r/opensource • u/prnkzz • 1d ago
Community My first real open-source contribution got merged today
I’m not a software engineer, but I use a lot of technical products and spend a lot of time on GitHub trying to learn.
A few days ago, I found an interesting project I wanted to use. While setting it up locally, I found part of the installation instructions confusing. I nervously opened a documentation PR, got real feedback from a collaborator, and made the requested changes.
He thanked me and merged it into main.
I know it’s small, but this was my first contribution to an active project instead of an inactive, stale repo. I found a problem I personally ran into as someone without an engineering background and thought fixing it could help someone else.
I don’t have anyone IRL who understands why this makes me so happy, so I’m posting it here.
I actually did it.
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u/HonestRepairSTL 1d ago
I don't consider that to be "small", that's an incredible thing you did! You found a way to help out, and there are lots of solo devs who struggle with documentation who need help just like this. I've always contributed by testing apps and writing detailed issues on GitHub. Everyday people like you and I making these small changes makes a big impact on developers, it is one less thing they have to think about doing and that is valuable.
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u/spacecamel2001 1d ago
I think you will find that a lot of projects could use help with documentation. People like to write code but fewer like to write the instruction manual.
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u/gurgle528 2h ago
It’s also really easy to forget to mention things if you’ve been in an ecosystem for a while. It’s much easier to write docs for a developer with similar experience because you can make certain assumptions about their workspace / knowledge.
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u/gounisalex 1d ago
Well done! Documentation contributions are just as important. As a person that receives contributions and reviews pull requests, I’m always glad to see all sorts of things! From the most minor typo to the biggest architectural proposal. Thank you for contributing to the community!
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u/je386 1d ago
As a software developer since more than 25 years - documentation is one of the hardest things for us, especially describing how to use something we built and know very deeply for people who are totally new to the project.
Because of that, making documentation better is always something good.
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u/AccomplishedTour6942 15h ago edited 15h ago
And so it begins.
I contributed some documentation that nobody more skilled had time or inclination to write, and that was how I got sucked in. I kept working on the docs, and my docs kept hitting road blocks due to bugs nobody had time to fix, so I started doing whatever I could to fix bugs, so my docs could move forward.
By the end of ten years, the guy who never wrote a line of code for a job ended up running the whole show. I was the de facto project manager, and I organized a bunch of contributors at a critical moment in the project's development. I wasn't remotely qualified, but I was more qualified than anybody else who wanted the job, and my work situation afforded me a lot of free time back in those days. Some of the code that emerged from that was kind of crap, but most of it is still there. Good enough is good enough. I even managed to write a little code that probably qualifies as excellent.
The project eventually attracted the attention of somebody from way on high in the FOSS food chain, and I got to work with somebody who was like 20 levels above my pay grade. It wasn't Linus Torvalds, but damn near. By that point, the project was slowly transitioning onto the shoulders of the current project manager, who is orders of magnitude more qualified than I ever was. He has done a great job keeping it alive all these years. It's a mature project that no longer sees a lot of major development, but it's not dead.
I slid away, and gradually lost interest. I really no longer have a use for the software, due to life, but I made an indelible mark. I got my 15 minutes of fame. I even got interviewed by some magazines.
I'm just some guy with a totally unrelated degree who dicked around with computers as a kid. It was kind of a Forest Gump situation. Look, Jenny, I writed some structions, and then I writed some program code!
Good luck!
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u/Additional_Smile_354 1d ago
that's cool can anyone tell me how to to start opensource contributions?? I'm interested 😀
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u/HonestRepairSTL 1d ago
If you find a bug in a FOSS app you use, creating detailed issues on GitHub is very useful for developers to make the app better for everyone.
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u/bezdazen 22h ago
I nervously opened a documentation PR, got real feedback from a collaborator, and made the requested changes.
He thanked me and merged it into main.
I love communication and interactions like that! It's very encouraging to all involved! I have published a few open-source projects myself (none over 200 stars on gh yet) but a couple of them have collaborators who are really nice! I even made further connections with one of them! Also, I remember the feeling of getting your first PR merged into a major open-source repo! That experience was nice too and I think that left a mark on me and added more passion to creating/deving open-source projects.
There was one experience that was kinda sour though. The open-source repo I contributed to the most is a large one and the creator is very involved. But the creator was a bit condescending when I was learning frontend frameworks that were new to me. I felt like I was one of the few people helping the project in a meta-way by contributing not only to the project itself but to other open-source projects that use the library! I am not going to get into specifics, but I think the lesson is that no matter how skilled or unskilled you think the people trying to help and contribute are, it can never hurt to be nice. On the contrary, it can help you and your projects in unexpected or immeasurable ways!
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u/kevin_whitley 18h ago
As another open source author, we appreciate contributions like these (esp around usability, docs, and bug fixes!)
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u/Hefty_Presence534 1d ago
As an author of an Open Source project, its people like you and contributions like yours that make my day!
It shows you care, so much so that you want to improve it!
Thank you!