Hacktoberfest Pledge 🎉
Tags: hacktoberfest23, opensource
Published: 2023-09-27 12:56:18

So... Hacktoberfest is starting again.

And this is fantastic news! This year celebrates the 10th year of the competition's existence, and I'm super hyped to actively participate this year.

### About
For those who are unaware, [Hacktoberfest](https://hacktoberfest.com/) is a month-long tribute to open source. During the duration of the event, participants are encouraged to make four high-quality PR/MRs to open source codebases.

If you don't do open source normally, the event serves as a great way to break into the community with your first contribution - spurred on by rewards. Though there's no merch this year, you can still win a digital badge pack and maybe get a tree planted in your name!

### Finding Codebases
One of the problems I run into the most is finding that first repository to contribute to.

Luckily for us, there are a bunch of repositories that have open pickings. You'll have to move quick, but if you play your cards right you should find plenty of issues to fix.

Don't know how to code as well as the pros? Hacktoberfest is encouraging low-code and no-code contributions this year. Doing open source doesn't always involve getting your hands dirty inside the complex workings of the base itself - sometimes there are little things like documentation that need things to be fixed or clarified.

You can start finding repositories to contribute to at a few locations - these are my favorite.
 - [Good First Issue](https://goodfirstissue.dev/)
 - [Hacktoberfest on GitHub](https://github.com/topics/hacktoberfest)
 - [Up For Grabs](https://up-for-grabs.net/#/)

In addition, the [official Hacktoberfest page](https://hacktoberfest.com/participation/) provides more sources.

### How to contribute
So you're ready to start. Step zero will be registering for the event, which you can do on the [official page](https://hacktoberfest.com/). Then, you'll need to find a repository you can contribute to.

There are a few basic steps to contributing to a repository on GitHub or GitLab. There have been many tutorials made on it, so I'm not going to waste words here. However, I'll say that if you're interested in learning how the flow works, you should check out these tutorials.
 - [Understanding the GitHub flow](https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/quickstart/github-flow)
 - [Getting started with GitLab](https://about.gitlab.com/get-started/)
 - [5 tips to get you started in open source](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2022/02/07/first-time-open-source-contributor-5-things-to-get-you-started/)
 - [How to contribute to open source](https://opensource.guide/how-to-contribute/)
 - [How to use Git](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/cheatsheets/how-to-use-git-a-reference-guide)

Once you're done, you can make your first contribution - and you can do it right now.

You'll need to find a first contributions repository (I used [this](https://github.com/firstcontributions/first-contributions) one), and from there it'll be pretty self-explanatory. Good luck - you'll do great!

### Pledge
This year, I'm going to push myself out of my comfort zone and attempt to complete the challenge in its entirety. Last year, I joined the event super late to the game and only had about a week to do my four PRs. I only officially ever finished one, but it was a helpful start and gave me some hints as to how the GitHub flow works.

I'll be posting updates occasionally as to where I find my PRs, and at the conclusion of the month I'll be posting a wrap-up - be sure to **follow** so you don't miss anything!

Are you joining Hacktoberfest? What do you hope to get out of it?

Here's to open source! 🎃