Contribution Hub

[arkid15r]

Contribution Hub

Connecting contributors, mentors, and projects for impactful open-source collaboration.

Key Workflows to Implement

1. GitHub-Based User Onboarding

Objective: Seamless authentication and profile setup using GitHub.

• Implement GitHub OAuth for sign-in.
• Auto-fetch user details, including GitHub handle, contributions, and repositories.
• Store profile data in a structured format for easy retrieval.

2. Contributor to Mentor/Project Matching System

Objective: Connect contributors with experienced mentors based on skills and activity.

• Match contributors with mentors/projects based on:
  • Technology stack (repositories and profile data).
  • Activity (PRs and issues in open-source projects).
  • Preferred availability (self-reported).
• Auto-suggest mentors/projects but allow manual selection.
• Implement a simple request/acceptance flow.

3. Task Matching & Contribution Guidance

Objective: Recommend relevant GitHub issues to contributors based on skills and interests.

• Aggregate beginner-friendly GitHub issues from OWASP projects.
• Auto-assign issues based on skill level and project interest.
• Provide progress tracking, including PRs merged and issues resolved.
• Offer resources and guidelines for new contributors.

4. Contribution Dashboard

Objective: A centralized space for contributors to track progress and opportunities.

• Display relevant information, including:
  • Matched mentor (if applicable).
  • Recommended issues and repositories.
  • Contribution progress tracking.
  • Communication logs for mentorship.

5. Issue Bundles for Hackathons

Objective: Curate themed sets of issues for events like hackathons.

• Auto-generate issue bundles based on topic and complexity.
• Provide challenge descriptions and expected outcomes.
• Establish a submission and review process for participants.

6. Expand Beginner-Friendly Labels

Objective: Make it easier for newcomers to find suitable issues.

• Standardize and promote labels like good first issue and help wanted.
• Audit existing repositories and ensure consistency in labeling.
• Create a dedicated page listing all beginner-friendly issues across OWASP projects.

---

Next Steps & Feedback

The community input is essential. What additional features or workflows would improve the experience? Suggestions and contributions are welcome.

[arkid15r]

At OWASP Nest, we’ve already built a solid foundation that can serve as the backbone for the Contribution Hub. Our existing infrastructure includes:

• Project & Issue Sync – A system that continuously syncs projects and issues from GitHub, ensuring we always have up-to-date data on available contributions.
• Ranking & Search Mechanisms – Features that allow filtering and ranking of projects based on activity, issue labels, and engagement levels.
• Advanced Issue Discovery – A powerful search across 6,000+ issues and 230+ projects, making it easy to find relevant tasks.

With these components already in place, the Contribution Hub can integrate seamlessly, leveraging this foundation to provide tailored task recommendations, structured mentorship connections, and better visibility into open-source opportunities.

[abhayymishraa]

it's great to hear about this, it's a great Idea!!!
well have a few suggestions that could make it even more engaging and impactful:

• LeaderBoards: as it will encourage engagement and friendly competition among contributors.

  • points system
  • Achivements: like first pr merge , 10 pr merges

• Project Health Dashboard:

  • provide mentors about the project health and contributors engagement
  • Number of open/closed issues.
  • Contributosr activity over time.
    • Average time to solve issues.

• A place for interaction let's say Virtual Space

  • here contributors will have access for realtime chat's messages
  • can have a inhouse interaction between contributors and mentors

• Contribution Roadmap

  • it is where we can define what would be the next iterations upcoming
    and will help to plan next iteration.
  • it will be helpful for creating a structured way so that on that specific iteration we have goal to achieve

• Blog Posts:

  • from mentors sharing some insights about how can you'll start contribution etc...

• Point management system though AI

These are the thing i can think of right now (i think most of them are usedful )

[arkid15r]

That's a lot of stuff to implement :)

You know my approach -- let's focus on essentials and improve it incrementally. The main problem to solve here is to provide contributors with a clear pathway to meaningful contributions.

