Member Avatar for warlord902

I am willing to join an open source project. Which is the best place and what is the method to join an open source project?

I am looking for a one based on java

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by peter_budo

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A practical, short roadmap for joining Java open‑source projects that builds on suggestions already posted by , and the reviewer notes from .

Pick a project by signals, not by popularity alone: recent commits and merged PRs, a readable README with prerequisites and build instructions, a license that allows contributions, a small test suite, and a labeled issue backlog (labels like "good first" or "documentation" are ideal). For Java projects specifically, check the build files (pom.xml, build.gradle) to confirm the toolchain and run the test suite locally before proposing changes.

A reliable first-contribution workflow:

  • Fork/clone the repository, create a focused branch, run the full build and tests, and push a small PR that fixes one thing only.
  • Prefer documentation fixes, small bug fixes or unit tests as first PRs — they teach the codebase and lower the friction for maintainers.

Example minimal git / build steps:

git clone <repo-url>
cd repo
git checkout -b fix/brief-description
# implement change
git add .
git commit -m "Fix: brief description"
git push origin fix/brief-description

# Maven
mvn clean test

# Gradle
./gradlew clean test

Advice for maintainers and owners (relevant to and others): make the project easy to join — ensure the master branch builds, add a clear README and CONTRIBUTING.md, create a few labeled "starter" issues, and add automated CI so new commits run tests. New contributors such as should look for doc, test, or small bug tickets first; maintainers like who posted project offers should call out exact setup steps and a first‑timer ticket to attract help.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for jbennet

Im working on a Java EE (Servlets) based Issue Tracker if you want to help....

Member Avatar for warlord902

Im working on a Java EE (Servlets) based Issue Tracker if you want to help....

Sorry, but I don't know much about JSP and servlets.

Member Avatar for peter_budo

Im working on a Java EE (Servlets) based Issue Tracker if you want to help....

If open source then drop link, I would be interested to see what you have :)

Member Avatar for aneechopper

I want to join it,I want more information,can anybody help me out?

Member Avatar for warlord902

I want to join it,I want more information,can anybody help me out?

what kind of project you like to join in, please also tell your expertise. I am working on one, if I find you useful for my project then i would like to include you in it.

Member Avatar for peter_budo

if you have some public repository can you post the link? People may want to have look first before attempting to join ;)

Member Avatar for peter_budo

Quick peek on the project and what I found:

  • Broken build, your application class Database is broken. Make sure that before you commit you always check that project copiles and run. Broken builds are bad advertisment
  • You should provide some sort of README file tht will summirize basic requirments for the project (JDK version, installations of tools required by project etc)
  • You are missing any testing infracture to test that your application is fucntional and that while adding-editing-deleting you did not damaged existing structure. Test framework like JUnit, Mockito etc. should be used

Please do not take it personally, I just trying to give you some feedback so you can improve your work :)

Edited by peter_budo because: n/a
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