Contributing to Open Source for the first time

When software is open source, its code is freely available to anyone to use for any purpose. Facebook acknowledges the power behind open source, and recommends to its engineers to contribute and use open source projects. But how can you get started?
In this video, Cami walks you through how to make your first contribution to open source, with PyTorch as the example!
------ Social Accounts ------
PyTorch GitHub Organization: github.com/pytorch
PyTorch KZbin Channel: / pytorch
Cami's Twitter: / cwillycs
P.S. We're hiring! www.surveymonkey.com/r/KB887NX
Facebook Open Source Twitter: / fbopensource
Facebook Open Source Facebook Page: / fbopensource
Facebook Open Source website: opensource.
------ Facebook Developer Circles ------
Facebook Developer Circles Facebook Page: / developercircles
Facebook Developer Circles GitHub: github.com/fbdevelopercircles

[@cassidoo]

Tip for newbies: often there’s labels called “good first issue” or “my first PR” on a lot of projects that are small tasks that can introduce you to the project and make a meaningful change!

[@ambrish8144]

thanks for the tip

[@Limpuls]

Should I search for these in a specific repository or do a global search to find repositories with issues labeled as "good first issue" etc?

[@DevsLikeUs]

Thank you for the advice.

[@ArynKr]

@@Limpuls You should first get into the repo where you want to contribute and then search these terms in that repo. Hope this may answer your query.

[@Limpuls]

@@ArynKr It does, thank you!

[@jeffGordon852]

If you're not confident enough, you can do docs translation. Some people might think when they do translation they are not contributing as much as someone who writes code. But this couldn't be further from the truth! Imagine all the projects without docs!

[@ruhnet]

Couldn't agree more. Documentation, whether translating or improving is very important for any OS project, and often the primary developers don't have time/inclination/skills to keep up documentation, so people who help with that, even if they have no coding ability, are very valuable to the project.

[@AbhishekTiwari-jq8lc]

Is a grammatical error in the FAQ will be considered as a contribution and should I "pull request" for it???

[@ruhnet]

@@AbhishekTiwari-jq8lc Yes. It may be a small contribution, but it is still a contribution.

[@mananwashere]

I'm completely new to coding and open source, and documentation being so important for developers, shouldn't more experienced coders contribute to the docs ? (sorry if this was a stupid question 😂)

[@jeffGordon852]

@@mananwashere It's not a stupid question, yes experience dev write the doc, but someone with basic knowledge of the framework in question can do the TRANSLATION

[@LilyEvans1996]

This is a very solid introduction to open source contribution!

[@cubedev4838]

Hi mimi

[@your-Space]

Yeh

[@pd5873]

@@EricaTheScientist can u share frm where did u learn github using terminal??? I m first yr student nd want to make my first contribution soon

[@santosh5336]

This is an underrated video. People just talk about open-source and its uses and everything but this is what a beginner actually need

[@pviveknair]

This is exactly what I was looking for. There are all these tutorials about Git and Github technologies, but none of them actually tell you how to work with them. Thank you very much for helping out with the clearly neglected front end part.

[@loicboset5015]

Thanks a lot! I've just made my first contribution!

[@guitarman813]

This is a fantastic introduction to open-source contributions. I always wanted to get into this. But never knew where to exactly start. I have more confidence now to undertake these projects. Thanks Cami!

[@my_j.a.r.v.i.s.]

@Phoenix 😨

[@vishalpattnaik1996]

@Phoenix r/unpopularopinion

[@cs-codemon5306]

@Phoenix i dont care about facebook , i only care what i can learn from open source

[@khalidfrancis5430]

This is one amazing video. Very informative and very explanatory yet very detailed in demonstration and straight to the point. This was tremendously helpful to me, someone who is trying to slowly myself as a software developer yet going through the clueless beginning. THANK YOU CAMI

[@bae_velvet]

Thank you ! other videos didn't do a complete example so I didn't wanna mess my first contribution! but this was from start to finish, fantastic. Great video!

[@whisp96]

thanks, good video! I'm trying to hop into open source to better my chances for internships.

[@huntermacias2023]

Great video! Super easy to follow and helpful to those just getting started with open source contributions

[@hridayeshsharma539]

This is really nice. Contributing to docs is how I started my open source journey.

[@royxss]

Great explanation. Previously, I was always unsure where to start with. Thanks.

[@collocheru]

This is really good and clear guide, I love it!

[@harishs9808]

Wow! I've always wondered how there is no help for someone new to open source. Short and simple steps for one's first commit. Thank you, it was much needed!

