Komiser's first Hacktoberfest: the journey has just begun.

What is Hacktoberfest?

For ten years running, Hacktoberfest has ignited the global Open Source community, calling upon contributors to join in a month-long celebration of innovation and collaboration. Spearheaded by organizations like Appwrite, DigitalOcean, and Illa, this initiative aims to bridge the gap between open-source projects and their potential contributors.

Each year, Hacktoberfest offers unique incentives and acceptance criteria, but the core objective remains constant, to connect contributors with intriguing projects, foster engagement within welcoming communities, and encourage participants to hone their skills by tackling real-world challenges.

Why OpenSource?

With as many reasons to engage in open source as there are contributors, the motivations are as diverse as the community itself. Ask an experienced contributor why they dedicate their time to supporting open-source projects, and you'll likely be surprised by their answer.

For some, it's a pathway to building a compelling portfolio, while others seek to upskill by tackling real-world problems. Some relish the opportunity to collaborate with brilliant minds and exchange ideas, while experienced engineers may find fulfillment in guiding others through PR reviews and mentorship. Regardless of the motivation, Hacktoberfest serves as an amplifier, intensifying all the positive aspects of open-source involvement. This year, the Komiser maintainers wholeheartedly agreed that participation was a must.

So, how did things go for Komiser in this year's edition of Hacktoberfest?

The (not so vanity) metrics:

By any metric, our participation in Hacktoberfest this year was an undeniable success! We witnessed a surge in community engagement, welcomed a multitude of new contributors, sparked numerous discussions on potential features, and received proposals for new communication ideas. An open-source project thrives on a vibrant and active community, and we are proud to report that ours has remained as dynamic, collaborative, and dedicated as ever.

Let's delve into some of the highlights.

Over 21 closed issues 📤

A huge number of issues were worked on by many newcomers and existing community members. The issues that were tackled were on a variety of topics from UI improvements, bug fixes, and new feature development. Find the full list here.

10 new contributors 👬

The contributor family has grown to 65 members from around 54 at the start of October. This would have been unthinkable just a year ago.

New cloud accounts connected to Komiser 📶

Over 500 new cloud accounts coming from 5 different cloud providers were connected to Komiser in the month of October alone.

Community engagement 📊

We had a steady amount of engagement from new and returning community members throughout the month. Almost hard to keep up with all the activity at times, a good problem to have for sure!

Contributor brainstorming 🧠

The magic of bringing together diverse groups of open-source contributors lies in the element of surprise. You have a starting point, but the destination remains unknown. As conversations unfold and individuals contribute their unique perspectives, it becomes impossible to predict how the group will collaborate, innovate, and devise new solutions.

Thanks to the initiative of Komiser maintainer Kunal Verma, we embarked on a new approach, disseminating information through a webinar at the beginning of Hacktoberfest and a X Space (formally Twitter Space) at the conclusion. While both endeavors faced technical challenges, they proved to be invaluable learning experiences, fostering deeper connections within the community.

‍Check the webinar out here:

Additionally, through conversations with the contributors, maintainers, and the team we ended up creating our own badges to recognize the hard work put in by the contributors. This topic is ongoing since we see the value in having these types of rewards year-round. We also want to improve the platform through which we will deliver the badges and we also want to create a Komiser Hall of Fame, so stay tuned for that!

The Bishal Das case: an OSS success story 🎉

One of the most remarkable stories, in my opinion, to emerge from our first participation in Hacktoberfest is the journey of Bishal Das. Bishal's introduction to Komiser and our community happened in early October, thanks to a tweet shared on Kunal Verma's feed. Without hesitation, he dived into the project, tackling challenging initiatives found in the open issues of the Komiser repository.

Throughout the month, Bishal not only dedicated himself to complex tasks, such as calculating the cost of AWS CloudFront Distribution and Functions, but he also actively engaged in our community. He became a regular participant in the Komiser weekly meetings, held every Friday on the Tailwarden Discord Server at 10:45 am GMT+1. His willingness to share his challenges enriched the ongoing conversation about cloud cost management, which has become a significant focus of Komiser's open initiatives.

What's truly extraordinary is that Bishal achieved a remarkable feat within the Komiser community, earning the title of "Contributor of the Month" in his very first month of participation. This decision was unanimous among the Komiser maintainers, and we are both thrilled and grateful for his outstanding contributions.

What’s next? 🚀

Hacktoberfest has been a whirlwind of energy and enthusiasm, propelling the Komiser community to new heights. The momentum generated during this month-long celebration doesn't have to fade away. In fact, it serves as a powerful reminder that the only limitations in open source are self-imposed.

October provides a platform for synchronizing with fellow contributors, exploring diverse projects, and fostering meaningful collaborations. But when Hacktoberfest ends, the journey doesn't have to. Let the event serve as a catalyst for continued engagement. The community remains vibrant, the challenges persist, and only you hold the key to overcoming them.

If you share our passion for transforming Komiser into the definitive open-source, one-stop shop for multi-cloud transparency, join us on this journey. The community welcomes you with open arms, ready to support your contributions and celebrate your successes.