Node.js: Landing your first Open Source contribution & how the Node.js project works

certificate
Recording and certification are available to Multipass and Full ticket holders only
Please login if you have one.
Rate this content
Bookmark

This workshop aims to give you an introductory module on the general aspects of Open Source. Follow Claudio Wunder from the OpenJS Foundation to guide you on how the governance model of Node.js work, how high-level decisions are made, and how to land your very first contribution. At the end of the workshop, you'll have a general understanding of all the kinds of work that the Node.js project does (From Bug triage to deciding the Next-10 years of Node.js) and how you can be part of the bigger picture of the JavaScript ecosystem.

The following technologies and soft skills might be needed):
  - Basic understanding of Git & GitHub interface
  - Professional/Intermediate English knowledge for communication and for allowing you to contribute to the Node.js org (As all contributions require communication within GitHub Issues/PRs)
  - The workshop requires you to have a computer (Otherwise, it becomes difficult to collaborate, but tablets are also OK) with an IDE setup, and we recommend VS Code and we recommend the GitHub Pull Requests & Issues Extension for collaborating with Issues and Pull Requests straight from the IDE.

The following themes will be covered during the workshop:
- A recap of some of GitHub UI features, such as GitHub projects and GitHub Issues
- We will cover the basics of Open Source and go through Open Source Guide
- We will recap Markdown
- We will cover Open Source governance and how the Node.js project works and talk about the OpenJS Foundation
  - Including all the ways one might contribute to the Node.js project and how their contributions can be valued
- During this Workshop, we will cover Issues from the nodejs/nodejs.dev as most of them are entry-level and do not require C++ or deep technical knowledge of Node.js.
  - Having that said, we still recommend enthusiast attendees that want to challenge themselves to "Good First Issues" from the nodejs/node (core repository) if they wish.
  - We're going to allow each attendee to choose an issue or to sit together with other attendees and tackle issues together with Pair Programming through VS Code Live Share feature
    - We can also do Zoom breakrooms for people that want to collaborate together
  - Claudio will be there to give support to all attendees and, of course, answer any questions regarding Issues and technical challenges they might face
  - The technologies used within nodejs/nodejs.dev are React/JSX, Markdown, MDX and Gatsby. (No need any knowledge of Gatsby, as most of the issues are platform agnostic)
- By the end of the Workshop, we'll collect all (make a list) the contributors who successfully opened a Pull Request (even if it's a draft) and recognise their participation on Social media.

This workshop has been presented at Node Congress 2023, check out the latest edition of this JavaScript Conference.

FAQ

The Node.js project is governed by two main entities: the Technical Steering Committee (TSC) and the OpenJS Foundation. The TSC handles technical aspects like managing accounts and resources, defining technical priorities, and overseeing GitHub organization. The OpenJS Foundation deals with legal and compliance issues, resource acquisition for infrastructure, and marketing and outreach activities.

To make your first contribution to the Node.js project, familiarize yourself with GitHub features like issues and actions, ensure you have the latest version of Node.js LTS installed, and set up your development environment with recommended tools like Visual Studio Code with LiveShare and GitHub pull request extensions. Follow the contribution guidelines provided in the project's repository.

For Node.js project contributions, it is recommended to use Visual Studio Code with LiveShare and GitHub pull request extensions, and ensure you have the latest version of Node.js LTS installed. It's also suggested to use git and GitHub CLI for efficient management of your contributions.

Key repositories within the Node.js organization include the Node.js core repository for runtime features and fixes, the nodejs/help repository for community assistance, nodejs.org for the project website, and several governance-focused repositories such as nodejs/build and nodejs/admin for infrastructure and administrative tasks respectively.

Collaboration in the Node.js project is managed through working groups, strategic initiatives, and regular and core collaborators who contribute across various aspects of the project. The governance model supports this collaboration by providing processes for proposing changes, discussing them in committees or working groups, and iterating on feedback.

The Node.js website redesign initiative aims to modernize the Node.js website using a modern technology stack like Next.js, improve its design and usability, and enhance the collaboration model for contributors. The initiative focuses on migrating existing components and infrastructure to more current technologies and ensuring the site remains relevant and user-friendly.

The Node.js Technical Steering Committee (TSC) manages the technical governance of the Node.js project. This includes overseeing the GitHub organization, managing resources and accounts, defining technical priorities, and handling the administrative and technical aspects of various project initiatives and teams.

