month of contributing.
I'm incredibly excited to finally fully embrace open source this year. I'd love to hear what repositories you're looking at, or if this is your first time participating!
Are you planning on joining Hacktoberfest this year? Drop a comment below with the project or kind of contribution you’re most excited to tackle!