From Zero to 30+ Open Source Contributions

A Guide to Jumpstart Your Journey

This is a guest post by Ritankar Saha who has contributed to over 30 open-source repositories and participated in multiple open source programs, including Google Summer of Code (GSoC).

In this article, Ritankar will share practical insights on how to get started with open source, based on his own journey and experiences.

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Hey there 👋,

I am Ritankar, your friendly neighborhood open-source junkie. What started with fixing tiny issues and learning how to make my first pull request slowly grew into something much bigger. Along the way, I have been lucky enough to contribute to 30+ open-source repositories and take part in programs -

• Google Summer of Code 2025 (SW360 @ Siemens)

• Summer of Bitcoin 2025 (Angor @ BlockCore)

• Code for GovTech 2025 (SocialCalc & EtherCalc)

• LFX Mentorship 2025 (LF Energy — Hyphae APIS)

But lemme tell you a secret…

When I started, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t even know the difference between a fork and a clone (and no, it’s not kitchenware vs. Star Wars).

Now, I get to design backend architectures, refactor complex codebases, work on blockchain transaction logic, and contribute to large-scale digital governance tools, all while collaborating with some of the smartest developers in the community.

So if you have been wondering:

“How do I start contributing to open source without feeling like an impostor?”

Buckle up — this is going to be fun. 🎢

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1️⃣ Open Source Is Not Just “Coding for Free”

Let’s kill this myth first.

Open source is about collaboration, learning, and impact.

It’s a place where you can:

• Learn real-world skills (Git, testing, APIs, you name it)

• Work with people across time zones, cultures, and tech stacks and believe me when I say everyone in the org is out there on a foot and ready to help you out.

• Build things that actually get used by thousands (or millions!)

• Create a public portfolio that employers drool over 😅

And the best part? You don’t need to be some “1337 h4x0r” genius to start.

I began by fixing… wait for it… a basic typo.

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2️⃣ Start Stupid Small (It’s Strategic)

I know you want to dive in and rewrite the entire architecture of Kubernetes on day one. But trust me your first win should be something tiny unless you are truly cracked.

For me, it was:

• Fixing one-line bugs

• Implementing very small features with PRs of approx 20-30 lines

• Solving issues tagged “good first issue”

Why this works:

✅ Zero to little pressure - you are working small, not chasing deadlines from maintainers or contributing to something that might break the entire thing.

✅ You learn the PR workflow without frying your brain

✅ Maintainers see you as someone who finishes things and can be trusted with something bigger

💡 Pro tip: Hunt for issues with tags like good first issue, beginner friendly, or help wanted.

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3️⃣ Pick Projects You’d Talk About at a Party

Contribute to something you actually resonate with. If you are into backend, don’t go fixing CSS bugs in a random frontend repo (unless you enjoy it).

If you’re into blockchain and stuff, go find some decentralized software to contribute to.

My choices were easy:

• Summer of Bitcoin → I love blockchain, so working on Bitcoin side-chains particularly the Elements Blockchain was 🔥

• GSoC → Backend particularly in Spring (Java) has always been my strong hold. Also Big-scale enterprise software? Sign me up!

• C4GT → Digital governance is fascinating, so I hacked on SocialCalc and EtherCalc (used in public infrastructure)

• LFX Mentorship → API nerd here, so Hyphae APIS was right up my alley

Where to find cool projects:

• goodfirstissue.dev — filters beginner-friendly issues across GitHub

• up-for-grabs.net — project listings with open tasks

• GitHub search: label:"good first issue" language:Python

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4️⃣ How to Slide Into a Community Without Being Weird 😅

Open source is a team sport. If you just silently fork, push, and PR without saying hi, you’re missing out.

Here’s what I do:

• Join their Slack/Discord/Matrix — there’s always one

• Drop a polite intro (“Hi, I’m new here and would love to help on beginner-friendly issues”)

• Ask questions before starting an issue — saves everyone time

• Stalk a few PRs (respectfully) to know who is the maintainer and who are contributors. Usually people mess up and tag the wrong people, although it’s a community effort, your PRs are getting merged by the maintainer only and sometimes in a very busy repo you PR might get un-noticed by the maintainer if a lot of PRs are flocking in every moment.

