Change of questioning is important

Source: Dev.to

Rethinking the Question

The question “How should I start open‑source contribution?” should shift to “How do I understand open‑source projects enough to contribute?” — this reframing emphasizes navigating large codebases rather than merely “how to contribute.”

Navigating a huge project is one of the longest skills to acquire. It relies less on memorization and more on proficiency with a set of tools and intuition about architecture.

Navigating Large Projects

Intuition and Goal‑Driven Exploration

Intuition is about intent. Always start with a concrete goal and trace toward it. If a button triggers an action, begin at the UI text or component, then follow the trail until you reach the underlying business logic. Folder structure, filenames, and conventions often convey more information than the code itself—provided you know how to read those signals.

Focused Code Reading

Avoid reading code at random. Read code only when you are forming a mental model of a specific area or answering a specific question. In other words, read code to confirm a hypothesis or to build a mental model of a feature, not to absorb the entire project at once.