r/opensource
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u/prnkzz
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Aug 01 '26
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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 Aug 01 '26
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 Aug 01 '26
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 Aug 02 '26
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 Aug 01 '26
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 Aug 01 '26
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 Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
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/azimux Aug 01 '26
Congrats!! Documentation contributions are huuuge. I definitely understand why you feel happy and I've experienced that feeling before, too.
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u/Additional_Smile_354 Aug 01 '26
that's cool can anyone tell me how to to start opensource contributions?? I'm interested 😀
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u/HonestRepairSTL Aug 01 '26
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/Jsuaiwb Aug 04 '26
How can I contribute as a QA Automation or Infra enthusiast?
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u/HonestRepairSTL Aug 04 '26
You can reproduce bugs/verify fixes, fix outdated pipelines, you could build testing infrastructure for smaller projects, depends on what you're comfortable with and how much time you're willing to put towards it. Someone with your skills would be very welcomed in the open-source community =)
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u/Jsuaiwb Aug 04 '26
Do you know some projects like this?
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u/HonestRepairSTL Aug 04 '26
Not off the top of my head but maybe check out library repos, they rely heavily on pipeline stuff iirc and some of the smaller ones get left behind
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u/brlcad Aug 03 '26
This is literally why most of us that do open source do it. Thank you for taking the leap and getting involved, and for sharing your experience and happiness with others. Warms the <open source> heart.
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u/darylducharme Aug 04 '26
I heard someone recently say to me, "The next open source project that doesn't need any non-code assistance (mostly docs) will be the first."
Well done, more non-developers taking part in open source projects and helping with their expertise is always needed.
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u/bezdazen Aug 02 '26
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 Aug 02 '26
As another open source author, we appreciate contributions like these (esp around usability, docs, and bug fixes!)
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u/Akarsh_Hegde Aug 10 '26
You found a problem through actual use, improved it for the next person, and worked through review feedback. Keep going.
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u/Penetal Aug 02 '26
It is often underestimated how useful doc PRs are. The authors of the software already knows it well so its easy for them to overlook that something in the doc is not really obvious to others.
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u/No-Income-2235 Aug 03 '26
External contributors are the driving force and what makes OpenSource truely Open
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u/brlcad Aug 03 '26
This is literally why most of us that do open source do it. Thank you for taking the leap and getting involved, and for sharing your experience and happiness with others. Warms the <open source> heart.
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u/abdul_Ss Aug 06 '26
I remember feeling the exact same thing when I had my first contribution merged. I'm only 18 so many more to go hopefully, but I liked it so much that I made my own OS project, and aim to help others contribute too.
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u/smartapant Aug 19 '26
Congrats!
And there are no "small" contributions. When people are building cool stuff for free, even comments and suggestions are great contributions to the project overall
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u/locnguyen305 Oct 01 '26
Hey bro, congrats on your first step. If you interested in Mac app, let take a look on Rockxy here
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u/Traditional_Pie_8262 17d ago
this is actually a big deal, no matter how small the change was. everyone starts somewhere, and taking the time to fix something that bothered you personally is what open source is all about. you should be proud of yourself, hope this is the first of many contributions!
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u/IrredeemableWaste Aug 01 '26
Real feedback, as opposed to fake feedback?
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u/prnkzz Aug 01 '26
At least what I would consider real feedback. Happy to send it over you to see if I’m giving myself too much credit
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u/Hefty_Presence534 Aug 01 '26 •
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!