Suraj

Posted on Oct 3

Everything You Need to Know About Hacktoberfest 2024

#opensource #hacktoberfest #hacktoberfestchallenge #developer

Introduction to Hacktoberfest

Hacktoberfest is a month-long(Oct 1 - Oct 31) celebration of all things open-source yearly.

Why should you participate?

Participating helps you learn new skills, collaborate with others, improve your coding abilities, and give back to the developer community.

Who organizes Hacktoberfest?
Hacktoberfest is organized by DigitalOcean in partnership with GitHub and other companies in the tech community. It has been running annually since 2014.

Organizations participating in Hacktoberfest 2024

💡 Join Hacktoberfest Discord Community

💡 Hacktoberfest Website

How Hacktoberfest Works

Rules and guidelines for 2024:
To participate in Hacktoberfest 2024, you must register on the official website. To qualify for rewards, you need to make four 4 valid pull requests to public repositories. Only quality contributions count, and spammy PRs will be disqualified.

Key dates and timeline:

Registration opens: Early October 2024(23 Sep)

Event start: October 1, 2024

Event end: October 31, 2024

Final review and PR count: The PR counts and review are done on the go and hacktoberfest analyzes the PR every 15 minutes on their official website.

What counts as a valid contribution?

Valid contributions include:

Code Contribution
Non-Code Contribution like design, translations, etc.

Contributions should follow the repository’s contribution guidelines and shouldn’t be spammy or repetitive.

Setting Up for Hacktoberfest (Prerequisites)

You should have a GitHub/GitLab account to participate in hacktoberfest.

Should be familiar with Git and GitHub
Git is a version control tool that tracks changes in your code. GitHub is a platform that hosts Git repositories and allows collaboration.

Essential tools for contributing

Git: Set up Git on your local machine.
Code editors: VSCode(recommended) or any other text editor.

💡 Learn Git & GitHub easy way

Understanding Open-Source

What is open source?

In general, it's free to use, access, and modify depending on the licenses. It's an inclusive community and you get to collaborate with people around the world.

💡Read more about Open-Source

Ways to find projects for Hacktoberfest 2024

Good First Issue label: good first issue is the best way to start your Open-Source journey. You can find all of these on GitHub by doing a label search. Here is how:

Link:https://github.com/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3A%22good+first+issue%22

GitHub Topics: It's a very cool feature on GitHub. With the help of this, you can find a particular project with a topic. The topic can be languages, events, tech, etc.

Link: https://github.com/topics/javascript

GitHub's advanced search:

GitHub advanced search provides tons of filters to find repository and issues according to our preferences. You can filter by language, extension, issue labels, number of stars/forks, etc.

Link: https://github.com/search/advanced

Finder by EddieHub Community:

It finds good first issues from all over GitHub and gives you a list of them. You can further filter down the issues by clicking on the labels.

Link: https://finder.eddiehub.org/

Resource to find project to contribute

Awesome-Hacktoberfest

How to contribute to open-source repo of freecodecamp

Step-by-Step Contribution Guide

Forking a repository:

Go to the repository you want to contribute to on GitHub, click the "Fork" button in the top-right corner. This creates a copy of the project under your GitHub account.

Cloning a repository to your local machine

After forking, clone the repository by using the command:

 git clone <URL of your forked repository>

Making your first change (committing and pushing)

Atiquette of writing a good commit message(good practices):
Here are common commit message types in short:

feat: Adds a new feature.
Example: feat: add user login

fix: Fixes a bug.
Example: fix: resolve login error

docs: Documentation changes.
Example: docs: update README

style: Code style changes (e.g., formatting).
Example: style: format code to match guidelines

refactor: Code refactoring (no new feature or bug fix).
Example: refactor: simplify login logic

test: Adds or updates tests.
Example: test: add unit tests for auth

chore: Routine tasks (e.g., updating build scripts).
Example: chore: update dependencies

perf: Performance improvements.
Example: perf: improve API response time

Key Guidelines for Writing a Good Commit Message:

Use a Clear Structure:

Subject line (max 50 chars).

Body (optional, explain why).

Footer (references issues, if any).

Present Tense:

Write as if the change is happening now (e.g., "Fix bug" instead of "Fixed bug").
Be Brief but Specific:

Summarize the change concisely (e.g., "Add user authentication" rather than "Update stuff").
Explain Why, Not Just What:

Give the reasoning behind the change, not just the action.
Bullet Points for Multiple Changes:

If the commit involves several tasks, list them clearly.
Reference Issues/PRs:

Mention related issues or pull requests for clarity (e.g., "Closes #123").
Active Voice:

Write directly and clearly (e.g., "Add feature" vs. "Feature added").

Example:

 Fix user logout bug

 This fixes a bug where users were not fully logged out.

 Closes #456

Opening your first pull request:

Push the changes to your forked repository using:

 git push origin main

How to write a good pull request description

Be clear about what changes you made and why. Link to any related issues. Use a concise and descriptive title for your PR.

A complete guide to open source live (29-9-2024).

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Understanding issues and PR guidelines

Always read the project’s contributing guidelines before submitting PRs. Follow the maintainers' instructions on formatting and coding style.

Avoiding low-quality or spammy contributions

Don’t submit trivial changes just for the sake of completing Hacktoberfest. Only meaningful contributions will count.

Properly communicating with maintainers

When opening an issue or PR, be polite and respectful. Ask for feedback or clarification when necessary.

Navigating Hacktoberfest Challenges

Solving merge conflicts
A merge conflict happens when two people make changes to the same line of code. To resolve it, edit the conflicting file, remove the conflict markers, and commit the changes.

Dealing with rejected pull requests
If your PR is rejected, don’t get discouraged. Review the feedback, make improvements, and resubmit. It’s part of the learning process.

How to ask for help (community forums, GitHub discussions, ask to maintainers etc.)
If you’re stuck, don’t hesitate to ask for help on community forums or GitHub discussions. Be specific about what you need help with.

Completing Hacktoberfest

Tracking your progress:
Once you register for Hacktoberfest, your contributions are automatically tracked on the official website. Make sure your pull requests are accepted before the deadline.

Submitting the required pull requests:
Complete 4 valid pull requests to qualify for the rewards. Contributions across multiple repositories count.

What happens after you complete Hacktoberfest? (swag, certificates, etc.):
Once you successfully complete Hacktoberfest, you will be eligible to claim swag (like a digital badges) or donate a tree. You’ll also receive a digital certificate of completion.

Post-Hacktoberfest: Continuing Your Open Source Journey

How to stay involved in open source projects
Keep contributing to projects that interest you. Hacktoberfest is just the beginning of your open source journey.

Finding new projects to contribute to
Explore GitHub’s Explore tab or join open source communities to find new projects. Most open source projects welcome year-round contributions.

Link: https://github.com/explore

Building your portfolio through contributions
Your GitHub profile is like a resume. Keep working on meaningful projects and build a strong portfolio that showcases your skills.

Join our community:

Github:

DevsDialogue · GitHub

This community is for open-source projects and collaborations. - DevsDialogue

github.com

Discord:

discord.com

Conclusion

Whether you're an experienced developer or just starting out, Hacktoberfest is a great way to get involved in open source. You’ll learn, grow, and make meaningful contributions to the developer community.

Open source is more than just Hacktoberfest, It more than that and you can contribute to any open source project any time based on your interest.

Thanks for reading