Many people want to dive into open source software, but don't know where to start. Most of the time they have the energy and enthusiasm, but don't have a clue about how to go about it, whom to talk to, or what to read in order to begin with their contribution.
Countly is a good example of an open source project - it has a ticketing system, a searchable knowledge base, innovative developers to connect with, and most importantly, a global vision with a public roadmap. Therefore joining doesn't come with high barriers nor does it require a high profile. Small things like spreading the word on Twitter, writing a brief tutorial, or reporting a bug are all valuable contributions.
Let’s dive into what it needs and means to be a Countly contributor.
Download and fork our source code
We use Git, a distributed version control system and Github, a service that gives open source developers several tools to keep their source code. All public code resides in GitHub servers, and Github provides wonderful ways to read, fork, examine, and contribute code back to the project.
One of the first things you should be doing is learning Git commands - this is really a good start toward being a part of Countly and other Git-supported open source projects.
Write reviews and documentation
All open source projects need a lot of documentation and Countly is no exception. You can either contact us directly for a review/doc, or start writing your own. You don’t have to be a linguistic expert - anything from reviews to an in-depth installation guide would be useful.
Follow Countly on Twitter and Facebook
We are always updating our latest status on Twitter and Facebook, and use these two social environments a lot. A quick and dirty way to ask a question to Countly developers is to contact them via Twitter.
Write an SDK for your platform
Currently, Countly SDKs are available for Web, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows, and Mac OS platforms.
Contributors have provided many SDKs for different development environments including Unity 3D, Phonegap, Icenium, and React Native. Basically, if a device is connected to internet, you can get analytics data easily with a simple SDK. Examples include, but are not limited to, Smart TVs, set top boxes, mobile apps using HTML5/Javascript, desktop operating systems, in-car entertainment systems, IP security cameras - anything that is able to send HTTP requests can be a part of your analytics.
Countly always needs more contributors, and you don’t have to be a developer guru to be part of Countly. Join us in the adventure of building the best analytics platform!
Join our Discord community
We are running a community-driven, public Discord Community where you can ask and answer questions from our fellow Countly users.