To enable GitHub's new file navigation design, you can follow the link provided in the workshop slides. This feature is experimental and may be disabled by default for most users, but it can be activated to enhance navigation and user experience on GitHub.

Strategic initiatives in the Node.js project are key projects or areas focused on by the Technical Steering Committee to improve and sustain the Node.js environment. These initiatives address important aspects such as performance enhancement, API documentation, and future-proofing the technology.

 Claudio Wunder
Claudio Wunder
85 min
21 Apr, 2023

Comments

Sign in or register to post your comment.

Video Summary and Transcription

Today's workshop covers the Node.js project, governance model, collaboration, and contribution. The Node.js organization has important repositories and follows a governance model for proposing changes. Collaboration involves bug reporting, pull requests, and detailed contribution guides. Strategic initiatives aim to improve Node.js, and the website redesign initiative faced challenges. The workshop focuses on technologies like React, Next.js, Jest, and Storybook, and provides hands-on experience and collaboration. Participants can work on various issues, including component migration and testing, and contribute to the Node.js project.
Video transcription and chapters available for users with access.

Watch more workshops on topic

Node.js Masterclass
Node Congress 2023Node Congress 2023
109 min
Node.js Masterclass
Top Content
Workshop
Matteo Collina
Matteo Collina
Have you ever struggled with designing and structuring your Node.js applications? Building applications that are well organised, testable and extendable is not always easy. It can often turn out to be a lot more complicated than you expect it to be. In this live event Matteo will show you how he builds Node.js applications from scratch. You’ll learn how he approaches application design, and the philosophies that he applies to create modular, maintainable and effective applications.

Level: intermediate
Build and Deploy a Backend With Fastify & Platformatic
JSNation 2023JSNation 2023
104 min
Build and Deploy a Backend With Fastify & Platformatic
WorkshopFree
Matteo Collina
Matteo Collina
Platformatic allows you to rapidly develop GraphQL and REST APIs with minimal effort. The best part is that it also allows you to unleash the full potential of Node.js and Fastify whenever you need to. You can fully customise a Platformatic application by writing your own additional features and plugins. In the workshop, we’ll cover both our Open Source modules and our Cloud offering:- Platformatic OSS (open-source software) — Tools and libraries for rapidly building robust applications with Node.js (https://oss.platformatic.dev/).- Platformatic Cloud (currently in beta) — Our hosting platform that includes features such as preview apps, built-in metrics and integration with your Git flow (https://platformatic.dev/). 
In this workshop you'll learn how to develop APIs with Fastify and deploy them to the Platformatic Cloud.
Building a Hyper Fast Web Server with Deno
JSNation Live 2021JSNation Live 2021
156 min
Building a Hyper Fast Web Server with Deno
WorkshopFree
Matt Landers
Will Johnston
2 authors
Deno 1.9 introduced a new web server API that takes advantage of Hyper, a fast and correct HTTP implementation for Rust. Using this API instead of the std/http implementation increases performance and provides support for HTTP2. In this workshop, learn how to create a web server utilizing Hyper under the hood and boost the performance for your web apps.
0 to Auth in an Hour Using NodeJS SDK
Node Congress 2023Node Congress 2023
63 min
0 to Auth in an Hour Using NodeJS SDK
WorkshopFree
Asaf Shen
Asaf Shen
Passwordless authentication may seem complex, but it is simple to add it to any app using the right tool.
We will enhance a full-stack JS application (Node.JS backend + React frontend) to authenticate users with OAuth (social login) and One Time Passwords (email), including:- User authentication - Managing user interactions, returning session / refresh JWTs- Session management and validation - Storing the session for subsequent client requests, validating / refreshing sessions
At the end of the workshop, we will also touch on another approach to code authentication using frontend Descope Flows (drag-and-drop workflows), while keeping only session validation in the backend. With this, we will also show how easy it is to enable biometrics and other passwordless authentication methods.
Table of contents- A quick intro to core authentication concepts- Coding- Why passwordless matters
Prerequisites- IDE for your choice- Node 18 or higher
GraphQL - From Zero to Hero in 3 hours
React Summit 2022React Summit 2022
164 min
GraphQL - From Zero to Hero in 3 hours
Workshop
Pawel Sawicki
Pawel Sawicki
How to build a fullstack GraphQL application (Postgres + NestJs + React) in the shortest time possible.
All beginnings are hard. Even harder than choosing the technology is often developing a suitable architecture. Especially when it comes to GraphQL.
In this workshop, you will get a variety of best practices that you would normally have to work through over a number of projects - all in just three hours.
If you've always wanted to participate in a hackathon to get something up and running in the shortest amount of time - then take an active part in this workshop, and participate in the thought processes of the trainer.
Mastering Node.js Test Runner
TestJS Summit 2023TestJS Summit 2023
78 min
Mastering Node.js Test Runner
Workshop
Marco Ippolito
Marco Ippolito
Node.js test runner is modern, fast, and doesn't require additional libraries, but understanding and using it well can be tricky. You will learn how to use Node.js test runner to its full potential. We'll show you how it compares to other tools, how to set it up, and how to run your tests effectively. During the workshop, we'll do exercises to help you get comfortable with filtering, using native assertions, running tests in parallel, using CLI, and more. We'll also talk about working with TypeScript, making custom reports, and code coverage.

