Top Open Source Projects for Beginners

Are you a college-going student or a working professional looking for career advancements? Many of you know all the theoretical concepts but lack hands-on experience. The emerging software industry demands employees with a strong skill set. You can look for open source projects to contribute to in order to put what you've learned into practice. These projects are crucial in determining the course of technical advancement in this cutthroat environment.

Opensource projects give an unbeatable chance to collaborate with developers from all around the world. It provides a chance to solve real-world problems. That is much required to secure a good place in any reputed tech company. When you explore open source projects to contribute, you will get a platform for skill development and significant contributions. All you have to do is improve code, fix bugs, and sometimes build features.

This article will help you understand why open-source contributions are important. It will guide you through beginner-friendly open source projects. So, without any further ado, let’s begin!

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What is Open Source and How is it Different from Closed Source?

The only distinction between open and closed source is that the permissions are different, not the code. Suppose you are the owner; you can sell the same application in two ways. The first way is to sell it to one client as proprietary (closed source, with very few rights). The second way is to sell it to another as open source (with everything except ownership rights).

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What is Open Source Projects

Open-source projects involve free software solutions in which one may view, use, modify, and distribute source code. As they are mainly driven by community involvement and based on transparency, such projects invite developers from around the world. These developers contribute and build the code base together.

Open-source software is free to use rather than having its code hidden behind a paywall or proprietary license. The best open source projects for beginners promote education, collaboration, and advancement in learning.

Participating in open-source projects has various advantages for developers. It improves their career skills and enhances their portfolio and reputation. Developers can showcase their abilities and dedication to the tech community by contributing to open-source and well-known projects. Additionally, it provides opportunities to network and learn from other developers.

What is Closed Source Projects

Closed-source projects, on the other hand, make their source code proprietary, and this means no one can access it. Contributions and modifications are under the control of specific organizations or individuals.

Closed-source software frequently provides better user interfaces and an overall better user experience. As the source code isn't made public, security vulnerabilities are typically more difficult to discover. Businesses and organizations frequently adopt closed-source software because it might offer a more dependable and stable solution than open-source software.

The following table will help you to understand the clear differences between opensource projects and closed-source projects:

Check out this upGrad blog to explore the Top 3 Open Source Projects for C (For Beginners To Try ).

Top 25 Open Source Projects for Beginners in 2025?

For newcomers, open-source projects are an excellent way to put their knowledge to use in practical situations. The following list of the top 25 open-source projects will help you start your journey of contributing to open source:

1. freeCodeCamp

The freeCodeCamp open-source project aims to help students and professionals code for free. This platform provides coding classes and certificates in web programming, data science, machine learning, and other fields. All of these can help you develop open-source software as a beginner. As a newbie, you can start by updating content or enhancing the platform’s functionality.

The skills and technologies for freeCodeCamp open source contributions are as follows:

2. First Contributions

First Contributions offers an easy-to-follow tutorial on open source contributions to assist you in submitting your first pull request. You can also learn how to fork and clone the repository. Additionally, you discover how to make a branch and commit changes. It's a great place to start practicing project participation.

The following are the skills and technologies for the First Contributions open-source project:

3. Appwrite

Appwrite is a collection of Docker microservices that Serves as an end-to-end backend server for web, mobile, native, or backend applications. It abstracts the complexity and repetition needed to create a contemporary backend API from scratch, enabling faster, more secure app creation.

You can easily integrate the database into your app with Appwrite. From a database for storing and accessing user and team data or storage and file management to Cloud Functions, you can perform image manipulation using Appwrite.

4. LinkFree

Thinking about how to start with open source easily and interestingly? You can try this project. LinkFree is used to manage and enhance individual profiles inside a link repository. As a newbie, you can help by introducing new features and improving user interfaces.

You can contribute to this project in three ways: first, by making modifications to the main LinkFree project; second, by creating new templates; and last, by simply sharing LinkFree.

5. Habitica

An open-source habit-building application called Habitica employs gamification to keep users motivated and treats life like a role-playing game. Want to contribute code to Habitica? Beginners can help by improving UI/UX, fixing bugs, or adding new features. You must know what a UX designer does. Their repository also has a "Help Wanted" label where they seek assistance with various issues.

The following are the skills and technologies for the Habitica open-source project:

6. Oppia

Oppia is an open-source community project for creating interactive educational materials. Explorations are interactive exercises that can be readily created and shared by anyone using Oppia. These exercises allow students to learn by doing while receiving feedback by simulating a one-on-one conversation with a tutor. As a beginner, you can help by developing classes, improving the platform, or enhancing the user experience.

7. Zulip

The only modern team chat app that supports both live and asynchronous conversations is Zulip. It is the largest and most rapidly expanding open-source team chat project. Zulip offers real-time communication and robust threading capabilities. Novices can participate by working on both frontend and backend tasks.

