Today, I've got some cool open-source projects you can contribute in 2024. These aren't just popular projects; I've come across these during my two-year journey.

There are various ways to contribute to a project.
I've seen people only looking at the tech stack but I recommend choosing the one whose concept excites you rather than only following the tech stack.

Something that excites you will help you move forward especially when you're stuck.

I know lists can be boring because no one wants to see the list of projects and then forget about it.
So, I will also mention the use cases and then you can decide which project suits you.

You can find awesome lists at the end of the article with 300+ open source projects.

But, before contributing to any open source project, we must ensure that it is decent enough as per standards.

How to check if the open source project is good?

There is no right answer to this but every good open source project must have clear guidelines to help you on HOW you can contribute to their project (contributing.md) and a few other requirements.

Just remember, there's no specific order in this post. Every open-source project is good in its own way.

1. Exercism

Exercism is a website where you can learn various programming languages, help others, and even get testimonials.

This is my favorite open source project due to multiple reasons.

There are various tracks, and almost every programming language is there.

https://exercism.org - website
https://github.com/exercism/ - GitHub

The reason is everything you do such as reviewing Pull Requests, and Pull Requests created & merged is publicly shown on your profile and you even get badges for various achievements.

You can even see my profile.

As you can see everything is publicly available that will help you showcase your skills.

2. EsProc

It's a new programming language for powerful data computing, which can work as a high-efficiency data warehouse.

Using EsProc SPL, you can run it as an analysis database or middleware, and compute tons of structured or semi-structured data for analyzing massive datasets.

People who prefer Java should definitely contribute to this project.

It has more than 4k stars on GitHub and is indeed helpful.

https://github.com/SPLWare/esProc - GitHub
http://doc.scudata.com/esproc/ - docs

3. Forem

DEV, this very platform is built on Forem, an open source software designed to empower communities.

Why not improve this very platform, right? It has around 21k stars on GitHub.

https://github.com/forem - GitHub
https://forem.com/ - website

4. Simple Icons

Simple Icons provides pixel-perfect SVG of more than 2k popular brands.

They have one of the most detailed contributing guidelines. It's damn helpful.

They also have an SDK in the npm package to develop third-party extensions with JavaScript and TypeScript.

https://simpleicons.org/ - website
https://github.com/simple-icons/simple-icons - GitHub

It is the first open source project that I contributed to.

5. Freecodecamp

If you're in the learning industry, you must have heard about FreeCodeCamp at least once.

FreeCodeCamp is a community of people from all around the world learning to code together. It is completely free and runs on a volunteering basis.

Even I've learned a lot from freecodecamp. It has 381k stars on GitHub so there is nothing to exaggerate.

It runs on a modern JavaScript stack. It has various components, tools, and libraries. These include Node.js, MongoDB, OAuth 2.0, React, Gatsby, Webpack, and more.

https://www.freecodecamp.org/ - website
https://github.com/freeCodeCamp/freeCodeCamp - GitHub

6. Appwrite

Appwrite's open-source platform lets you add Auth, DBs, Functions, and Storage to your product & build any application at any scale, own your data, and use your preferred coding languages and tools.

They have great contributing guidelines and even go to the trouble of explaining architecture in detail.

https://appwrite.io/ - website
https://github.com/appwrite/appwrite - GitHub

They have every SDK you can think of :)

Big props to the Appwrite team for their support of the open source ecosystem. They're extending the offer of Appwrite Pro to all open source teams.

7. Daily

One of the most impressive open source organizations, it would take me hours to explain every feature.

They aggregate valuable posts from various topics across many organizations like Hacker News, Dev, Hashnode, and many more. You can upvote, bookmark, and even create your own squad.

I contributed to Daily in my early journey, and it has more than 14k stars on GitHub.

https://daily.dev/ - website
https://github.com/dailydotdev/daily - GitHub

You can even make your own public profile and build reputation as you go :)

8. Biodrop

EddieHub is one of the best communities that has helped so many people get into open source.

Biodrop is one of the open-source projects within the EddieHub community.

With Biodrop, you can collect testimonials, share a QR code of your profile, and many more amazing things.

https://www.biodrop.io/ - website
https://github.com/EddieHubCommunity/BioDrop - GitHub
https://www.biodrop.io/Anmol-Baranwal - sample profile

9. Storybook

Storybook is a frontend workshop for building UI components and pages in isolation. It helps in UI development, testing, and documentation.

They have 56k commits, 80k stars, and 400+ branches on GitHub.

https://storybook.js.org/ - website
https://github.com/storybookjs/storybook - GitHub

They have lots of integration options.

10. LinksHub

LinksHub is a Hub of Links For Developers By Developers. Here, we've gathered a collection of all the best and most useful resources, both free and paid, to aid in the development journey.

I'm an open source maintainer of LinksHub, and I'm not biased.

I seriously believe you should contribute to this at least once.
We are still in the growing phase, but will soon reach very high.

https://www.linkshub.dev/ - website
https://github.com/rupali-codes/LinksHub - GitHub

11. FaceX

Face-X is a comprehensive repository of algorithms and operations related to facial recognition, which includes a range of functionalities from facial filters, image processing, face mask detection, and facial attendance systems to animated emotions and facial cartoonification.

You can watch this video to learn more about the project.

https://github.com/akshitagupta15june/Face-X - GitHub

12. Taipy

Taipy is an open-source Python library designed for swiftly building production-ready frontend & backend solutions. You don't need to be versed in web development, making it particularly valuable for Python developers.

https://www.taipy.io/ - website
https://github.com/Avaiga/taipy - GitHub

13. CopilotKit

You can build Copilots 10X Faster With CopilotKit.

It has an AI-driven text editor, enhancing traditional elements with auto-completion and context-aware editing. Copilot Chatbot offers frontend and backend runtimes for in-app copilots, enabling indexed state, customizable UI, and function calling capabilities.

https://www.copilotkit.ai/ - website
https://docs.copilotkit.ai/getting-started/quickstart-textarea - docs
https://github.com/CopilotKit/CopilotKit - GitHub

14. Shadcn UI

The launch of Shadcn drove people crazy, and I'm still thrilled about it.

It offers a comprehensive set of components, significantly accelerating your frontend development. The best aspect is its high level of customization and top-notch accessibility.

No installation is required; copy and paste the components you want to use.

It has more than 40k stars on GitHub and only 350 commits. HAHA!

The primary language used here is Typescript.

https://ui.shadcn.com/ - website
https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui - GitHub

15. Docusaurus

Docusaurus is a project for building, deploying, and maintaining open source project websites. It is a Facebook project.

Check 5-minute tutorial to understand more.

It has more than 50k stars on GitHub.

https://docusaurus.io/ - website
https://github.com/facebook/docusaurus - GitHub

16. Mermaid

Mermaid helps to generate diagrams like flowcharts or sequence diagrams from text like markdown.

It has 64k stars on GitHub and is very useful.

https://mermaid.js.org/ - website
https://github.com/mermaid-js/mermaid - GitHub

One sample diagram that you can easily make.

17. All Contributors

It is one of the most fantastic and necessary ideas.

It enhances the concept of acknowledging contributors, not only those who push code but also designers, translators, reviewers, and even those handling documentation.

https://allcontributors.org/ - website
https://github.com/all-contributors/all-contributors - GitHub

It is extremely simple to use.

18. Reactive Resume

This is one of the best resume builders out there and keeps your privacy in mind. Completely secure, customizable, portable, open-source, and free forever.

It has more than 17k stars on GitHub and is very useful.