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Quick Guide: How Hacktoberfest Works

Short, practical guide you can add to any repo to help contributors make valid Hacktoberfest PRs.

What is Hacktoberfest?

Hacktoberfest is an annual month-long celebration of open source where contributors from around the world make pull/merge requests (PRs/MRs) to public repositories. It’s run in partnership with DigitalOcean, MLH, and community sponsors.

What counts as a valid contribution?

  • A valid contribution is a pull/merge request that maintainers accept during the event month.
  • Good contributions include bug fixes, documentation improvements, test coverage, and small features. Avoid trivial or spammy changes.

Participation goals and rewards

  • The community challenge is to make up to 6 accepted PRs/MRs during the event to reach the top reward tier.
  • Contributors unlock a digital badge as their PRs are accepted.
  • The first limited set of "Super Contributors" (official limit per year) who complete the required accepted PRs may receive special swag.

How to prepare your repository for Hacktoberfest contributors

  1. Add labels: good first issue, help wanted, documentation.
  2. Create a CONTRIBUTING.md with steps to run the project locally and how to submit PRs.
  3. Add templates: Provide an ISSUE_TEMPLATE and PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE that guides contributors.
  4. Tag issues with clear steps and the expected difficulty.
  5. Mention license & code of conduct so people know how they can contribute safely.

A short template for a CONTRIBUTING.md (copy into repo)

# Contributing to <PROJECT>

Thanks for your interest! To contribute:

1. Fork the repo and clone your fork.
2. Create a branch: `git checkout -b feature/your-short-desc`.
3. Make changes, add tests if relevant.
4. Commit with clear messages: `git commit -m "fix: short description"`.
5. Push and open a PR from your branch: `git push origin feature/your-short-desc`.

Please read our CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md and ensure changes are helpful and non-spammy.

Quick checklist for maintainers reviewing Hacktoberfest PRs

  • Is the PR helpful and non-trivial?
  • Does it follow style and tests (if available)?
  • Is there a clear description and linked issue (if applicable)?
  • If you will not accept, politely close with a helpful suggestion.

Tips for contributors (to make PRs more likely to be accepted)

  • Read the project’s README and CONTRIBUTING first.
  • Start with documentation, tests, or labeled good first issue tasks.
  • Ask maintainers if you are unsure about scope—use Issues or Discussions.
  • Keep PRs focused and well-documented.

Suggested HACKTOBERFEST.md short blurb for your repo homepage

We welcome Hacktoberfest contributions! If you'd like to help, look for issues with `good first issue` or `hacktoberfest` labels. Follow CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a PR.

How to use this file

  • Copy this markdown into HACKTOBERFEST_QUICKGUIDE.md (or add into CONTRIBUTING.md) and open a PR.
  • If you want, I can tailor the guide to your specific repo (commands to run, dev setup, recommended starter issues).

Created to help maintainers welcome Hacktoberfest contributors with clear expectations.