8. Public APIs

This is one of the top open-source projects of 2025. Public APIs are a collection of free APIs that developers can incorporate into their apps. You can leverage a wide range of publicly available APIs from many domains for your products. Think of it as a wealth of APIs that the community has carefully curated over the years. Contributions from newbies can take the form of updating, classifying, or creating new APIs.

9. OpenLibrary

One of the well-known open-source coding initiatives, OpenLibrary, was started in 2006 with the goal of creating "one web page for every book ever published." The initiative is a component of the Internet Archive's endeavor to classify books and make their contents accessible to the general public. OpenLibrary gives users access to a large number of out-of-print and public domain books. You can help by fixing bugs, increasing metadata accuracy, or improving search capabilities.

10. PyTorch

A popular machine learning library for deep learning applications is called PyTorch. This open-source project is a carefully organized collection of books, articles, videos, libraries, projects, tutorials, and everything else pertaining to the amazing PyTorch. Contributions from newcomers can take the form of tutorial writing, data work, or fixing beginner-friendly problems.

11. 30 Seconds of Code

Founded in 2017, 30 Seconds of Code is the easiest project for open-source development for beginners. It is an easily accessible, excellent knowledge base for developers of all experience levels. It is a collection of practical JavaScript snippets that are understandable in 30 seconds or less. By teaching individuals to code, 30 Seconds of Code aims to increase access to software creation and support the growth of the open-source community. Novices can contribute by enhancing existing snippets or adding new ones.

12. VS Code

Microsoft created VS Code, an open-source code editor. Due to its developer-friendly features and extensibility, it is one of the most popular open-source projects. On this project page, Microsoft shares its roadmap, monthly iteration plans, and endgame plans, as well as works on code and issues. Everyone has access to the source code under the standard MIT license. Beginners can contribute by improving the main functionality or developing new extensions.

13. TensorFlow Models

One of the most popular machine learning frameworks is TensorFlow. The TensorFlow Models project provides a collection of examples and pre-trained models that may be utilized with TensorFlow. This repository also contains a variety of state-of-the-art (SOTA) model implementations. The most basic ways to contribute are creating tutorials, producing documentation, or refining models.

14. JabRef

The open-source reference management tool JabRef is used for citations and bibliographies. The user interface technology, JavaFX, is used in its Java implementation. In addition to being actively developed, JabRef is freely accessible. Every stage of your research process is supported by it. You can experience advanced filter and search features. The MIT license governs its use, and you can contribute by adding features or fixing bugs.

15. Godot Engine

2D and 3D games can be made with the open-source Godot Engine game engine. Users don't have to start from scratch because it provides a large selection of basic tools. With Godot Engine open source collaboration, you can directly focus on creating games. Because Godot is completely independent and community-driven, users can help design their engines to suit their specifications.

16. React

This open source programming project consists of a list of React projects, such as Whisper, Milan, DripUI, Noteslify, and others. You can select your personal favorite from the list and start modifying the features.

17. Kubernetes

One of the open source initiatives for managing containerized apps across several hosts is called Kubernetes, or K8s. It offers tools for application growth, maintenance, and deployment. Contributions are welcome to improve the command-line tools.

18. Docusaurus

One initiative that makes creating documentation websites easier is called Docusaurus. To better scale and serve numerous open source initiatives at Meta, they published Docusaurus. They anticipate that the project will also benefit other organizations.

Contributing to open source with Docusaurus is easy. To learn how to suggest bug fixes and enhancements, you can refer to the "contributing guide." Moreover, you can also learn how to construct and evaluate your Docusaurus modifications.

19. Ansible

Ansible is an open-source IT automation engine that simplifies a number of IT-related processes, such as application deployment, provisioning, and configuration management. As a contribution, you can create a development environment that includes Ansible collections and associated Python dependencies. Users can use it for free, and the project gains from the knowledge and expertise of thousands of contributors.

20. Homebrew

Homebrew is a macOS package manager that allows you to use your terminal to install open-source and free apps. It can also install Python, Ruby, Node.js, and other full-stack developer tools. You can contribute to Homebrew's open source learning projects in many ways, from updating the documentation to introducing new packages or maintaining existing ones.

21. Eidolon AI

A framework called Eidolon AI is used to build and control networked AI agents. There is no need to create unique networking layers because Eidolon manages agent-to-agent communication and aids in agent configuration quickly. You can consider it one of the open source learning projects. A list of suitable initial issues for new contributors is maintained and kept up to date. You can look through that list, ask questions directly, or send a message on Discord.

22. KitOps

AI/ML models can be packaged and shared more easily using KitOps. To save time and storage space, you can even unpack a ModelKit selectively. It allows team members to take only the items they need for a given activity. You may help by adding features to improve model versioning or by streamlining deployment processes. Refer to their Contributor's Guide for more information on how to get started and the various ways you can contribute.

