Guide to Open-source contributions
Published: 2023-03-28 16:54:16

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title: Guide to  Open-source contributions
published: true
cover_image: "https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1679252949300/937b3e92-e37c-480e-a593-f6eb32183ebb.jpeg?w=1600&h=840&fit=crop&crop=entropy&auto=compress,format&format=webp"
date: 2023-03-19 18:44:32 UTC
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---

# Introduction

Behind every successful Open-source project, is a dedicated team of contributors and maintainers who help make it happen. Open-source projects have been streaming nowadays. Open-source contribution is a great initiative to learn and apply your knowledge. This article discussed open-source, benefits, and ways to contribute.

# What is Open-source contribution?

An open-source project is one whose source code and documentation that is licensed are freely accessible to the public. Anyone, not just software engineers and developers, can modify, study, and improve the project, and anyone, not just software engineers and developers, can contribute to open-source projects.

# Perks of Open-source contribution

There are many perks of contributing to open-source projects, some of which include:

![perks](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1679254162375/646c50a6-7a1e-4690-896b-ab4ca2555e1e.jpeg)

-> With open-source contributions, you are applying your knowledge to real-world applications.

-> Contributing to open-source projects helps to build a portfolio of work that showcases your skills, as it allows you to showcase the open-source project that you added value to through your contributions.

-> It helps to improve your skills, by open-source contributions you will gain exposure to new technologies and tools.

-> By contributing to open-source projects, you'll have the opportunity to connect with other developers and members of the open-source community.

> Open-source contributions= Collaboration + contribute

-> Open-source contributions give access to learning new technologies. By open-source contributions, you can stay up to date with new technologies.

-> Some open-source programs will pay you for contributions.

-> With Open-source contributions, You can help others by resolving their doubts and solving their bugs.

-> Open-source is all about giving back to the community. You will get a chance to be a part of these amazing communities with open-source contributions.

Overall, contributing to open-source projects will benefit professional development.

# **How to contribute to open-source projects?**

1. Choose a project and understand it: First, you need to identify an open-source project that you're interested in that matches your skillset.

2. Read the documentation and follow the guidelines: Once you've found a project, read the project's documentation thoroughly to understand how the project works and what contributions are needed.

3. Look for issues: Most open-source projects have a list of issues. Issues refer to the available problems that are placed in an open-source repository so that you can solve the problem or you can create new issues if you find any problem or you want to add a new feature to it and you want to solve that problem.

4. Fork the project: Fork the project to create a copy of the project in your GitHub account that you can work on.

5. Make your changes: Once you've identified an issue, make changes to the project.

6. Create a pull request: Create a pull request to the project explaining the changes you made and why they're necessary. Then the maintainer(admin) of the project checks your pull request and if it finds it useful then the maintainer merges(accepts) the pull request.

By following these steps, you can contribute to open-source projects.

# Ways to contribute to open-source contributions

There are several ways to contribute to open-source contributions. Some of them are:

![ways](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1679253673781/d73511fd-708c-4104-ab65-230219d7382f.jpeg)

**Code Contributions** : You can contribute to the code of the project. You can add a new feature to it or you can solve bugs by writing the code.

**Documentation contributions** : This involves writing or updating documentation for the project, such as adding examples, improving the read-me file, or fixing errors.

**Designing:** You can contribute to the project with the UI design of the project or you can help them in designing posters or social media visuals designs.

**Testing:** You can contribute to open-source projects as a tester as well. you can test the application, documents of a project, or anything where you want to contribute. You help them find bugs in their product/application by providing an explanation of the bug and helping fix problems.

**Reviewing Pull requests:** As lots of PR is made, you can help them by reviewing PRs and correcting them with the contributor.

**Community contributions:** It involves helping people to contribute and answering their questions and organizing events for the communities.

By contributing in any of these ways, you will access the perks of open-source contributions.

# Conclusion

open-source projects have transformed the way we develop, use, and share technology. By providing free access to the source code and encouraging collaboration and innovation, open-source projects have helped to create a more inclusive technology landscape.

Contributing to open-source projects offers many benefits, including gaining new skills, building a portfolio, making connections, and contributing to the community. By participating in open-source projects, you can not only improve your own knowledge and experience but also make a positive impact on the project and the people around you.

I hope you will find this blog insightful. Let me know in the comments, have you started with an open-source contribution.

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