Your path to a first contribution
This guide takes you from "what is GSoC?" to a reviewed pull request and a proposal, one step at a time. You do not need to understand everything on day one. If you already know a topic, skip ahead.
| Step | You leave with |
|---|---|
| 1. Understand GSoC | The basics, where the official rules are, and a note on what you know and want |
| 2. Install the tool | A working git-into-gsoc command |
| 3. Connect your AI assistant (optional) | An assistant that uses the same live data |
| 4. Find organizations | Two or three communities you want to learn about, with a reason for each |
| 5. Pick a repository and an issue | One task you understand and can reproduce |
| 6. Make your first contribution | A pull request you can explain |
| 7. Prepare your proposal | A plan built on real work and feedback |
| 8. Keep track of your progress | A weekly note and a clear next step |
The steps are a guide, not a checklist to pass. Loop back whenever you need to.
Not sure what to do next?
git-into-gsoc on its own shows your progress. git-into-gsoc next reads the program calendar, your profile, and the issues you track, and prints the next few actions with the exact commands. The journey map shows every phase with its commands and guide page.
Just trying the tool?
Install it, run git-into-gsoc start, then jump to find organizations. You can do the whole journey in a terminal, without an AI assistant.
Reference
- Command reference: every command and option.
- MCP reference: the tools your AI assistant gets.
- Use it in your AI assistant: install, update, and remove the plugin for each assistant.
- Configuration and local data: the GitHub token, settings, the cache, and your progress file.
- Troubleshooting: common errors, by symptom.
- Sources and limitations: where results come from and what they cannot tell you.
- How recommendations work: how fit is decided, the evidence behind it, and how well it works.
- Privacy: what the tool reads, what it saves, and what it never sends.
- Examples: a sample terminal session and prompts for an assistant.
Improving git-into-gsoc itself
These pages are for people changing the tool, not using it.
- Contributing: setup, your first change, and our standards.
- Watch someone try it: a 30-minute session with a newcomer. It needs no code, and it is the most useful test we have.
- Architecture: how the terminal tool, the assistant server, and the skill share one core, and how to add things.
- Releasing and distribution: how releases, plugins, and directory listings work.
- What we learned from other tools: ideas adopted and rejected, with sources.
- Ranking benchmarks and the brand kit.
Source: docs/README.md on GitHub. Corrections are welcome.