Let’s contribute to open source! Submitting your first PR, for beginners
A few months ago I was confused about how to start contributing to open-source projects, and I did a lot of research along the way. I’ve written up the whole process, from forking a project to finally submitting a pull request (PR), in the hope that it helps you submit your first PR smoothly.
Step 1: Choose a project
First, choose an open-source project you’re interested in. GitHub is a great place to find them. Choosing a beginner-friendly project matters a lot; many projects label issues good first issue and mention them in their README.
Step 2: Fork the project
Forking means copying someone else’s project into your own GitHub account, so you can make changes freely in your own version. Find the “Fork” button on the project’s GitHub page and click it.
Step 3: Clone the project locally
Choose a working directory on your computer and clone the project you just forked with these commands:
git clone https://github.com/[your-username]/[project-name].git
cd [project-name]Step 4: Create a new branch
Before you start making changes, it’s best to work on a new branch, which keeps the project tidy. Create and switch to a new branch with this command:
git checkout -b [new-branch-name]Step 5: Make your changes
This is the most important step. At this stage you start actually contributing to the project. It might be fixing a bug, adding a new feature or improving the documentation. Before you start, make sure your fork is in sync with the original project; there’s a guide to syncing at the bottom.
Step 6: Commit your changes
When you’re done, add your changes to your branch with the commands below. You can use
git status first to see which files you changed:
git add .
git commit -m "Describe your changes"Step 7: Push to your GitHub
Push your branch to GitHub with this command:
git push origin [new-branch-name]Step 8: Submit a pull request
Most projects ask you to run their tests before submitting a PR. You can find the rules in the project’s contributing guidelines, and it’s worth reading them before you submit. Go back to the original project’s GitHub page, and you’ll see a button prompting you to submit a pull request. Follow these steps:
a) Click New Pull Request
b) Choose compare across forks
c) Choose your repo
d) Check your commits and click Create pull request
e) Fill in the issue you’re solving and click Create pull request
Once you click Create pull request, your PR is submitted to the project. Then you wait for the maintainers to review it, and there may be a few rounds of changes.
Extra: syncing the latest code from the original project
Before you start contributing, it’s important to keep your fork in sync with the original project. That avoids conflicts when your PR is merged. Here’s how to sync:
a) Configure a remote upstream
First, set the original project as a new remote (upstream). In your forked project’s directory, run the command below to add upstream. You can use git remote -v to check your remotes; a freshly forked project usually shows only your own origin.
git remote add upstream https://github.com/[original-owner]/[original-project].gitb) Fetch changes from upstream
Fetch the latest changes from upstream with this command:
git fetch upstreamc) Merge into your local master branch
Make sure you’re on your local master branch, then merge the upstream changes into it:
git checkout master
git merge upstream/masterd) Push the changes to your GitHub fork
Finally, push these changes to your GitHub fork:
git push origin masterAnd with that, your fork is in sync with the original project.
Closing
Congratulations! You’ve just gone through submitting your first PR. The open-source community is built on mutual help and sharing, and every contribution means a lot to it. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes; learning and growing are part of every open-source journey.
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