How to contribute in GSSoC and get the most out of it?🚀

Apr 28, 2024

What is your goals in this programme?🚀

If getting a certificate, swags or the cash prize is your main goal then I would say that readjust your goals and focus more on learning and making connections because in long term the connections you make and what you learn will stay with you not the certificate or the swag.

1. Let's start with how to get Started with contribution?

Find your project 👇

Go to GSSoC official page and move tom projects tab. Here is a link to that. Link➡️

Select your stack, like : JavaScript, HTML, CSS. Search through the 100 projects listed there open the GitHub repository and see their code once, don't just to the issue tab directly.👇

2. Finding the first Issue. 🚀

After you select your repository go and find easy level-1 or good first issue which you think you can solve. Like this one.👇

Comment there that you would like to work on that issue and explain a bit how you will solve the problem or implement the new feature. It will help the project admin and the mentor to feel confident that you can solve the issue and also you will be able to stand out of the crowd.😜

And tell the project admin and mentor that you will love to work on that issue.

And yeah you got your first issue to work on!

3. But what happens if you face a error while setting up the project in your local system?

You can just take the screenshot of the error and share them in the specific discord channel of the project and tag project admin or Mentor.

How to identify mentor and project admin in discord?

Mentors have a | M | <Project Name> after their name and Admin have | PA | <Project Name> after their name.

They will solve the issue by chat or using the voice channel of the specific project.

And after you all setup go and do your job and make a PR. And YAY you have done your first contribution in GSSoC.

4. Bonus/Important Points.

Don't spam in every issue of every project. Take a project and contribute in that project for long term.

How it's gonna help? 👇⭐

You will be a proper part of building something.
You will have a good connection with the project mentor and admin. And you will be easily assigned in issues.
By working with a codebase for a good amount of time you will find much more issue in the code that no one other will find out and you can raise the issues and work on them.
Eventually you will learn a lot of more by not hoping around from project to project.
You will learn to work in a team.