Agent-Skills.md

Agent Skills: GitHub Contributor

Strategic guide for becoming an effective GitHub contributor. Covers opportunity discovery, project selection, high-quality PR creation, and reputation building. Use when looking to contribute to open-source projects, building GitHub presence, or learning contribution best practices.

UncategorizedID: daymade/claude-code-skills/github-contributor

Repository

daymade/claude-code-skills
daymadeLicense: MIT
55762

Install this agent skill to your local

pnpm dlx add-skill https://github.com/daymade/claude-code-skills/tree/HEAD/github-contributor

Skill Files

Browse the full folder contents for github-contributor.

Download Skill

Loading file tree…

github-contributor/SKILL.md

Skill Metadata

Name
github-contributor
Description
Strategic guide for becoming an effective GitHub contributor. Covers opportunity discovery, project selection, high-quality PR creation, and reputation building. Use when looking to contribute to open-source projects, building GitHub presence, or learning contribution best practices.

GitHub Contributor

Strategic guide for becoming an effective GitHub contributor and building your open-source reputation.

The Strategy

Core insight: Many open-source projects have room for improvement. By contributing high-quality PRs, you:

  • Build contributor reputation
  • Learn from top codebases
  • Expand professional network
  • Create public proof of skills

Contribution Types

1. Documentation Improvements

Lowest barrier, high impact.

  • Fix typos, grammar, unclear explanations
  • Add missing examples
  • Improve README structure
  • Translate documentation
Opportunity signals:
- "docs", "documentation" labels
- Issues asking "how do I..."
- Outdated screenshots or examples

2. Code Quality Enhancements

Medium effort, demonstrates technical skill.

  • Fix linter warnings
  • Add type annotations
  • Improve error messages
  • Refactor for readability
Opportunity signals:
- "good first issue" label
- "tech debt" or "refactor" labels
- Code without tests

3. Bug Fixes

High impact, builds trust.

  • Reproduce and fix reported bugs
  • Add regression tests
  • Document root cause
Opportunity signals:
- "bug" label with reproduction steps
- Issues with many thumbs up
- Stale bugs (maintainers busy)

4. Feature Additions

Highest effort, highest visibility.

  • Implement requested features
  • Add integrations
  • Performance improvements
Opportunity signals:
- "help wanted" label
- Features with clear specs
- Issues linked to roadmap

Project Selection

Good First Projects

| Criteria | Why | |----------|-----| | Active maintainers | PRs get reviewed | | Clear contribution guide | Know expectations | | "good first issue" labels | Curated entry points | | Recent merged PRs | Project is alive | | Friendly community | Supportive feedback |

Red Flags

  • No activity in 6+ months
  • Many open PRs without review
  • Hostile issue discussions
  • No contribution guidelines

Finding Projects

# GitHub search for good first issues
gh search issues "good first issue" --language=python --sort=created

# Search by topic
gh search repos "topic:cli" --sort=stars --limit=20

# Find repos you use
# Check dependencies in your projects

PR Excellence

Before Writing Code

Pre-PR Checklist:
- [ ] Read CONTRIBUTING.md
- [ ] Check existing PRs for similar changes
- [ ] Comment on issue to claim it
- [ ] Understand project conventions
- [ ] Set up development environment

Writing the PR

Title: Clear, conventional format

feat: Add support for YAML config files
fix: Resolve race condition in connection pool
docs: Update installation instructions for Windows
refactor: Extract validation logic into separate module

Description: Structured and thorough

## Summary
[What this PR does in 1-2 sentences]

## Motivation
[Why this change is needed]

## Changes
- [Change 1]
- [Change 2]

## Testing
[How you tested this]

## Screenshots (if UI)
[Before/After images]

After Submitting

  • Respond to feedback promptly
  • Make requested changes quickly
  • Be grateful for reviews
  • Don't argue, discuss

Building Reputation

The Contribution Ladder

Level 1: Documentation fixes
    ↓ (build familiarity)
Level 2: Small bug fixes
    ↓ (understand codebase)
Level 3: Feature contributions
    ↓ (trusted contributor)
Level 4: Maintainer status

Consistency Over Volume

❌ 10 PRs in one week, then nothing
✅ 1-2 PRs per week, sustained

Engage Beyond PRs

  • Answer questions in issues
  • Help triage bug reports
  • Review others' PRs (if welcome)
  • Join project Discord/Slack

Common Mistakes

Don't

  • Submit drive-by PRs without context
  • Argue with maintainers
  • Ignore code style guidelines
  • Make massive changes without discussion
  • Ghost after submitting

Do

  • Start with small, focused PRs
  • Follow project conventions exactly
  • Communicate proactively
  • Accept feedback gracefully
  • Build relationships over time

Workflow Template

Contribution Workflow:
- [ ] Find project with "good first issue"
- [ ] Read contribution guidelines
- [ ] Comment on issue to claim
- [ ] Fork and set up locally
- [ ] Make focused changes
- [ ] Test thoroughly
- [ ] Write clear PR description
- [ ] Respond to review feedback
- [ ] Celebrate when merged! 🎉

Quick Reference

GitHub CLI Commands

# Fork a repo
gh repo fork owner/repo --clone

# Create PR
gh pr create --title "feat: ..." --body "..."

# Check PR status
gh pr status

# View project issues
gh issue list --repo owner/repo --label "good first issue"

Commit Message Format

<type>(<scope>): <description>

[optional body]

[optional footer]

Types: feat, fix, docs, style, refactor, test, chore

References

  • references/pr_checklist.md - Complete PR quality checklist
  • references/project_evaluation.md - How to evaluate projects
  • references/communication_templates.md - Issue/PR templates