GoodFirst : I built my friend a way into open source.
This is a submission for the Hacktoberfest Weekend Challenge: Build for a Friend What I Built My friend Shivin wanted to get into open source this October. He could code. What stopped him was everything around the code. He'd open a real project, see a long README and a hundred open issues, and the questions piled up before he wrote a single line: Which of these files actually matter? How do I…
Shivin, a coding enthusiast, sought to enter the world of open source during October. However, navigating the complexities of open source projects was challenging for him. The README files and hundreds of open issues left him overwhelmed, unsure of where to begin. To help his friend overcome this hurdle, he developed a tool called GoodFirst.
GoodFirst is a program that allows users to paste a GitHub repository and ask a question in their own words. Using a local Gemma model, GoodFirst answers the user's query from the project's documentation, identifies the relevant files, and selects three suitable beginner issues. Each issue is accompanied by a reason why it fits the user's skill level, along with instructions on how to start working on it.
The tool is designed to run on a laptop, with minimal requirements such as Windows operating system, 8 GB of RAM, and no GPU. It does not require any API keys, accounts, or incurring any costs. GoodFirst never makes assumptions and strives to provide accurate information. In case of any uncertainty, it flags the claim and allows users to consult the maintainers directly.
GoodFirst's output is verified against the GitHub repository, ensuring that any claimed files or issues are accurate. Any unverified information is crossed out on the screen, providing transparency to the user. The tool also provides a timeline that demonstrates each step as it happens, including reading the repo on GitHub, processing the documentation, selecting issues, and checking every claim.
The development of GoodFirst began with the goal of helping beginners like Shivin make their first contribution to open source projects. Shivin's friend used the tool and opened his first pull request. However, the CI (Continuous Integration) logs revealed a wall of red text, indicating a broken build. This experience highlighted a critical gap that GoodFirst aimed to address.
To assist beginners beyond the initial contribution, GoodFirst now offers CI help, parsing the failed checks and logs to provide clear explanations of what went wrong, why it happened, and how to fix it.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
