Hacktoberfest is here again!

This year is the 9th iteration of Digital Ocean’s world-famous Hacktoberfest event, and we’re back with plenty of opportunities for contributors worldwide to participate.

Hacktoberfest is a wonderful opportunity to bring our open source community together, from newcomers to seasoned veterans, and this year we’re paying particular attention to our non-code contributions. Technical writers, bloggers, QA testers, and translators are critical members of our community whom we value just as much as developers who contribute code to one of our repositories.

Of course, it wouldn’t be Hacktoberfest without the chance to earn some limited-edition swag! Everyone who makes one or more contributions to the Mattermost community during Hacktoberfest will receive a pack of custom Mattermost stickers. 

Additionally, we’ll select top contributors from our community to receive a custom Mattermost t-shirt and mug. These items are first come, first serve and won’t be available after the event, so make sure you stop by to make your contribution!

Whether you write code or not, there’s something for everyone this year. Keep reading to find out more about the ways to get involved.

Translate Mattermost

Thanks to our fantastic community of translators, Mattermost has been translated into nearly two dozen languages and counting. This year, we’re continuing to focus on Italian, Korean, Polish, Ukrainian, and Hindi translations, but any language listed as a work in progress is a great place to get involved.

Learn more.

Show Off Your Best Mattermost App

Mattermost Apps are lightweight, interactive add-ons that can be written in any language and run on any HTTP-compatible hosting service. Apps make it extremely easy to read or post messages, change the user interface, create interactive models, and modify just about anything else in the Mattermost experience.

We want to see your best Mattermost Apps and to get feedback about your experience building them. Create a new, unique App during October, and submit it as your Hacktoberfest contribution.

Submissions will be reviewed by our team and ranked according to two simple criteria:

  1. The ability to demonstrate a solution to an important use case or common problem. Use images, gifs, and videos to show off your App.
  2. Clear documentation that shows how to install, configure, and use your App; this is the only way we can fully evaluate your contribution. We recommend following the Standard Readme Format.

Learn more about building Mattermost Apps; once you’re ready to submit your app, fill out this form.

Community Writing Program

Last year, we launched a program for developers worldwide to get paid to write content about modern software development tools, services, and technologies. From your favorite tools for app development to your best productivity hacks, we’ll pay you to share your stories, lessons, and insights on the Mattermost blog. 

Contribute to the community writing program.

QA Testing

Our QA team ensures the high standard of quality that enables Mattermost to earn the trust of its users as a reliable and valuable platform — and we always value the fresh perspective of our community contributors. This is an excellent opportunity for non-developers to make an impact on a software development project and get credit for participating in Hacktoberfest. Standalone exploratory testing is highly encouraged too! Remember to report your findings in the QA Contributors channel.

Learn more.

Other Ways to Get Involved

Our Hacktoberfest landing page has all the details about every possible way to get involved with us.

Issues labeled Good First Issue are great for newcomers; make sure you follow our contribution guidelines. Any issues labeled Help Wanted are also up for grabs. However, some of them may require fairly deep technical familiarity. We’re here to help you along the way; reach out to our maintainers early in GitHub and our community chat server to ask questions and get guidance.

Where to Get Help During Hacktoberfest

Here are resources to help guide you through every step of this Hacktoberfest:

Read more about:

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Ben Lloyd Pearson is the Director of Developer Marketing for Mattermost. He is a technology generalist who focuses his broad understanding to grow and engage developer audiences through digital media, open source advocacy, and events strategy and operations.