Your first recode hive PR
What you will learn
Fork a practice repository, make a change in the browser and open your first pull request.
What open source means
Open source software is code that anyone can read, use, change and share. Contributing to it is one of the best ways to learn from real code, build a portfolio, meet other developers and give back to projects you use. You do not need the command line for your first contribution. The GitHub website is enough.
The five steps of a contribution
Almost every open source contribution follows the same workflow:
- Fork the repository.
- Edit the files.
- Commit your changes.
- Open a pull request.
- Wait for review and feedback.
Step 1: Find the practice repository
Open the beginner friendly practice repository linked in the resources below. Before you change anything, spend a moment reading the README, checking for a contributing guide, and looking at open issues and pull requests. This tells you what kind of changes the maintainers want.
Step 2: Fork it
Forking creates your own copy of the repository under your account, so you can make changes without affecting the original project. Click the Fork button at the top right of the repository page, choose your account and wait for GitHub to finish.
Step 3: Make a small change
In your fork, open the file you want to improve, click the pencil icon and make your edit. A good first change is small and clear, such as adding your name to a contributors list or fixing a typo. Small changes are easier to review and more likely to be accepted.
Step 4: Commit your change
Scroll down and write a short commit message that says what you did. Choose to commit to the main branch of your fork, then confirm. Your copy now contains the change, but the original project does not know about it yet.
Step 5: Open a pull request
Go back to the repository page of your fork and look for the banner that offers to compare and open a pull request. Click it, write a title and a short description of what you changed and why, and submit. A pull request is a polite request to the maintainers: here is my change, please review it and merge it if you agree.
After you submit
A maintainer will look at your pull request. They may merge it straight away, or leave comments asking for adjustments. Reply to comments, update your change if needed and stay polite. A reviewed and merged pull request also counts toward your contribution graph.
Where to go next
Once the practice pull request is merged, try a real task. The recode hive repositories label beginner friendly tasks as good first issues, and the link at the bottom of this page lists the open ones. Pick one that you understand, say that you would like to work on it, and follow the same five steps.