Beginners to Open Source

This collection of articles is about what it's like to get started in open source, in any position and for any type of open source project. We're not just talking code here, though we do highlight many ways someone can get started coding, submitting pull requests, and working directly on the software side of an open source project. Open source methods are also used to make data more open, processes more transparent, and "secret recipes" like design files for farming equipment, housing, and 3D printable parts available to everyone.

In this series, hear stories about people who got started in open source many moons ago, or just yesterday. Find out what it was like, what lessons they learned that they can pass on to you, and how open source has changed their lives. Open source is about creativity, innovation, and making things better. How can you get involved today?

Get started with open source

Start with our What is open source? resource page for the basics.

Take our poll: Why did you start using open source?

A beginner's guide to GitHub by Aleksandar Todorović

17 years of defending open source: Join the OSI today by Patrick Masson

11 ways to get involved with Humanitarian FOSS by Heather Leson

A developer's guide to getting into open source by Radek Pazdera

4 tips for how to migrate to Drupal by Jeffrey Wisard

Getting started with Project Atomic by Matt Micene

Blockly makes it easier to learn to code by Luis Ibanez

Robotics in the classroom with the Hummingbird kit by Don Watkins, interview with Tom Lauwers of BirdBrain Technologies

5 open source developers tell us how they got started by Noel Peatfield

Open source licensing practitioners speak on today's issues by Alex Shei

Challenges help developers get started with other projects by Victoria Holland

4 tips for breaking into an open source community by Guy Martin