Check out more articles and videos

We constantly think of articles and videos that might spark Git people interest / skill us up or help building a stellar career

It's a Jungle Out There: What's Really Going on Inside Your Node_Modules Folder
Node Congress 2022Node Congress 2022
26 min
It's a Jungle Out There: What's Really Going on Inside Your Node_Modules Folder
Top Content
The talk discusses the importance of supply chain security in the open source ecosystem, highlighting the risks of relying on open source code without proper code review. It explores the trend of supply chain attacks and the need for a new approach to detect and block malicious dependencies. The talk also introduces Socket, a tool that assesses the security of packages and provides automation and analysis to protect against malware and supply chain attacks. It emphasizes the need to prioritize security in software development and offers insights into potential solutions such as realms and Deno's command line flags.
Towards a Standard Library for JavaScript Runtimes
Node Congress 2022Node Congress 2022
34 min
Towards a Standard Library for JavaScript Runtimes
Top Content
There is a need for a standard library of APIs for JavaScript runtimes, as there are currently multiple ways to perform fundamental tasks like base64 encoding. JavaScript runtimes have historically lacked a standard library, causing friction and difficulty for developers. The idea of a small core has both benefits and drawbacks, with some runtimes abusing it to limit innovation. There is a misalignment between Node and web browsers in terms of functionality and API standards. The proposal is to involve browser developers in conversations about API standardization and to create a common standard library for JavaScript runtimes.
ESM Loaders: Enhancing Module Loading in Node.js
JSNation 2023JSNation 2023
22 min
ESM Loaders: Enhancing Module Loading in Node.js
ESM Loaders enhance module loading in Node.js by resolving URLs and reading files from the disk. Module loaders can override modules and change how they are found. Enhancing the loading phase involves loading directly from HTTP and loading TypeScript code without building it. The loader in the module URL handles URL resolution and uses fetch to fetch the source code. Loaders can be chained together to load from different sources, transform source code, and resolve URLs differently. The future of module loading enhancements is promising and simple to use.
Out of the Box Node.js Diagnostics
Node Congress 2022Node Congress 2022
34 min
Out of the Box Node.js Diagnostics
This talk covers various techniques for getting diagnostics information out of Node.js, including debugging with environment variables, handling warnings and deprecations, tracing uncaught exceptions and process exit, using the v8 inspector and dev tools, and generating diagnostic reports. The speaker also mentions areas for improvement in Node.js diagnostics and provides resources for learning and contributing. Additionally, the responsibilities of the Technical Steering Committee in the TS community are discussed.
How to Build Your Own Open Source Project
React Advanced Conference 2022React Advanced Conference 2022
16 min
How to Build Your Own Open Source Project
Hello my friend, in this talk, I wanna share with you how to build your own open source project. Building an open source software project can be challenging. I receive a lot of things randomly in a day, like thank you messages for making my life easier, which motivates me. To choose an open source project to work on, pick one you use every day. Your software is being used when people report issues and send pull requests.
Node.js Compatibility in Deno
Node Congress 2022Node Congress 2022
34 min
Node.js Compatibility in Deno
Deno aims to provide Node.js compatibility to make migration smoother and easier. While Deno can run apps and libraries offered for Node.js, not all are supported yet. There are trade-offs to consider, such as incompatible APIs and a less ideal developer experience. Deno is working on improving compatibility and the transition process. Efforts include porting Node.js modules, exploring a superset approach, and transparent package installation from npm.