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Dev Days is a two-day virtual hackathon where individuals who have never participated in one of the Academy Software Foundation projects ( or even open source in general ) can pick a task that can be completed in one day. The aim is to help individuals make their first contribution to a project, with a focus focusing on each of the participating projects, project to ensure they have maintainers and other contributors available to mentor and support these first-time contributors.
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Note that all the projects hosted at the Academy Software Foundation are hosted on GitHub, a code collaboration and hosting service used by millions of open-source projects globally. If you are new to GitHub or open source, check out the resources below to help you get started.
- Create a GitHub Account
- How to make a Pull Request by example
- First-timers guide to contributing to open source.
- Tutorial on how to make your first contributions to a git project.
Check out and pick a project.
If you are totally new to the ASWF, explore the list of projects projects here. Read about the different projects and focus areas, and see what jumps out to interests you. If you are already interested in a particular project, great!
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It's a good idea to narrow it down to a few issues of interest and then reach out to contact the project to ask questions. The easiest way is often to comment on the issue itself, but you can also connect on the project's communication channels (find the full list here). Some questions you could ask include.
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- Let the project know, and they will assign it to you.
- Most projects require contributors to be covered under a Contributor License Agreement (CLA). Each project should have a CONTRIBUTING page in its code repository or documentation outlining this requirement and other contributions contribution requirements. There are two forms of CLAs.
- Individual (ICLA) is used if you are not affiliated with an organization and only contribute on your behalf.
- Corporate (CCLA) is used if you are an employee of a company, and your contributions would be made on behalf of the company. Even if you are not participating as part of in your employer's work, your employment contract often indicates that your employer owns any open-source contributions. You should consult with your employer for more details.
- Set up your development environment. Each project should outline this either in a README file, a BUILD file, or as part of its documentation. If Contact the project directly if you can't find this information or have questions, contact the project directly.
- Make sure you join the project's communication channels and any meetings before Dev Days that the project may request participants join.
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- Have your development environment fully set beforehand, along with accounts for any collaboration tools the project uses.
- Be communicative with the projects about the hours you will be working on them. While this is a global event, if the project knows you will be working during certain hours, it can ensure there are maintainers and other contributors are available to help if needed.
- Remember that you will be one of many people participating in Dev Days, so expect many discussions and people reaching out to projects to answer questions. Each project will ensure they have maintainers and other contributors available, but be patient in case they are overwhelmed by requests.
Most importantly, have fun! Making your first contribution to a project can seem daunting, but once you do, it is quite rewarding once you do.
Further Questions
If you have any other questions, reach out on the #devdays channel on the Academy Software Foundation Slack. If the question is project-specific, reach out to contact the specific channel(s) they recommend.
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