[@manucheremeh5303]

Most useful guide I have seen so far on first open source contribution! Thank you so much Cami Williams, I'm in love with you now ❤️

[@stefangerman1093]

Thank you for detailed description of the process! This helped me to make my first Github contribution. Only hiccup I had - I needed to generate token to be able to commit my changes. Thank you again. :)

[@mahipalsingh9361]

Reading the documentation and making updates there is a good start that way you understand about the system and that opens the door for more changes in the product

[@Ritik-ww7ro]

This is exactly what I was looking for . Thank you so much cami!

[@ugopalatucci]

Great video. Finally, the perfect guidelines to start contributing! Good suggestion "start by editing the doc of a repo". Thanks.

[@okellomarvin925]

This is the clearest explanation I've had, am now ready to contribute. Thanks

[@ihebbrini6587]

Simple yet practical, thank you very much

[@balaganesh3440]

This is the best guide to get started with open source contribution......kudos to the creator :)

[@judevector]

Gosh I have watched so many videos on how to contribute to a project all seems to be confusing each other and in the process confusing me , but here I am watching this single video and it's as clear as day 😊

[@camilleclarkson3416]

This was just want I needed. Thank you sooooo much for sharing your knowledge and making it easier to understand!

[@mohammedhasanshaikh4800]

Thank you so much for explaining stuffs in such simpler way..🙌🙌

[@nlarralde]

this answered so many pending questions. Thank you!

[@sabarimanikandan19]

Thanks for making this video, I've been searching for a video that could help me get started with open source project and this tutorial is just awesome.

[@comaboy_98]

Thank you so much for indepth explanation i wanted for long time for open source contributions you resolved my all issues.keep doing this.Thanks

[@MakingfunofAI]

Straight to the point, helpful, short and great. Thank you for this awesome video!!

[@samirhembrom2559]

Clear, concise and descriptive content I learned a lot as I have just started coding and was thinking to work in open source project

[@sandeeprohokale]

Thank you! very well explained and very helpful for someone who is beginner in open-source github contribution space

[@your_virtuoso]

Great guide and explanation. The terminal ash method is also very interesting

[@dr4kk0nnys6]

Really useful actually, in fact, I did not only learn about the git diff command ( I didn't know that was a thing ) but also about a whole bunch of good practices.

[@lamedev1342]

I had no idea you could just copy and paste what you want to change and it auto finds it. Thank you so much!

[@noobsaredevil3340]

That was nice introduction for first time contribution. I actually did my first contribution today after learning from this video. It was small HTML/CSS contribution to a project but felt nice for first steps. Thanks Ma'am

[@niteshchowdhury2567]

How long does it take to make first contribution

[@user-uo7th2ms7e]

@@niteshchowdhury2567 depends on you

[@nit4tin]

A lot of useful tips for first time open source contributers packed in a concise video format

[@trelandon]

Great solid intro for first time contributors. Keep up the good work.

[@kushalu3937]

Thank you very much, you explained it very elegantly.

[@PrinceRaj-os8hn]

Thanks for making understand in quick easy way!

[@shadowmaxXL]

this video 100% help me to understand how to contribute on open-source thank you so much! you're the only person i could get a better understanding about this.

[@DHRUVNARAYANSINGH]

Great explanation, thanks

[@paulmb4464]

Very informative. Thank you!

[@fotiem.constant4948]

Thanks a lot for the video. will be making my first contribution soon.

[@DevsLikeUs]

me too!

[@ManpreetSingh-yo6ew]

Thank you for the great introduction, much appreciated.

[@tonypatriota6408]

Bro, hey would you give me some tips on an open source project I want to start?

[@vancityexe]

Awesome guide, first pull requested submitted! Ready for Hacktoberfest!

[@amitsharma8337]

This was very useful! Thank you.

[@shubhsrivastava8336]

Appreciated. This cleared all my doubts.

[@vishma9166]

This is so nice! Thank you maam.

[@naseemsrour393]

Thank you for this solid much-needed introduction. It's quite helpful as a first step into the open source world.

[@tonypatriota6408]

hey Bro would you give me some tips on an open source project I want to start?

[@kokoinmars]

I loved this into. Thank you.

[@MarcRacho]

Thank you! This is perfect. Now I know where / how to start contributing.

[@tonypatriota6408]

Bro, I have an idea for an open project so would you give me some tips on it?

[@Rohitkumar-ks9io]

Thanks for explaining it in simpler way

[@kedarkm457]

Awesome explanation, thank you 😊 I will contribute to open source community soon

[@goodmanshawnhuang]

that's a great tutorial, well done!

[@madhavanpari6316]

This video is a great intro for newbies like me caz it has a hands on pov experience as compared to other videos. Thanks a hell lot.

[@atulraghuvanshi7041]

Awsome guide for a first time contributer!

