24 Pull Requests – Open Source Contribution Initiative

Overview

24 Pull Requests is an annual, community-driven initiative designed to encourage developers to contribute to open source projects during the month of December. Established in 2012, the program aims to make open source contributions more accessible, especially for individuals new to the process or looking to refine their skills. Participants are encouraged to submit at least one pull request per day throughout December, totaling 24 contributions by year-end. This structure provides a consistent opportunity for skill development and engagement with the broader open source ecosystem.

The initiative is particularly well-suited for developers who are new to Git and GitHub workflows, as it provides a structured environment to practice these essential tools. It also benefits seasoned developers looking for a focused way to give back to the community or explore new projects. By curating a list of open source projects that are actively seeking contributions and often have 'good first issue' labels, 24 Pull Requests lowers the barrier to entry. These projects span various programming languages and domains, ensuring a diverse range of opportunities for participants.

24 Pull Requests shines as a learning platform, allowing developers to gain practical experience in collaborative coding, code review processes, and project maintenance. It provides a low-pressure environment to experiment with different codebases and interact with project maintainers. The annual nature of the event creates a sense of community, with participants often sharing their progress and challenges. This collective effort not only helps individual developers grow but also provides valuable contributions to numerous open source projects that might otherwise struggle for resources. The initiative serves as a practical application of principles outlined by organizations like the Mozilla Developer Network's definition of open source, emphasizing collaboration and public accessibility.

The program's structure encourages consistent engagement, which can lead to sustained involvement in open source beyond the December period. For technical buyers and organizations, 24 Pull Requests highlights the importance of community contributions in maintaining and advancing critical software infrastructure. Supporting or participating in such initiatives can also be a way for companies to foster a culture of open source engagement among their engineering teams, potentially leading to improved internal development practices and a deeper understanding of community-driven software development.

Key features

• Curated Project List: Provides a regularly updated list of open source projects, often tagged with difficulty levels or 'good first issue' labels, to help contributors find suitable tasks.
• Annual December Focus: Organizes contributions around a specific month, creating a concentrated period for participation and community engagement.
• Skill Development: Offers a practical environment for developers to learn and practice Git commands, GitHub workflows, and collaborative coding practices.
• Community Engagement: Fosters interaction among participants and project maintainers, encouraging knowledge sharing and networking within the open source community.
• Accessibility for All Levels: Designed to accommodate both novice developers making their first contributions and experienced developers looking to contribute consistently.
• Contribution Tracking: Features a dashboard or mechanism to track submitted pull requests, motivating participants to meet their contribution goals.

Pricing

24 Pull Requests is a community-driven initiative that is entirely free for participants. There are no costs associated with registering, finding projects, or submitting pull requests through the platform.

Pricing as of 2026-05-28. For the most current information, refer to the official 24 Pull Requests homepage.

Common integrations

24 Pull Requests primarily integrates with core developer platforms and tools:

• GitHub: The initiative is built around GitHub's pull request workflow, requiring participants to have a GitHub account to submit contributions to listed projects.
• Git: Participants use Git for version control to clone repositories, make changes, and push commits.
• Open Source Project Repositories: Directly interacts with various open source projects hosted on platforms like GitHub, GitLab, and others, where contributions are submitted.

Alternatives

• Hacktoberfest: An annual event by DigitalOcean that encourages contributions to open source projects during October, offering similar incentives and project discovery.
• Google Summer of Code: A global program focused on bringing new contributors into open source software development by pairing them with mentors on specific projects, typically with a stipend.
• Outreachy: A paid, remote internship program for people from groups traditionally underrepresented in tech, focusing on open source and open science projects.
• Contributor Covenant: While not an event, it's a code of conduct for open source projects, fostering inclusive environments that encourage participation, similar to the community-building aspect of 24 Pull Requests.

Getting started

To participate in 24 Pull Requests, developers typically follow these steps:

1. Sign up: Register on the 24 Pull Requests website using your GitHub account. This links your contributions to your profile.
2. Find Projects: Browse the curated list of open source projects on the 24 Pull Requests site. Filter by language, tags (e.g., 'good first issue'), or difficulty to find suitable tasks.
3. Choose an Issue: Select an issue from a project that you are interested in contributing to. It's often recommended to start with issues marked for beginners.
4. Fork and Clone: Fork the project's repository on GitHub to your own account and then clone it to your local machine using Git.
5. Make Changes: Implement the necessary changes to address the chosen issue.
6. Commit and Push: Commit your changes with a descriptive message and push them to your forked repository.
7. Create a Pull Request: Open a pull request from your forked repository back to the original project's main branch on GitHub. Ensure your pull request description clearly explains your changes.
8. Repeat: Continue this process for other issues throughout December.

Here's a basic example of the Git workflow involved:

# 1. Fork the repository on GitHub (e.g., username/project)
# 2. Clone your forked repository to your local machine
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME/project.git

# 3. Navigate into the project directory
cd project

# 4. Add the original repository as an 'upstream' remote
git remote add upstream https://github.com/ORIGINAL_OWNER/project.git

# 5. Create a new branch for your changes
git checkout -b my-contribution-branch

# 6. Make your code changes here using your preferred editor
#    (e.g., modify a file like 'README.md')

# 7. Stage your changes
git add .

# 8. Commit your changes with a descriptive message
git commit -m "Fix: Update README with project description"

# 9. Push your branch to your forked repository on GitHub
git push origin my-contribution-branch

# 10. Go to your forked repository on GitHub and open a Pull Request
#     from 'my-contribution-branch' to the original project's 'main' or 'master' branch.

This process is repeated for each contribution, allowing developers to accumulate 24 pull requests over the month. The key is to select manageable tasks and engage with project maintainers if questions arise.