How to participate and contribute to HacktoberFest ?
Tags: hacktoberfest, github
Published: 2021-10-17 17:55:55

# What is Hacktoberfest ? 

> Hacktoberfest encourages participation in the open source community, which grows bigger every year. Complete the 2021 challenge and earn a limited edition T-shirt.  

> Hacktoberfest, in its 8th year, is a month-long celebration of open source software run by [DigitalOcean](https://www.digitalocean.com/). During the month of October, we invite you to join open-source software enthusiasts, beginners, and the developer community by contributing to open-source projects. 

![Hacktoberfest_Wallpaper_desktop-02](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/40369168/135885122-0931eeb0-ef6c-4ac7-9842-9d555c58a467.png)


You can do this in a variety of ways:

- Prepare and share your project for collaboration
- Contribute to the betterment of a project via pull requests
- Organize an event
- Mentor others
- Donate directly to open source projects



# Prerequisites

- [ ] GitHub profile
- [ ] Coder/Developer's mindset

# Steps to perform

### **Registration**

1. The very first thing is to login into your github profile in your browser.
2. Navigate to the [Hacktober Fest 2021](https://hacktoberfest.digitalocean.com/) url.
3. Click on Start Hacking button.
4. Sign Up with your [github](https://github.com/avinash201199) profile. (You may also use your gitlab profile)

5. Here marks the ending of registeration part in Hacktobert Fest 2021.

### Uploading your project in GitHub account as a Maintainer

1.Click on the + button in the top-right corner of your account.
2.Enter the repository name as your project name.
3.Click on Add File button & select Upload existing file from the dropdown.
4.Drag & Drop the directory into the space or else Browse through the computer to upload the full directory.
5.Click on the commit changes button to upload & save the repository.

**Note: Make sure you've uploaded README.MD file for the attractive look of your repository.**

### How to find a repository to contribute to Hacktoberfest as a participant?

1.Go to the search bar of GitHub.
2.Search for hacktoberfest2021.
3.Chose any one of them.
4.You can also find the repository to contribute from their official Discord channel.

### How to raise an issue before raising a Pull request?

The question should be why to raise an issue before PR. The answer is simple - Maybe your idea/code has been contributed by other fellow developers already. 

**OR**

The maintainer doesn't want a particular type of code/project in his repo. So, he can deny the Pull Request.

1.Click on the issue tab.
2.Then click on the new issue button.
3.Give the heading to the issue and then add the description about what you will gonna contribute.
4.Click on the raise issue button at the bottom.
5.The moderator/Maintainer will review the issue/idea for the project and will assign it.

### How to Create a Pull Request from a Fork in GitHub?

Once you’ve made changes to your forked repository, you can suggest pushing them into the original repository using the following steps:

1.Open the main page of the original repository that you created a fork for.
2.Navigate to the Pull requests tab above the files displayed.
3.Now, click on compare across forks on the page that appears.
4.Using the respective drop-down menus, select the *base repository* and *base branch* to select the destination repo and branch you want the changes to be merged to.
5.Also, select the forked repo using the *head repository* drop-down menu and the correct branch with the suggested changes using the *compare branch* drop-down.
6.Click on `Create pull request` and give your pull request an apt title and description. Now, your changes are ready to be reviewed and approved by Maintainer.

### How to track your progress in HacktoberFest?

* Log in to the official HacktoberFest site.
* Click on start hacking.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/pcxhnex60r3js1pqscv3.jpg)
 

* Your profile will be loaded like this with progress details

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/sr6entht0l564jfjuzt7.png)


* To see the details of the pull request you have contributed, scroll down to see.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/016bcst759v8v505qky8.png)

* Once your 4 pull request are verified and accepted,you will see message like this.  

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/38hgvqor516245djlg1c.png)

* Check my [Github](https://github.com/avinash201199) repository to contribute as a beginner.

* Connect with me on [Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/avinash-singh-071b79175/)
  
 
Thanks for reading! 

Don't forget to like the post :)