A month-long celebration of open source. Contribute to projects, learn new skills, and connect with developers worldwide.
An annual celebration that brings together developers from around the world to contribute to open-source software throughout October
Join hundreds of thousands of developers worldwide in celebrating and contributing to open source. Connect with maintainers and fellow enthusiasts.
Perfect for beginners and pros alike. Learn new technologies, improve your skills, and work on meaningful projects that make a difference.
Complete 4 quality contributions to earn exclusive digital badges, certificates, and contribute to global tree-planting initiatives.
Discover what makes Hacktoberfest a unique and rewarding experience
Contribute to projects used by developers worldwide and create lasting change.
Learn new technologies and gain hands-on experience with real-world projects.
Connect with maintainers and developers from every corner of the globe.
Earn digital badges and certificates to showcase your achievements.
Build your portfolio and stand out to potential employers worldwide.
Your contributions help plant trees through environmental partnerships.
Follow these key dates and steps to complete your Hacktoberfest journey
Hacktoberfest registration opens on September 26! Sign up with your GitHub or GitLab account—it's completely free and takes just a minute. Get familiar with contribution guidelines and start exploring participating projects.
Contributions begin October 1st! Browse repositories on GitHub or GitLab with the "hacktoberfest" topic or "good first issue" label. Submit 4 quality pull/merge requests to participating repositories—focus on meaningful contributions that help projects, not spam.
Mid-month checkpoint! Review your Hacktoberfest dashboard to track accepted PRs. PRs need a 7-day review period before counting. Join community events, attend virtual meetups, and connect with fellow contributors worldwide.
Final deadline—October 31st at 11:59 PM UTC! Once your 4 contributions are accepted or merged (or labeled "hacktoberfest-accepted"), claim your digital badge, completion certificate, and celebrate your impact on open source and the environment!
Everything you need to know about participating in Hacktoberfest
Not at all! Hacktoberfest welcomes developers of all skill levels. Many projects have "good first issue" labels specifically for beginners, making it a perfect opportunity to learn and grow your skills.
Quality contributions include bug fixes, new features, documentation improvements, code refactoring, and more. The key is making meaningful contributions that help projects. Spam or trivial changes don't count and may result in disqualification.
Contributions must be to public repositories on GitHub or GitLab that have the "hacktoberfest" topic, or your PR must be labeled "hacktoberfest-accepted" by maintainers. Contributions to your own repositories don't count.
Completing the challenge earns you a digital badge for your GitHub profile, a completion certificate you can share, and contributes to tree-planting initiatives through our environmental partnerships.
Yes! Hacktoberfest is completely free to participate in. All you need is a GitHub or GitLab account and the willingness to contribute to open source projects.
Rejected PRs don't count toward your total, but don't be discouraged! Use the feedback to improve and try again. Every contribution is a valuable learning opportunity that helps you grow as a developer.
Join thousands of developers worldwide in celebrating open source. Register today and make your mark on the community.
Register for Hacktoberfest