• Celebrate wins publicly (share merged PRs, thank maintainers)

📌 During SoB, I learned that asking “Can I work on this?” early saved me from working on something that was already taken.

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5️⃣ The Magic Recipe: Contribution Workflow 🍳

Once you find an issue:

1. Fork the repo (copy to your account)

2. Clone it locally (git clone )

3. Create a branch (git checkout -b fix-bug-123)

4. Make changes (code, docs, whatever)

5. Commit & push (git commit -m "Fix bug #123")

6. Open a Pull Request

7. Wait for review, make updates if needed

8. Merge → 🎉 dance party

Tip: Don’t panic if your first PR gets rejected. Mine did. Twice initially . And I still survived.

If you wish to do a proper deep-dive into Git Commands and efficient version control you can refer this from here - https://medium.com/@ritankar.saha786/understanding-git-and-github-b79bb84de9e8

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6️⃣ Level Up After the First Few PRs

After your first couple contributions, the real fun starts:

• Get out of your comfort zone of solving small issues and pick medium-level bugs. By this time you should have built around enough trust in the community for the maintainer to assign you those.

• Add new features

• Improve tests & performance

• Review other people’s PRs (yes, you can!) in an open-source, however don’t do if the maintainer doesn’t encourage it properly.

For example, I went from fixing minor backend bugs → writing transaction validation logic in Angor’s Liquid Network integration and entire mempool design for Summer of Bitcoin.

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7️⃣ Boost Your Journey With Programs

Here’s where things get spicy 🌶️ — programs give you mentorship, exposure, sometimes stipends and sometimes if you are lucky and contributed good - job opportunities.

• Google Summer of Code (GSoC) — Work on a long-term feature with an org (my SW360 project at Siemens was all about deep integration with FOSSology).

• LFX Mentorship — Paid mentorship with Linux Foundation projects under CNCF majorly.

• Summer of Bitcoin — Learn blockchain fundamentals while building actual Bitcoin infrastructure.

• C4GT — Work on tech for public good, often in collaboration with government-backed tools.

Pro tip: Apply even if you think you’re “not ready.” My first GSoC acceptance came when I thought I didn’t stand a chance and with a rejection from 2 other repos.

If you wish to learn more about the GSoC experience visit here - https://medium.com/@ritankar.saha786/cracking-the-google-summer-of-code-2025-6968cdffedd1

If you wish to learn more about the SoB experience visit here -

https://medium.com/@ritankar.saha786/cracking-summer-of-bitcoin-2025-47f7075631bc

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8️⃣ Show Your Work (Shamelessly)

You can be building the coolest features in the world, but if no one knows, it’s like shouting into the void.

Here’s what I do:

• Keep my GitHub active (green squares matter sometimes lol, kindof builds a trust among the maintainers that you won’t go BOLO)

• Write blogs (like this one!)

• Post on LinkedIn and X/Twitter about big milestones

• Share before/after screenshots of features I build

• Thank mentors & tag projects — it builds relationships

Fun fact: I have had some recruiters from startups DM me just because they saw my #BuildInPublic posts about open-source work. Believe me, open-source opens a lot of doors.

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🎯 Final Words (and Your First Step)

If there’s one thing I have learned after 100+ contributions, it’s this:

You don’t need to be an expert to start. You just need to start.

So here’s my dare for you:

1. Go to goodfirstissue.dev

2. Pick one issue

3. Make a PR this week

4. Post about it and tag me — I’ll personally cheer you on 🎉

Your first PR might be tiny, but it could be the start of your GSoC, LFX, or Summer of Bitcoin journey.

And who knows? Maybe next year you’ll be writing your own “From Zero to 30+ Contributions” story.

Ciao till then 🤜🏻🤛🏻

Connect with me on Linkedin

Checkout my GitHub

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Checkout my Youtube channel for more in-depth content.

Follow me on LinkedIn, X and Medium to stay updated.

Checkout my GitHub repositories for free interview preparation resources.

I hope you have a lovely day!

See you soon,
Ashish