[abhayymishraa]

That totally makes sense! These were just some ideas that came to mind—I completely agree that focusing on the essentials first and improving incrementally is the way to go. We can categorize these suggestions and prioritize what aligns best with the project's goals.

[abhayymishraa]

So, prioritizing the roadmap, dashboard, and mentorship content first would likely align best with the project's core goal. Once those are in place, engagement-focused features can be explored.

What do you think?

[arkid15r]

I'm going to wait for more ideas and suggestions from other mentors, project leaders, and contributors like you. You can share the challenges you faced while looking for projects to contribute to this year.

[nitinawari]

This is a pretty big idea. Will it be included in this year's GSoC idea list, or do we need to start working on it beforehand?

[arkid15r]

I started the discussion to gather more perspectives. We can start implementing it when we understand what exactly we want to build -- there is no need to wait until GSoC starts. Some parts of the hub can be included as GSoC projects if needed.

[nitinawari]

ok

[yashgoyal0110]

@arkid15r seems nice and needed project. obviously nest will act as a strong backbone for this project, I think first we should decide and draw all the required sections with all functionalities inside them. and then decide the tech stack for the workflow.

[Naveen-Pal]

We can also create a dedicated page for reviewing pull request so that anyone relevant to that pull request can contribute by reviewing it.

[arkid15r]

That's a good one. I personally would love some help with reviewing OWASP Nest PRs

[kayashth1]

Amazing! I also agree with this idea because it will provide a good platform for all the contributors willing to contribute to OWASP. Additionally, a Contribution Streak kind of part can also be added to track activities.

[YourBroCode]

This is a really interesting idea. It will solve one of the biggest problems that new contributors often face when trying to contribute to an organization. This project will definitely ease the contribution process in OWASP .
From the execution point of view of "3. Task Matching & Contribution Guidance", we can enhance project discovery for contributors by introducing a sidebar with a checklist of different technologies and frameworks.

Proposed Features:

• Technology Selection: Users can select the tech stacks of their choice.
• Automated Project Matching: The Contribution Hub will filter and display relevant OWASP projects based on the selected preferences.
• Ranking System: Projects will be ranked based on the number of matched tags and displayed on the frontend in descending order.

This approach will make it easier for contributors to find suitable projects and improve their onboarding experience within OWASP.

[arkid15r]

Sound interesting. We could pre-populate the list based on the user's profile data and allow user to change the defaults if needed

[YourBroCode]

Yes definately. We can also provide an option to refine preferences dynamically so users can adjust their selections anytime.

[Rajgupta36]

This is a really exciting idea! It’s a great way to help new contributors connect with our organization and start contributing. The basic idea is already strong, and there’s a lot we can build on.

For the issue section, we can create a platform like goodfirstissue.com to suggest beginner-friendly tasks from our projects. This will help newcomers find work that suits them.

In the profile section, we can add a reward or badge system to recognize contributors’ work and keep them motivated and a lot of features

[Prakhar29Sharma]

Great idea! @arkid15r. It'll help contributors get started in no time and start contributing.

Additionally I think we can add a contributor leaderboard. It would add a competitive and motivational aspect to the platform, encouraging consistent participation.

We can have global level leaderboard showing top contributors across all projects and project specific leaderboards highlighting the most active contributors in each repository.

Also allow users to share their achievement on platforms like github, twitter and linkedIn. I think it will increase retention by rewarding long-term contributors.

[yashgoyal0110]

@arkid15r We can also implement a public leaderboard, ranking on the basis of number of PRs merged

[iitzIrFan]

@arkid15r
This is an exciting and well-thought-out plan! 🚀 I love the focus on streamlining GitHub-based onboarding and enhancing contributor engagement. The mentor/project matching system and contribution dashboard sound especially impactful in guiding new contributors.

