As a developer, there is nothing more gratifying than contributing to open source. And if you think you need to be cracked to do this, think again. Here is how to get there without having to write a single line of code.
Start with Why
Open source isn't charity work. It's how great software gets built. Without it, we would not have Linux and Bitcoin. When code is open, anyone can fix bugs, anyone can improve features, anyone can adapt it to their needs. More eyes on the problem means better solutions. No paywalls, no gatekeepers, no waiting for some company to prioritize your use case. Open source compounds. Every contribution—yours, mine, theirs—builds on the last. That's how we move faster together than any single company ever could alone.
It looks great on your resume and it feels so damn good!
How do I start? By starting.
If you keep asking about how to do something, you are not that serious about doing it. Wanna be great at something? Find your way to do it. You don’t watch a painter making art and then suddenly you can do it too nor will their advice help you much.
1/ EVANGELIZE
Fall in love with a project? Share it! Give technical talks, write tutorials, spread the word. You'll build your own reputation while attracting new users to the project. Win-win.
2/ REPORT BUGS
More users = more bug reports = more fixes = better software. By thoroughly documenting issues you encounter, you're directly improving the project. It's that simple.
3/ MENTOR
Help first-time contributors write better bug reports. Guide them through the process. You'll save core developers countless hours and help newcomers feel welcome in the community.
4/ WRITE
Not into public speaking? Write blog posts, answer questions on StackOverflow, participate in mailing lists. Every answer you provide adds to the collective knowledge pool.
5/ HOST MEETUPS
Start a local meetup or workshop. Build real-world communities around the project. Some people prefer face-to-face interaction, and these connections are invaluable.
6/ IMPROVE SECURITY
Have cybersecurity skills? Use them! Finding and reporting security vulnerabilities is a direct, high-impact way to improve software and protect users.
Open source isn't just about code
It's about open knowledge, open sharing, open learning, and open growth. Most great software wasn't created in front of a computer alone.
So stop limiting yourself to a text editor and keyboard. Your unique skills (whatever they are) have a place in open source.
What non-code contribution will you make today?
The AI Race runs on Open Source
There is no AI progress without open source.
Image generation was introduced in closed models, but Stable Diffusion kicked off the AI race. Reasoning was introduced in closed models, but DeepSeek kicked off the agentic frenzy. Open source doesn't just compete with closed models—it makes them better. It lifts the whole ecosystem.
The numbers tell the story: 1 million new repos (models, datasets, spaces) added on Hugging Face in the past 90 days. For context, it took them six years to get to the first million repositories. NVIDIA leads contributions. Chinese labs like Alibaba's Qwen are closing in fast. Thousands of smaller teams are fine-tuning models with just hundreds of samples using techniques like LoRA.
There is a new repository created on HF every 8 seconds, powered by their technology Xet for faster, cheaper, more efficient data transfer.
Here's what matters: Every single advancement in this race was accelerated by the same non-code contributions you just read about. Documentation helped developers implement Stable Diffusion. Bug reports improved model reliability. Community evangelists created the momentum that forced big tech to respond. Mentors guided the next wave of contributors who are building right now.
The AI race isn't just happening in research labs. It's happening in Discord servers, GitHub issues, local meetups, and blog posts. It's happening wherever someone decides that the future shouldn't be built behind closed doors.
Your non-code contribution isn't just helping a project. You're helping decide whether AI development concentrates in a few boardrooms or distributes across the world. That's not charity work. That's how the game gets won.
So: what contribution will you make today?
Yours,
Nour