1. Understand GSoC

Google Summer of Code (GSoC) is an online program where contributors work on open-source software with guidance from mentors. Accepted contributors receive a stipend, subject to the program's rules and evaluations. It is not a job at Google. Read the official FAQ for eligibility and how the program works.

Open source means a project's code is shared under a license that lets people use, study, and contribute to it. A mentoring organization is a community participating in GSoC. Its mentors help contributors plan and carry out a project. Maintainers look after a project's code, documentation, and reviews; not every maintainer is a GSoC mentor.

What applying involves

  1. Check the official eligibility requirements for your application year.
  2. Find participating organizations and read their project ideas and application instructions.
  3. Get to know a project, try its software, and discuss an idea with the community.
  4. Write a proposal, a plan explaining what you want to build and how you will do it.
  5. Submit through the official GSoC website before its deadline.

Organizations may ask for contributions or other preparation before applying. Follow their requirements rather than aiming for a particular number of changes. A useful contribution is a way to learn whether you enjoy the project; it does not guarantee selection.

Start with what you know

Write a few lines for yourself:

Languages or tools I have tried:
Topics I enjoy:
Time I can spend preparing each week:
My time zone and upcoming exams, work, or travel:
One thing I would like to learn:

After you install the tool in the next step, give it the same answers so every recommendation fits you without retyping them. It asks four questions:

git-into-gsoc start

If you share your GitHub username, it reads your public repositories to suggest your main languages. Offline, it saves the username and reads the languages next time. To set or change single answers later, use git-into-gsoc profile, for example git-into-gsoc profile --hours 10 --tz Asia/Kolkata. The profile lives only on your computer.

The time you can spend preparing may differ from the time a GSoC project requires; discuss the schedule with mentors before applying.

Where you are in the year

After installing the tool, run:

git-into-gsoc program

It shows the current phase of the program (for example "Before the program is announced" or "Proposal window is open"), what to do during that phase, and the timeline. When Google has published the year's dates, they are marked official. Otherwise the tool projects them from the previous year and marks every date as an estimate with an uncertainty window. Either way, confirm dates on the official timeline before acting on them.

Starting before the program is announced gives you time to learn a project and get feedback, and organizations that took part last year are the most likely to return. You can still begin at any point in the year.

AI assistance

Before using AI for a contribution or proposal, read Google's AI guidance and the organization's own policy. Ask if the policy is unclear. You are responsible for understanding and checking anything you submit. Some organizations allow no AI tools at all, even for writing a proposal, and the GSoC FAQ warns that using AI to write your proposal could mean automatic rejection. Write your proposal in your own words.

Whenever you are unsure

Run git-into-gsoc next. It combines the program phase, your profile, and your saved progress into the next few actions, each with the command to run. It works at every step of this guide.

Ready to move on: you can describe GSoC, know where to check the rules, and have written down your interests.

Next: install the tool ยท Guide contents

Source: docs/guide/01-understand-gsoc.md on GitHub. Corrections are welcome.