Coding LinkedIn carousels… yes, not using design tools but using developer tools! It’s now possible!
Learn how to code LinkedIn carousels with Slidev and discover our open-source Slidev theme for LinkedIn carousels named slidev-theme-linkedin-carousel.
Learn how to enhance your open-source project by adding funding links to your ‘package.json’. This guide highlights the importance of supporting maintainers and explores various ways contributors can provide financial assistance, including platforms like GitHub Sponsors and Open Collective. By making your funding information visible, you can encourage users to support your project directly.
We’ll walk you through the process of implementing the funding field in your ‘package.json’, ensuring that your project is equipped to receive contributions. Whether it’s a simple donation link or a Patreon page, letting the community know you’re seeking support can make a difference. With just a few adjustments, you might find that your project receives the backing it deserves!
After refactoring our website, we noticed a rise in statistics and new stars on our GitHub repository. While GitHub doesn’t offer native notifications for new stars, we decided to create our own solution.
This guide walks you through setting up a GitHub Actions workflow to send real-time notifications to a private Discord channel whenever your repository gains new stars. It’s a fun way to track your project’s popularity and engage with your community. Follow along as we share our journey of building and tweaking this automation, complete with a screenshot of the notification we received on our phone.
On June 26, 2024, Bluesky, the decentralized social media platform, introduced starter packs to enhance user experience and facilitate community growth. These personalized invites allow users to bring friends directly into their customized Bluesky environments. A starter pack can include custom feeds and recommended follows, encouraging new users to connect with favorite accounts. Although not searchable, starter packs can be shared via links or embed previews within the Bluesky app.
The Open {re}Source team has created a Bluesky starter pack focused on the open-source community. They curated a selection of accounts and individuals related to open source, along with a custom “Open Source” feed. This starter pack, available through a QR code or link, invites users to join and engage with the open source community on Bluesky. Feedback and suggestions are welcomed, fostering a collaborative and personalized social media experience.
This morning, I woke up to over 200+ GitHub notifications, all spam discussions cluttering my inbox. Titles like “WATCH Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes FuLLMovie (.Free.)…” and “FREE-ROBUX-GENERATOR-2024-FREE-ROBUX-NEW-CODES-DAILY BONUS” demanded my attention. While deleting and reporting these, I mistakenly reported the user “ghost”, which GitHub Support clarified is a placeholder for deleted users’ contributions. The ghost user ensures that discussions, issues, and commits from deleted accounts remain intact.
The ghost user plays a vital role in maintaining repository integrity and continuity. By attributing deleted users’ contributions to the ghost user, GitHub preserves valuable historical insights and project cohesion. This mechanism activates when users delete their accounts or GitHub removes accounts for policy violations. The ghost user helps future contributors benefit from past discussions and maintains the overall project flow, highlighting its importance in the GitHub ecosystem.
contrib.rocks is an online tool that generates an image showcasing the top contributors of a GitHub repository, which can be embedded in websites or Markdown files, including README files. This free service, provides a visual representation of repository activity, celebrating and encouraging contributions.
Using contrib.rocks is straightforward: visit the website, enter a GitHub repository name, and generate an image representing its top contributors. The tool offers options to customize the image, such as setting the maximum number of contributors and the number of columns. This visual representation can be embedded using provided HTML or Markdown code, enhancing the visibility and appeal of a project’s README or website.
Repobeats is a tool that provides analytics for GitHub repositories, allowing users to embed detailed visual representations of repository activity into any Markdown file, including README files. Maintained by axiom.com, Repobeats is free to use but not open source. It offers insights like the number of contributions in the last 30 days, the ratio of opened to closed issues, the number of PRs opened and commits, and a heatmap showcasing top contributors’ activity. This visual representation highlights repository activity, encourages contributions, and celebrates top contributors.
To install Repobeats, users need a GitHub account. Simply log into Repobeats with GitHub credentials, select the repository to analyze, and obtain a URL for embedding the analytics image into Markdown files. This URL provides a comprehensive snapshot of repository activity, demonstrated with examples from repositories like openresource.dev and freeCodeCamp. Repobeats’ ability to display real-time data makes it a valuable resource for promoting and managing open-source projects on GitHub.
When sharing a GitHub Action on social media, the default preview image might prominently display your GitHub profile picture, as seen with the “Update Issue Body” action on the GitHub Marketplace. To make a more informative and visually appealing preview, you can add a custom social preview image to your GitHub repository. This custom image enhances the appearance of social media posts and is also used when sharing links to your GitHub Action on the Marketplace.
Creating a custom social preview image is straightforward and guided by GitHub’s documentation. The recommended size is 1280x640 pixels for optimal display on high-resolution devices. GitHub provides a template with safe zones to use as a starting point. After designing and uploading the image, tools like opengraph.xyz can verify its appearance across social media platforms. For a ready-made solution, a reusable Figma template named “GitHub Actions and Repo Social Previews” simplifies the creation of custom images.
Showcasing your sponsors in GitHub READMEs is a great way to acknowledge their support and attract potential sponsors. An easy way to do this is by using SponsorKit, developed by Anthony Fu. SponsorKit generates sponsor images compatible with GitHub Sponsors, Open Collective, Patreon, and Afdian. By following a few steps, you can create and display these sponsor images in your project’s README file. You’ll need a GitHub account, at least one sponsor, and a personal access token. A template repository is available to simplify the setup process.
Open-source software development thrives on the contributions of volunteers with varying skills and backgrounds. Project maintainers play a critical role in ensuring these contributions are of high quality and align with the project’s goals. However, issues arise when contributors do not read guidelines or maintainers do not assign issues, leading to confusion and frustration. This lack of clear communication can leave contributors feeling undervalued and discourage them from contributing further.
Maintainers have different reasons for not assigning issues, such as limited resources and large communities. Assigning issues can enhance efficiency, accountability, and resource management but may also create perceptions of favoritism or stifle collaboration. To address these challenges, maintainers should establish clear communication channels, use tools like saved replies, and maintain comprehensive contribution guidelines. By fostering a transparent and supportive environment, maintainers can better manage contributions and maintain a healthy, active community.
Creating a code of conduct is vital for fostering a safe and welcoming community within an open-source project. Often, this document is prepared before the community even forms, setting clear expectations and behavioral guidelines from the outset. The process includes defining goals and scope, researching existing codes of conduct, drafting, reviewing and approving the document, publishing, and regularly updating it. Having a code of conduct helps establish a positive social atmosphere, protecting participants and maintainers from unproductive attitudes and ensuring a supportive environment for all.
A well-defined code of conduct outlines expected behaviors, the scope of its application, and procedures for handling violations. The Contributor Covenant is a widely-adopted example, promoting respect and inclusion within open source communities. By researching existing codes like the Contributor Covenant, Ubuntu Code of Conduct, and others, project maintainers can identify best practices to incorporate. Once drafted, the document should be reviewed by key stakeholders and communicated clearly to the community. Regular reviews ensure the code remains relevant and effective, fostering a healthy, collaborative environment and addressing any violations appropriately to maintain community standards.
