Cheers with the cord! Hacktoberfest experience from Toronto

Hello! It's Miranda.
Recently, the number of days in Toronto has been increasing, and I look forward to seeing summer soon.
Speaking of summer in Toronto! It's a patio! The patio refers to a restaurant terrace seating or a rooftop like a beer garden. In Toronto, drinking outdoors is generally prohibited, so I can't wait to enjoy beer 🍺 on the patio on a hot day.
When you think of beer, many people may think of "Oktoberfest." It's a famous beer festival originating from Germany.

But this time I'll introduce...

Hacktoberfest

The names are a little similar, but the content is completely different. We'll tell you about events where the codes are the main focus, not beer!

Introduction: What is Hacktoberfest?

Hacktoberfest is a global event held every October to support open source development.
It was started by DigitalOcean in 2014 and is currently operated with the support of many tech companies, including GitHub and GitLab.

Official website 👉 https://hacktoberfest.com

The way to participate is very simple!

Participants can contribute to the open source community by sending a Pull Request (PR for short) to open source projects on GitHub or GitLab.
Until 2023, if four PRs were merged, you would receive commemorative T-shirts, stickers, etc.
The official website for 2024 does not specify commemorative items, but
if you search for "Hacktoberfest 2025 swag list," you will find that various companies are distributing limited edition goods such as hoodies and backpacks (rules and perks vary depending on the year).
An example of the 2024 Swag List: 🔗 https://hacktoberfestswag.vercel.app/

It's fine if you can't write code!

The big attraction of Hacktoberfest is that it allows you to participate even outside of code.
Even small tasks such as correcting typos in README, translating documents, and improving the UI are also a great contribution to open source.
Therefore, this event has an atmosphere that anyone, from beginners to veteran developers, can easily participate.

Why do you participate? The appeal and benefits of Hacktoberfest

The appeal of Hacktoberfest is that it can "contribute to open source together with developers around the world."
It is characterized by being able to develop practical skills and connect with the global community of developers while participating at your own pace.

The benefits include:

✅Practical skills Improvement
By participating in an ongoing open source project, you will acquire the tech skills needed in the real world, such as the process of team development, the ability to read others' code, and experiences of improving through reviews.
In particular, it is important to naturally acquire the ability to propel yourself, such as "how to interpret issues" and "where and how to correct them."

✅The
Pull Request (PR) I actually did, which I
can use as a portfolio This not only can be used as a portfolio when looking for a job or changing jobs, but it can also be a record of your growth as an engineer.

✅ Meet the Community
Hacktoberfest offers a place to connect with participants from all over the world, including dedicated Slack, Discord, and event-only forums.
The best part is asking questions about codes, learning by watching other people's promotions, and creating stimulation and connections that you can't get on your own.

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🌎Achieving your achievements is important when looking for a job in North America!
In particular, "work experience" is placed on a high level when looking for a job in the IT industry in Canada, including Toronto.
Activities like Hacktoberfest can be a major weapon, as resumes and LinkedIn require specific "what kind of projects you were involved in."

When I first started my career as an infrastructure engineer with no experience, I had a lot of trouble finding job hunting in Canada.
I remember having little experience writing on my resume and panic with the feeling that I had to create a track record that would appeal to me.

Even if you are worried at first, "take a step can create experience."
This was truly a learning Hacktoberfest gave us. The small success experience of "I could do it too!" also leads to self-confidence.

As mentioned in the blog I introduced last time, Toronto has many active tech events and meetups, including TorontoJS, HackerNest, and DevTO.
Hacktoberfest participants are often found in these local communities, and this is an opportunity to create connections from common topics.

🔗What is a hackathon? Introducing recommended tech events to attend in Toronto

How do you participate? The process from registration to promotion

The way to join Hacktoberfest is very simple, but for first-time users, it may seem a bit of a hurdle. Here we will introduce specific steps so that you can proceed without hesitation even if you are participating for the first time.

① Enter on the official website

First, register to participate from the Hacktoberfest official website.
Log in with your GitHub or GitLab account and click a button like "Start Hacking" to complete your registration.
*Presentations will not be counted unless you register, so be sure to register in advance!
→ Official website: 🔗 https://hacktoberfest.com

➁ Search for the issue in the target repository

Next, look for the issue you are working on.
Hacktoberfest's target repository is accompanied by the "hacktoberfest" label and the "good first issue" for beginners.

This search site is useful when searching for issues like these: 🔗 https://goodfirsttissue.dev/
You can also narrow down your search by language, so you can quickly find "issues that can be used in your own language"!

③ Fork and develop locally → Create a Pull Request

Once you find the repository you want to work on, "Fork" it on GitHub and copy it to your account.
Clone the repository into your local environment and code the part you want to modify or add.

When you're done, send a "Pull Request"!
The basic requirement for Hacktoberfest is to send a total of four or more valid promotions within October.

④Receiving reviews and modifying as needed

If you send a PR, you may receive a review from the project manager (maintainer).
If you receive comments such as "I would like you to fix this a little," you can just respond politely and resubmit it.
Don't be depressed if your PR is rejected along the way! That's also one of the things I learn. Rather, that is "proof that you are growing."
A unique learning experience at Hacktoberfest is that you can experience the "actual development flow in the field" through the exchange of reviews.

Try to actually participate

I first joined Hacktoberfest when I was studying programming at Seneca College in Canada. At the same time, I was in a class called "OSD600 (Open Source Development)" and as part of my class, I was required to participate in Hacktoberfest.
I was able to get the merger even from a state of zero knowledge, "What is open source?", but I remember it being very difficult.

After actually participating, the following points left a particularly memorable:

✅Even is surprisingly difficult to find an issue for beginners
, when you actually look at it, it often requires more specialized background knowledge than you would expect, and the explanations of the issue are often difficult in English.
What came to mind when this was the relatively simple tasks such as editing and translating documents. By first working on these issues, I was able to get used to the project flow and the culture of reviews, and gradually I gained confidence that I might be able to do it myself.

✅To the public's ability to read people's codes
, you must first fully understand existing codes. This took longer than I thought.
It takes a much longer time to read existing code than writing new code yourself - this was a big difference from the school's challenges.
However, I realized later strongly that this ability to read codes is actually a skill that is truly needed in actual work.

✅ No matter how small your contribution,
the joy I felt when my PR was successfully merged, which gave me confidence, was beyond words.
Even if you fix a small spelling error, it becomes "a contribution to developers all over the world."
The experience I had when I had my first PR merged has also motivated me to study programming!

✍️ My PR experience:
A record of when I actually sent my PR for the first time is summarized in this blog post:
🔗 Hacktoberfest 2021! My first contribution

Summary: Cheers with codes this fall!

Autumn of reading, Autumn of appetite, and - Autumn of Code!
It's nice to toasting with beer, but why not try a slightly different look this fall and "Toasting with the Code"?

Hacktoberfest is an open source gateway that even beginners can try with peace of mind. Those who are usually hard to take the initiative should take the first step with the help of these global events. A small contribution should lead to great confidence!

It's safe to get used to GitHub now as it's ready for October.
If you practice how to find issues and send promotions little by little, you will be able to participate smoothly in the actual event!

🍁Let's celebrate this fall with code! Cheers to your first contribution.🍁

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