I’d love to be involved in this and contribute wherever needed! Let me know how I can help. Looking forward to seeing this take shape! 🔥

[iitzIrFan]

@arkid15r This is an exciting and well-thought-out plan! 🚀 I love the focus on streamlining GitHub-based onboarding and enhancing contributor engagement. The mentor/project matching system and contribution dashboard sound especially impactful in guiding new contributors.

I’d love to be involved in this and contribute wherever needed! Let me know how I can help. Looking forward to seeing this take shape! 🔥
@arkid15r Also,
A few ideas where I think we can enhance it like AI-powered mentor matching, real-time notifications for contributions, auto-labeling for beginner-friendly issues, and a leaderboard to gamify engagement. Would love to see this take shape! 🔥

[yashpandey06]

That's a great idea to encourage open source contribution to the beginners... really appreciate it 🙂

[yashgoyal0110]

Proposal: Contributors Leaderboard for Contribution Hub

Introduction

The Contributors Leaderboard is an innovative feature aimed at enhancing engagement within the Contribution Hub. By tracking and ranking contributors based on various parameters such as the number of pull requests (PRs) merged, project-wise contributions, and monthly as well as all-time rankings, this leaderboard will provide a clear visual representation of contributions and foster healthy competition among contributors.

Objectives

1. Encourage Active Contributions: A ranked leaderboard will motivate contributors to engage more actively in projects.

2. Recognize and Reward Contributors: Displaying top contributors acknowledges their efforts and increases visibility within the community.

3. Project-Wise Tracking: Provides insights into the most actively maintained projects and their key contributors.

4. Enhance Community Engagement: Creates a gamified experience, making open-source contribution more interactive.

5. Data-Driven Insights: Helps maintainers analyze contribution patterns and recognize key contributors over different time periods.

Features

1. Overall Leaderboard

  Ranks contributors based on total PRs merged across all projects.
  
  Displays key metrics like total contributions, issues closed, and reviews performed.

2. Project-Wise Leaderboard

  Provides rankings for contributors specific to each open-source project.
  
  Helps maintainers identify top contributors for their projects.

3. Monthly Leaderboard

  Highlights the top contributors for each month.
  
  Encourages new contributors by giving them a chance to be featured.

4. All-Time Leaderboard

  Tracks cumulative contributions over the entire period of a contributor’s involvement.
  
  Recognizes long-term contributors and top-performing developers.

5. Badges & Achievements

  Introduces badges for milestones (e.g., "10 PRs merged," "Top Contributor of the Month").
  
  Adds gamification elements to boost engagement.

6. Filters and Sorting

  Ability to filter leaderboard by project, time frame, and contribution type.
  
  Sorting options based on PRs merged, issues resolved, and code reviews.

Usability & Impact

  1. Enhances transparency by providing a real-time overview of contributions.
  
  2. Motivates contributors to improve their ranking, boosting overall engagement.
  
  3. Helps maintainers identify active contributors, making it easier to assign roles or responsibilities.
  
  4. Provides valuable insights into project activity trends.

Conclusion

The Contributors Leaderboard will be a valuable addition to the Contribution Hub, promoting engagement, recognition, and competition in a positive way. By implementing this feature, we can foster a thriving community of open-source contributors while making contributions more transparent and rewarding.

[deyshift]

This looks like a fantastic idea, but I don't see any recent activity on it. Is there somewhere this thread has been continued with implementation brainstorming? I agree a contribution leaderboard would not only provide incentive to contribute, but a space where those contributions can drive community engagement and feedback. As someone who is new to open source, this sounds like a great way to make something that can be very intimidating to navigate more transparent and accessible. I would also love to contribute and help make it a reality!

[Naveen-Pal]

@Rajgupta36 is working on it as a GSoC project

[arkid15r]

Hi @rivtechprojects

@Naveen-Pal's response is correct -- it's now in scope of @Rajgupta36's GSoC 2025 proposal. I believe the best way to track it is via related milestone -- https://github.com/OWASP/Nest/milestone/12

Feel free to join our weekly syncs if you want to participate in OWASP Nest project development.

[deyshift]

I will do that, thank you!