Imposter Syndrome

Don't think you're ready to be an open source contributor? You're wrong.

There may be a little voice inside your head that is telling you that you're not ready; that you need to do one more tutorial; that you aren't ready to be an open source contributor. After all, you're just a beginner. What could you possibly offer a project like BeeWare?

I assure you - the little voice in your head is wrong. If you can write code at all, you can contribute code to open source, and to BeeWare.

You're not the first person to have those thoughts, either. Even the members of the core team of this project have these thoughts from time to time. It's called "imposter syndrome", and it's a really common problem. The good news is - we're here to help you get over it.

This tutorial exists to make sure you know exactly what process you have to follow in order to get your patch merged. In addition to these procedural instructions, this project has a Code of Conduct. This Code of Conduct is there to give you confidence that no matter what mistakes you make, you'll be treated with respect. Everyone makes mistakes - that's a natural part of learning. Our pledge to you is that we are here to help you learn, not to insult or belittle you for learning.

Being an open source contributor doesn't just mean writing code, either. You can help out by writing documentation, tests, or even giving feedback about the project (and yes - that includes giving feedback about the contribution process). Some of these contributions may be the most valuable to the project as a whole, because you're coming to the project with fresh eyes, so you can see the errors and assumptions that seasoned contributors have glossed over.

You can't do any damage, either - either to your own computer, or to the project as a whole. BeeWare projects don't touch any part of your computer or operating system that could do any serious damage. Worst case, you'll end up with a couple of extra files on your hard drive, which can be easily deleted afterwards. And every contribution you submit to BeeWare is reviewed before it is integrated into the "official" project, and you'll get feedback to help you correct any problems that may exist.

So - don't be afraid to contribute. If you've gotten this far, you've demonstrated you have an interest in contributing - and that's all you need. We can help you the rest of the way.

Now it's time to roll up your sleeves, and pick a project where you can contribute.