Types of Open Source Contribution

In open source projects, software developers mainly contribute by modifying source code to fix bugs or improve features. However, developers are not the only ones who can contribute to open source projects. Open source projects need various types of contributions, such as documentation and design, as described below.

Writing Documentation / Translation

• Write project documentation and tutorials. (e.g., PyPA’s contributors did)
• Write the project’s newsletter or summarize key points from the mailing list.
• Translate the project’s documentation into your own language.

Testing / Creating Issues

• Test whether the software works correctly.
• Test whether it builds / installs as described in the documentation.
• Check whether the documentation and API are written consistently.

Design

• Improve the layout, menus, and so on of the project’s website. (e.g., Drupal suggest)
• Create a style guide so the project can have a consistent design.
• Contribute to creating a new logo or T-shirt. (e.g., hapi.js’s contributors did)

Writing / Reviewing Code

• Find an open issue you can resolve. (e.g., @dianjin did for Leaflet)
• Add new features.
• Improve tools and testing for automation.
• Review code submitted by others.
• Become a mentor to other contributors. (e.g., @ereichert did for @bronzdoc on Rust)

Marketing

• Promote the project’s purpose and usefulness in various ways, such as on social media and through seminar presentations.

Events

• Plan and host various gatherings such as the project’s conferences, workshops, and meetups. (e.g., fzamperin did for NodeSchool)