Hacktoberfest 2023 Debriefing
Tags: hacktoberfest, hacktoberfest23, opensource, webdev
Published: 2023-11-05 16:35:27

As [Hacktoberfest](https://hacktoberfest.com) has come to an end, it’s time to look back and share our learnings. Hacktoberfest is a month-long celebration of open source software (OSS) projects, their maintainers, and the entire community of contributors. Each October, open source maintainers from all over the world give extra attention to new contributors while guiding them through their first pull requests on [GitHub](https://github.com/ghostfolio/ghostfolio). This year the event celebrated its 10th anniversary. At Ghostfolio, we have participated in the event for the [second time](https://ghostfol.io/en/blog/2023/09/hacktoberfest-2023) this year.

In this debriefing, we’ll take a closer look at our journey during Hacktoberfest, exploring the facts and figures, key takeaways, and the impact on Ghostfolio.

## Hacktoberfest with Ghostfolio

[Ghostfolio](https://ghostfol.io) is a modern web application for managing personal finances. The software aggregates your assets and empowers informed decision-making to help you balance your portfolio or plan for future investments.

Our experience at Ghostfolio during Hacktoberfest 2023 has been truly remarkable. Despite the absence of T-shirt rewards this year, our expectations were exceeded in every way. [We](https://ghostfol.io/en/about) had the privilege of collaborating with [20 talented developers](https://github.com/ghostfolio/ghostfolio/graphs/contributors) from around the world, each bringing their unique skills and backgrounds to our fintech project.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/90brfck53oukx4p3x1pk.png)

All these contributions made during Hacktoberfest have a significant impact on Ghostfolio. As many as 100 new [features](https://ghostfol.io/en/features) and improvements have been merged to enhance the user experience and software platform management.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ke99og8law98j84ls0p3.png)

The lessons learned through this global collaboration highlight the collective spirit of the open source community, even without traditional incentives. It serves as a driving force for Ghostfolio to evolve into an exceptional piece of open source wealth management software. Hacktoberfest 2023 has been an amazing and enlightening journey for everyone involved.

## Key Takeaways

We’ve gathered some valuable takeaways from our experience to consider for upcoming years. These insights can help us and fellow open source projects make the most of Hacktoberfest:

- **Prepare early**: Prospective contributors often begin looking for tasks as early as the end of September. Preparing your project, organizing issues, and setting clear goals in advance can help you attract and engage more participants.
- **Meet formal requirements**: Ensure that your project aligns with Hacktoberfest’s formal requirements and rules. Properly tag issues, provide clear guidelines for contributions, and make sure your project is accessible to newcomers.
- **Allocate sufficient time**: Being responsive and providing support to participants is crucial. Allocate enough time to answer questions, review and merge pull requests, and offer guidance to first-time contributors. This level of support can significantly enhance the experience for both contributors and maintainers.
- **Provide clarity in descriptions**: When creating issues for Hacktoberfest, be as clear as possible in your descriptions. Including screenshots, links to code examples, and detailed instructions can make it easier for contributors to understand and complete the task successfully.
- **Isolate tasks**: Ideally, focus on tasks that are approachable for beginners, as the setup and frameworks used can already be quite challenging. This way, you can attract a wider range of contributors.
- **Embrace learning**: Understand that not every attempt will result in a successful contribution. It’s okay if a contributor’s pull request doesn’t make it into the project. Encourage a learning mindset and provide constructive feedback, helping contributors grow and improve over time.

By following these takeaways, we can ensure a rewarding experience for everyone taking part in future Hacktoberfest events.

## Thank you

Our experience with Hacktoberfest truly showcases the magic of open source. The sense of community, mentorship, and our shared dedication to software development is what motivates us at Ghostfolio. As we look forward to future collaborations to make personal finance and investing more accessible, we simply want to thank everyone involved.

Keep coding and sharing your learnings!
Thomas from Ghostfolio