Ask HN: What is the hottest OSS software I should contribute to

I mostly program in Go, Java and C++ (been a while since i used C++). I have a lot of spare time with the lockdown situation and would like to use the time to contribute more to open source. I already contributed some small fixes/features to projects like terraform or gogen-avro but would like to do more. I would like a friendly project where I can learn fast or where the community is able to get you to speed.

Any suggestions?

17 points | by neo2006 1482 days ago

9 comments

  • morceauxdebois 1482 days ago
    Matrix, there's a very real chance that a FOSS, E2E, federated messaging service can topple all the proprietary market giants. It's fully featured and just needs some polish to fully enter mass adoption.
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    • stakkur 1482 days ago
      It's awesome that you suggested Matrix to a user named Neo.
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      • RealStickman 1482 days ago
        Should've started with "Hello Neo"
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        • neo2006 1481 days ago
          I chose the blue pill!!!
  • kxh6 1482 days ago
    Could we create like a hiring thread for floss contribution? I already asked about this yesterday but since my account is new it got marked as dead.
  • Dahoon 1482 days ago
    Wouldn't it be better to contribute to something totally uncool instead since those projects are more in need of developers? Something like libraries maybe. If you are new(ish) there's a helpful site here:

    https://www.firsttimersonly.com/

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  • diehunde 1482 days ago
    Question for people who contribute: how do you familiarize yourself with the project at the beginning? I'm talking about the actual source code. Do you have any strategy to start? Maybe debugging API calls, or study single files? Thanks.
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    • throwaway158497 1481 days ago
      If it is a random project, then you are pretty much lost. So, Do not contribute to them. Think of a project you use and where you would like to see a few features. Pick it up, subscribe to the issues for a few days and get some familiarity. After that, compile it and put a few debug points.

      Also, write to the developer(s) of the project that you are looking for something to work on. If they suggest something, work on it.

      That said, I think Apache Foundation projects are pretty well documented. Try them.

      This is all advice from a person who never contributed to OSS.

  • notRobot 1482 days ago
    The Tor project. Millions of users who care about their privacy or live in oppressed regimes rely on it for unrestricted access to the internet.

    https://www.torproject.org/

  • neo2006 1482 days ago
    I found out this github repo that label first timer issues. https://github.com/MunGell/awesome-for-beginners
  • fullito 1482 days ago
    I thought about looking for projects which are open source and used very very often but are totally boring like image libraries, encryption etc.

    Then doing performance analysis and optimization.

  • itm 1481 days ago
    I guess your best bet to keep motivation on the long term is to contribute to projects your are using daily.
  • verdverm 1482 days ago
    I'll post our project here, we have some good open issues they are pretty easy and help to know the code base.

    It's a code generation framework written in Go and uses https://cuelang.org which we believe is an up and comer.

    https://github.com/hofstadter-io/hof

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    • neo2006 1481 days ago
      Thank you, I will try to grab one of the issues and see if I can help. I used some go code generation while working with gogen-avro