The first step in open source
Source: Dev.to
Background
Back in October, I read a blog by a GSoC contributor. He talked about how he started, how he discovered open source, what he worked on, and how his journey unfolded. I already knew what open source was and what GSoC was; I had watched the videos and read many blogs.
But knowing something and stepping into it are two very different things. I had a quiet dream of one day having that GSoC badge on my profile, which requires contributing to open source. My brain kept whispering:
“What if I change one line of code and accidentally take down production?”
There’s also a narrative online that students (especially from India) “pollute” open source with low‑quality contributions. So my biggest fear wasn’t just breaking production, but also facing criticism.
Finding the First Issue
In the blog, the author mentioned his first PR in OWASP BLT—a small, simple PR. I thought that if I could find something similar, maybe I could contribute too. I explored the organization thoroughly:
- Every page
- Every link
- Every piece of documentation
After some chaotic scrolling and determined clicking, I found what felt like buried treasure: a broken link in the contribution guide—a small href issue.
When I fixed the link, the pre‑commit checks kept failing, and I thought it was the end. It took me five hours to resolve everything, but eventually it worked, and I raised the PR on 1 November 2025.
The Merge
The next day, the PR was merged.
I kept visiting the site just to check my change. That tiny broken link was my entry into OWASP BLT and open source as a whole, and I’ll always be grateful for the blog and for BLT.
Progress Since Then
Fast forward to today, I have 20+ PRs merged in this organization. I have learned how to:
- Interact with maintainers
- Contribute to real‑world problems
- Give peer reviews
I used to think open source was reserved for genius developers; it turns out all I needed was one first step forward.
Takeaway
If you’re still reading and hesitating, go explore the project:
That tiny fix changed my path. Don’t treat open source like a competitive exam. It’s about learning by working on real‑world applications and realizing that your small change can help many people. That feeling is powerful.
I hope it helps! ;)