Become an Open Source Millionaire*
In 3 Simple Steps...
In only 3 simple steps I’ll show you how to turn your recent coding into meaningful PRs!
- Drippin’ in donations? 💰
- Rollin’ in repos? 🏎️
- Rebasin’ Robb Report? 🤯
Let’s go!!!!!
Disclaimer: Success may require years of dedication and luck.
The Reality
We’ve all heard how beneficial it is to contribute to Open Source. But, it’s not always easy to get started.
Over my career, I’ve written many PR’s for dozens of 10,000-Star repositories. My modest contributions have landed in Node.js, Docker, Lodash, Bluebird, Gatsby, Rancher, Angular, React Router, Minio, MDN (Mozilla Developer Network) and many more.
I’m going to share my secret to easy contributions, but first we need to briefly discuss the problems with the conventional advice.
This is (Not) The Way
Why is it difficult to contribute to Open Source?
The most common advice actually falls somewhere between useless & terrible: Find a GFI issue (Good First Issue label) and solve it. Or, contribute to a project out of sheer love.
It’s all well-intentioned, however in practice GFI labels are highly subjective, and often entail a surprising amount of work.
What if I told you the best place to look is the solutions you’ve already found?
A Better Way
✅ Scan your project dependency file(s). Which libraries spark rage? What led to a missed deadline? How did you overcome it?
💪 By starting with something you already solved, there’s no need to worry if you can. You’re already fluent; and familiar with the context!
Since you already solved the thing, most of the work is done. Next, you need figure out how to help others avoid your struggle altogether.
Maybe a Tweet or Stack Overflow answer will do, but if you want to make a lasting impact, contribute to the project itself.
The Brainstorm
Preferably while the experience is somewhat fresh, contemplate how your dumb dumb brain got so lost in the first place.
What did you try first? And why? What did you assume? Or misunderstand?
💪 You don’t need to come up with a perfect solution, often simple updates to the readme or documentation can save others countless hours of struggle.
- An outdated README? Missing or bad examples? Omitted setup steps? Simple fix, include any missing info!
- Did the API documentation not show up in your Google results. Adjust or translate overly technical language.
- Perhaps it’s a technical oversight, and the docs site is missing necessary
<meta/>tags. Fix it if you know how, or write a ticket with your findings. - If it’s a skill issue… Work on those skillz!
These types of issues are easy for maintainers to miss! And can have surprisingly big impact on the project & its users.
Next time you conquer some challenge, don’t rebase away your deperate hacks! Instead reflect on your struggle & share your solution publicly!
Fine, Fine Print
Always follow project guidelines, and never be an asshole. ✨
It’s all public. So, be gracious, great, and grateful.
If you need any more convincing: contribute for the learning! New processes, languages, frameworks, automation!
🚀
If you found this helpful, please share your contributions in the comments or post them to Twitter and tag me @justsml.
