Have you ever wanted to make your mark on the world and pay something back? Now’s your chance! Hacktoberfest 2022, organized by DigitalOcean offers an incredible opportunity for anyone with a computer– no matter their knowledge or experience level. You can join thousands of contributors in maintaining and improving free open-source projects that are used all around the globe. As thanks for participating you’ll receive a reward from DigitalOcean themselves or be able to plant trees as part of an impactful global reforestation project through teaming up with Trees For The Future. 

Why Should I Participate?

With Hacktoberfest, DigitalOcean encourages everyone to get involved and join the thrilling journey of open-source development. By making your contribution – whether big or small – you can make sure that great projects have a chance to grow further and improve even more! Plus, let’s not forget why open-source is so popular: it gives us access to freely available tools while avoiding vendor lock-in issues – meaning we all need to come together as users in order for these projects to succeed. So what are you waiting for? Join this awesome event now!

“But what do I get out of it?”

Participating in an open-source project is about more than just giving back – it’s a great opportunity to flex your creativity muscles and learn what goes on behind the scenes of development! Plus, you can get rewards like Hacktoberfest T-shirts. But there are even bigger benefits: Your contribution will be included in your professional portfolio so future employers know that you have experience working with the community. It could also help teach valuable skills needed for maintaining such projects down the line. 

Learning how the community works together is an exciting opportunity to help shape a successful open-source project. From this journey, you’ll discover useful perspectives and novel approaches that could be applied when grappling with even the most difficult puzzles. Plus, it’s your chance to make meaningful connections around the world!

What Projects Can I Contribute To?

Hacktoberfest is the perfect opportunity to flex your coding muscles and tackle a project. But, how do you make sure that what you’re doing counts? Look for projects on GitHub or GitLab with the “Hacktoberfest” topic – these are guaranteed to be eligible repositories! So don’t just dive into any old repository – double-check it has the right label first in order to secure those sweet rewards at the end.

How Do I Get Started?

First, please ensure that you have registered for Hacktoberfest using your GitHub or GitLab account.

Register for Hacktoberbest

All the coding noobs out there can rejoice – contributing to open source doesn’t have to mean mastering programming! There are plenty of other ways you can lend a hand, no matter your technical expertise. Obviously, the most common contribution is adding or fixing code and sending in pull requests for cool features that you want. But you can also contribute by improving documentation so developers and users alike will be able to benefit from it. Another idea is to translate for those who don’t speak or read English for better collaboration. If you’re creative, you could help out by creating graphics like logos and contributing to UI/UX design. It’s even helpful to bring greater visibility and global reach by sharing it across social media platforms.

Things to Know Before Joining Hacktoberfest

Unlock the rewards of Hacktoberfest by participating in this open-source bonanza! Sign up, then submit pull requests to repositories labeled “Hacktoberfest” or “Hacktoberfest-accepted” from October 1st – 31st. If your four merged PRs are among the first 40k merged, you’ll be eligible for a nifty t-shirt (or tree!) prize courtesy of DigitalOcean.

Participating in Hacktoberfest is a great way to level up your coding skills, but before you get started it’s important to be aware of the conditions associated with this and future events hosted by DigitalOcean. To ensure everyone has an enjoyable experience, if more than two pull requests are labeled as spam will disqualify you. Additionally, any PRs sent to repositories that do not align with Hacktoberfest’s values won’t count – so check out their Discord server or look around online for resources on those specific repos! Finally, avoid submitting minor changes just for completion’s sake- only send meaningful contributions that benefit others in some way.

What are the Guidelines for Projects?

Before you make your first pull request, take a peek at every project’s CONTRIBUTING.md file for all the information you need to rock and roll! Don’t worry – following these guidelines is as easy as falling off a log.

The CONTRIBUTING.md file will usually contain some of the following items:

• Code of Conduct: Your conduct is a key factor in joining this incredible project – failure to abide by these rules may prevent your work from being seen or even accepted. Make sure you read and understand all the guidelines – now’s not the time for any guesswork.
• Code Formatting: Each project has its coding style. It is best to format the code according to the code formatting laid out in the CONTRIBUTING.md
• T&C: Before your pull request is accepted, some projects require you to agree to the terms and conditions regarding any code contributions. Make sure you understand all restrictions before signing on – it’s important for protecting both your and the project’s legal rights.
• License: Please read the license under which the repository’s code is made available. You must adhere to said license.
• Contributor Resources: First-time contributors, this CONTRIBUTING.md file is here to help you decipher the code review process and navigate what needs to be completed in order for your pull request to get merged. 
• PR tags: Some maintainers expect you to create a pull request using a tag. Some of these tags might be “bug fix”, “new feature”, “good first issues”, etc. This helps the maintainer(s) and the community to focus on the issues of their interest.
• Issue templates: Submitting a pull request? Here’s the deal: You might need to fire up some commands before you’re done. Say goodbye to build files and custom settings, ’cause these little buggers will take care of it all!
• How to set up a development environment: Building a software project for the first time may seem daunting, but the CONTRIBUTING.md file comes to your rescue. Besides listing all essential packages you’ll need for construction, it also provides guidance on how to package everything up – so that everyone can inspect and test if something changes before sending in their pull request!
• Ownership info: This section will include details like “Gina handles pull requests for bug fixes”, so if your pull request for a bug fix does not get accepted, ping Gina.

The First PR is the Hardest

You don’t have to be a tech guru or coding whizkid to make your very first pull request! All you need is patience and, of course, the right steps. Once you’ve installed Git and set up an account on GitHub/GitLab then all that’s left is to fork the repository into yours and submit those changes – easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Conclusion

So there you have it! You don’t need to be a coding superstar to get involved in open source and make a difference. All you need is the willingness to learn and contribute. And what better time to start than during Hacktoberfest? With so many people around the world participating, you’ll be sure to find a project that piques your interest—and makes a real impact. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get hacking!