FOSSASIA Logo

OpenVeda Playbook: FOSSASIA

Your complete guide to joining Asia's largest and most diverse open-source community. Find your project, find your people.

The Mission: To develop and adapt open-source technologies for social change, with a powerful focus on the unique challenges and opportunities within Asia.
Your Impact: Your work has a direct line to real-world use. The Open Event platform runs major tech conferences. SUSI.AI is an active chatbot project. This is not theoretical software.
Why it's a Career Supercharger: FOSSASIA is a "meta-organization" that participates in every major program: GSoC, GSoD, Outreachy, and more. Success here shows you are a versatile, adaptable developer who can thrive in a fast-paced, multicultural, and highly distributed team.

FOSSASIA is a constellation of projects. You can find almost any tech stack here.

Flagship Project (Web): Open Event (open-event-server, open-event-frontend). Stack: Python (Flask), JavaScript (React, Ember.js).
Flagship Project (AI): SUSI.AI. Stack: Java (Server), Kotlin (Android), React (Web).
Flagship Project (Hardware/DevOps): pslab.io (Pocket Science Lab). Stack: Python, Go.
Rising Star (Social Media): LOKLAK. Stack: Java/Kotlin (Android), Swift (iOS). A decentralized P2P social network.
General Tooling: GitHub Actions, Docker, and a strong culture of unit and integration testing.

Primary Channel (Gitter): The central nervous system of FOSSASIA.
- Link: Join the FOSSASIA Gitter Channel.
- Your First Action: Introduce yourself. Be specific about your skills and interests.
Project-Specific Channels: Once you pick a project (like Open Event), join its specific Gitter channel for focused help.

We'll use their most popular project as an example.

Prerequisites: Git, Python3, pip, and PostgreSQL.
Fork & Clone: Fork open-event-server on GitHub and clone your fork.
Setup Virtual Environment: cd open-event-server, then python3 -m venv venv and source venv/bin/activate.
Install Dependencies: pip install -e .
Create Database: psql -c "create database open_event;"
Initialize Database: python manage.py db upgrade
Run Server: python manage.py runserver
Access: http://127.0.0.1:5000.

Troubleshooting: The #1 issue is missing PostgreSQL system libraries (like libpq-dev on Ubuntu/Debian).

Find & Claim an Issue: Find a "good first issue" and comment to get assigned.
Sync Your Fork: Keep your fork up-to-date with the development branch of the main repository.
Create a Feature Branch: git checkout -b feature/your-awesome-fix
Code & Test: Write your code. Crucially, run the tests (python manage.py test). A PR with failing tests will likely be rejected.
Commit & Push: Commit with a clear message and push to your fork.
Open a Pull Request: Target the development branch. Write a clear description and link the issue.
Engage in Review: FOSSASIA mentors are very responsive. Engage with their feedback, make updates, and push new commits.

Historical Focus: FOSSASIA is one of the largest GSoC organizations. They have hundreds of project ideas every year, spanning web, mobile, AI, hardware, and firmware.
What Mentors Look For: Proactiveness. They want to see you active on Gitter, helping others, and making small contributions before the GSoC application period. They value community members, not just coders. A history of asking good questions is a plus.

Open Event Server: github.com/fossasia/open-event-server
Open Event Frontend: github.com/fossasia/open-event-frontend
SUSI.AI Server: github.com/fossasia/susi_server
GSoC Ideas Page: Check their ideas page from the previous year to see what they're interested in.

Activity is Everything: Your visibility on Gitter is almost as important as your code.
Ask Smart Questions: Don't just say "it's not working." Post your error logs, explain what you tried, and what you expected to happen.
Review Others' Code: A fantastic way to learn and get noticed is to politely review other newcomers' pull requests. Leave helpful comments and suggestions. It shows you're a true community player.

FOSSASIA