Getting started

Articles and series about getting started in open source. We share tutorials, tips, and advice—plus, great open source projects and communities for those new to open source.

Making your first open source contribution

Puppet Labs software engineer shares how to become a contributor to open source projects.

17 May 2017 Nicole C. Engard Feed 30 votes 3 comments

Which is the best programming language for beginners?

What is the best language for a budding programmer to get their start with? There are probably as many opinions about which language is best for...

24 Feb 2017 Opensource.com (Red Hat) Feed 86 votes

How to join a technical community

Following a few simple steps can ease your transition into a community.

26 Jan 2017 Jeremy Garcia Feed 59 votes 1 comment

Win a LulzBot Mini 3D printer in our giveaway

In the spirit of encouraging more members of our community to take the plunge and get involved with...

23 Jan 2017 Alex Sanchez (Red Hat) Feed 55 votes 2 comments

Shell scripting: An introduction to the shift method and custom functions

This an introduction to the shift method of parsing options as well as creating custom functions...

23 Jan 2017 Seth Kenlon (Red Hat) Feed 58 votes 4 comments

5 ways to expand your project's contributor base

Learn how project leads and maintainers encourage the growth of their contributor base.

20 Jan 2017 Kushal Das (Red Hat) Feed 58 votes 2 comments

How to get started contributing to Mozilla

Learn how to contribute to one of the largest and most popular open source projects on the web:...

19 Jan 2017 Moin Shaikh Feed 47 votes 4 comments

How to gain confidence to participate in open source

When participating in open source, self-confidence plays a huge role. Learn these three vital...

18 Jan 2017 Laura Hilliger Feed 69 votes 4 comments

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