[@tamirrozenfeld3572]

Concise and precise thank you

[@roshnisparks7150]

Thanks sis ,I just made my first contribution... Great tutorial😊😊

[@MizanulIslam]

Thanks for sharing. A good one for beginners who want to contribute in Open Source.

[@bulelanibotman]

this was so helpful, thank you!

[@qaisermahmood.288]

Thanks for a good run-through contributing to open source

[@brunagomes6289]

Thanks for the video!!!

[@Pedro-fh9ec]

This is really helpful, thanks

[@pradiptagure7492]

It helped a lot to understand. I haven't contributed to any open source project yet. Just a question, is forking necessary? Can I create a branch from master and then commit+push and then raise the pull request to master?

[@sunidhi_ashish]

Thanks for this wonderful video.

[@rameshthamizhselvan2458]

Thanks a Lot for sharing your effort.

[@user-wb2ko3np9l]

Very Clear, Thank you!

[@prondubuisi]

This is super easy to Follow. Sharing with members of my community.

[@victorelezua]

Na you direct me come here.

[@prondubuisi]

@@victorelezua winning souls. Lol

[@harshadrokade201]

That was amazing smooth explanation I watched a lots of video's but get cleared on this thank you 🙏

[@tonypatriota6408]

hey Bro would you give me some tips on an open source project I want to start?

[@jamesomina4119]

I Like Cammi Williams's explanation about how to contribute to the first first open source project, It is clearly explained and easy for the beginner to understand, Great!

[@suyash.01]

Very well explained!

[@andrewramirez1293]

This was fantastic!

[@DevsLikeUs]

Thank you for the great explanation

[@thedebapriyakar]

Brilliant and to the point!

[@al-ekramelaheehridoy7297]

Best tutorial on open source contributions. Period

[@sachinkumarrajput9097]

Thank you for Explaining by example.

[@User-pq9ep]

Nice tutorial! Thanks a lot! I'm going to make my first contribution today. Good luck to me😄

[@tanoypaul]

This is called 'tutorial'. Just the thing I was searching from weeks... 🤞🏻

[@madhavanand756]

Please answer this question or a video on this topic will be great. I have learnt Java, C, C++ where I have learnt for loop, while etc, basically all basics with algos. Additionally I have learnt HTML, CSS at beginner level. I spent whole day searching repositories, saw issues but when to contribute something meaningful (not a readme file typo fix)- "I don't know where to start, how to locate - just blank" I have watched tons of videos haven't found my answer. Let me know right direction, or if I am lacking skills.

[@codesnippets03]

Amazing explaination 👌👌

[@umarjafar2424]

Thanks, very helpful.

[@nakulbageja2232]

Absolutely amazing, thank you for this

[@tonypatriota6408]

Bro would you give me some tips on an open source project I want to start?...

[@sonulohani]

Thanks for the tutorial

[@mamun001]

Thank you for this!

[@Gontran_Courtjoie]

Thanks Cami!

[@amanbeniwal3772]

Thankyou soo much maam, really needed it.

[@Jessislegend]

Thank you for the video! Which IDE you are using for your mac?

[@jerryc5743]

Awesome primer!

[@smartdecoder]

That's amazing Thank You

[@ashuvssut]

Woah mann! I thought I was watching a 500k subscriber channel! This is so much Pro lvl good content. Very nicely explained!

[@tonypatriota6408]

Hey bro would you give me some tips on an open source project I want to start?

[@punkgrl325]

This is an official Facebook channel.

[@saminchowdhury7995]

I have a question After forking the repo and downloading the codebase how do you go about testing the code and running different parts of the code? Do you just create a py file in the repo and import the downloaded codebase? or do you do something else? Thanks in advance

[@divyasampath2843]

Thanks for this.

[@TheEmperorXavier]

Am, this is a very useful video.. I'm very impressed

[@rishabhbhambani1530]

This is By far the best driving force for me to get started to open source .

[@elg281]

I hear ya

[@tonyiommisg]

Thank you for this! Your tutorials are so helpful for a noob like me. :)

[@tonypatriota6408]

hey Bro would you give me some tips on an open source project I want to start?

[@edwardsmith-rowland2852]

I think its a good idea to hang on the developer mailing list and get an idea who the contributors are and what they're working on. See who could be a sort of teacher.

[@abdulrenishr]

Cool, a nice motivational and inspirational video

[@S0AndS0]

Not to be too pedantic but to mitigate mistakes it's a good idea to understand that not all Open Source software is Free, and even those that are may be free as in _free speech_ not _free beer_ Otherwise ya published an excellent overview of utilizing GItHub UI for contributing, and encouraging the use of branches is superb! Branching tip; to make and checkout a new _``_ branch in one command use the `-b` option, eg... git checkout -b