23. Mermaid

Mermaid is a program that uses markdown-like syntax to create flowcharts and diagrams. JavaScript serves as its foundation. Mermaid's primary goal is to assist documentation in keeping up with advancements. The Mermaid community is always expanding and welcomes new members. They're always searching for more hands, and there are many different ways to contribute. Enhancing the diagram rendering process is a good place to start.

24. Storybook

Storybook is a tool for creating separate user interface elements. Thousands of teams use it for documentation, testing, and UI development. It includes numerous add-ons for component design, documentation, testing, interactivity, and other areas. Contributors to this open-source project can use any Node.js version manager.

25. Electron

JavaScript, HTML, and CSS can be used to create cross-platform desktop apps with the Electron framework. Visual Studio Code and numerous other applications use it, and it is built on top of Node.js and Chromium. Beginners can help by improving documentation, creating features, or resolving bugs. The Contributor Covenant code of conduct is followed in this project, and you must adhere to this code to participate.

Why Should You Contribute to Open Source in 2025?

Open source collaborations go beyond code writing. These projects offer numerous benefits, such as opportunities to develop technical skills and engage with global communities. They also allow you to create meaningful solutions, enhancing your career prospects.

Learn Real-World Skills

Open source community projects allow you to develop real-world skills by working with actual codebases and solving real-world problems. Unlike conventional learning approaches, open source projects push you to tackle practical issues.

Some projects require building useful applications or collaborating with other developers. These experiences help bridge the gap between theory and practice, preparing you for industry challenges.

Be a Part of a Global Community

Because open source projects bring together developers from around the globe, they offer a unique opportunity for cross-cultural learning. You can collaborate with a developer on the opposite side of the globe as you sit in your own little corner.

This gives you the opportunity to work with experts from different fields, learn from their approaches, and exchange ideas. This type of global exposure facilitates the building of a strong professional network.

Improve Your Resume

The more projects you contribute to, the stronger your resume becomes. These open source learning projects demonstrate technical proficiency and support the development of soft skills like teamwork and problem-solving.

Your practical experience sets you apart from others, increasing your chances of securing relevant tech jobs. A substantial number of open source contributions can make your profile stand out.

Pay Back to the Society

Open source programs allow you to improve products and platforms you already rely on. Enhancing existing software or implementing new features benefits others and helps create a sense of community.

By contributing, you help ensure high-quality software is accessible to everyone, modernizing technology and fostering innovation.

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How to Start Contributing to Open Source

Getting started with open source may feel overwhelming, but it’s achievable with a step-by-step approach and consistent effort. Begin small, stay curious, and make an impact as you progress.

Acquire Skills in Real-World Projects

Choose projects that align with your interests or skills. GitHub simplifies this process by labeling tasks with labels like "good first issue" or "help wanted," making it easier to identify beginner-friendly tasks.

These tasks allow you to familiarize yourself with the workflow while contributing meaningfully to the project. Once comfortable, you can take on larger features or tackle more complex problems.

Know the Contributing Guidelines

Every open source project has specific rules for contributions, outlined in its contribution guidelines. These guidelines explain processes like coding standards, reporting bugs, or submitting changes. Take the time to review and understand them before contributing. Contributions succeed when they come from thoughtful and helpful individuals who respect the community’s practices.

Learn Version Control Tools

Mastering version control tools like Git and GitHub is essential for effective open source contributions. Git tracks code changes, manages development, and resolves conflicts easily. You must know Github and how to use it. GitHub is the go-to platform for code review, collaboration, and contribution submission. Familiarity with these tools is indispensable for managing open source projects efficiently.

Start Small and Grow

Begin with smaller contributions, such as fixing minor bugs, updating documentation, or correcting typos. These seemingly simple tasks help you understand the codebase and project processes. As you gain confidence, progress to adding features or solving complex issues. Gradual involvement helps you grow while making meaningful contributions.

How upGrad Empowers Your Open Source Journey

upGrad designs courses that incorporate advancements in the open-source community. Whether you aim to learn Git, enhance your programming skills, or explore the latest technologies, upGrad offers courses tailored for everyone. These programs provide industry-standard training, real-world projects, and professional mentorship to help you contribute confidently and effectively. Contact our expert counselors to explore your options!

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Wrapping Up

Contributions to open source are much less about technology and more about professional and personal development. Taking part in such activities exposes you to a global network of developers and provides valuable professional experience. It gives you achievements that you can showcase on your resume while also offering a way to share your knowledge and improve the technology you use daily. Contributing, in turn, enriches the IT community immensely.

Regardless of your level of experience, there is always room to learn new things and contribute to open-source community projects. Act immediately to uncover a wide range of opportunities beyond coding.

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