How to Find Good First Issues
Finding the right issue is half the battle. Here is exactly how to find tasks that are welcoming to beginners.
What is a "Good First Issue"?
Maintainers know that large codebases are intimidating. To help newcomers, they add specific labels to easy bugs, small feature requests, or documentation typos. The most common labels are:
good first issuebeginner-friendlyhelp wanteddocumentation
Step 1: Pick a Language You Know
Don't try to learn a new language and learn open source at the same time. If you know JavaScript, filter for JavaScript repositories. Repo Wave makes this simple: use the language filter on the sidebar of our Issues page.
Step 2: Look for Active Repositories
There is nothing worse than making a Pull Request and waiting 6 months for a reply. Before claiming an issue, check the repository:
- When was the last commit? (Should be within the last month)
- Are there recent merged Pull Requests?
- Do the maintainers respond to issues?
Pro Tip: On Repo Wave, the repository health score automatically calculates this for you. Stick to "Easy" difficulty/high health score repos for your first few PRs.
Step 3: Read the Issue Carefully
Once you find an issue labeled good first issue, read the description carefully. A well-written issue will tell you:
- What the bug/feature is.
- Which file needs to be changed.
- How to test the change.
If the issue only says "Make the button blue" without saying which button or where the file is, it might not be a great first issue unless you're willing to dig around.
Step 4: Stake Your Claim
Don't just start coding! Someone else might be working on it. Leave a polite comment on the issue:
"Hi! I'm a beginner looking to make my first contribution. Is this issue still available? If so, I would love to work on it!"
Wait for a maintainer to assign it to you or give you the green light before you spend hours coding.
Next up: Ready to code? Read our guide on the GitHub Contribution Workflow.