The Technical Writers Guide to Contributing to Open Source Projects
summary
Concrete numbers and concrete steps matter: a survey finds 90% of 5,500 respondents flag documentation as incomplete or confusing, so start by searching GitHub, pick a repo, reproduce the project, log the gaps, and identify an issue to solve. Edit docs, follow the project’s contribution flow, and submit a GitHub/GitLab pull request describing changes. Use a consistent style such as Google or Microsoft style guide, write a clear first paragraph, avoid duplicating content, and track improvements and reviewer feedback.
AI-written summary · about
chapters (5)
related talks
38mGuide to getting started in open source
32mContributing to Open Source: A Guide
10mBecoming an awesome open source contributor
50mOpen Source Survival Guide
15mMaking Meaningful Contributions to Open Source Contributions
56mEffective Documentation: The Key to Open Source Growth
24mSo You Want to Contribute to Open Source: ...
40mI wanna do Open Source, but I don't know how