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Creating Your Project

Estimated reading time 3 min

So you’ve got a fantastic open-source project idea, you’ve planned it out meticulously, or maybe you’re just getting started. Either way, you’re ready to bring it to life. In this chapter, we’ll dive into the nitty-gritty of creating your open-source project. It’s the moment where you get to shape your idea into reality and start making a meaningful impact on the open source world. Here’s your step-by-step guide to kickstart your project.

Setting Up a Repository

A proper project repository is the heart of your open-source project. Whether you host it on GitHub, GitLab, or any other platform, it’s the place where you’ll story your project content (source code, documentation, data, etc.), and where you’ll collaborate with other contributors. It’s also the place where you’ll manage your project’s issues and contributions, and where you’ll publish your project’s releases.

Choosing a Repository Hosting Platform

There are many different source code hosting platforms that you can use to host your project repository. The most popular ones are GitHub and GitLab. Each platform has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it’s important to choose the one that best suits your needs.

Creating a Profile

The first step to creating your project repository is to create a profile on your chosen hosting platform. This is where you’ll manage your project and collaborate with other contributors. You can create a profile on GitHub, or GitLab by following the instructions on their respective websites.

Creating an Organization

This step is optional, you can start by creating a repository under your personal profile, and then move it to an organization later on.

Creating an organization allows you to manage multiple projects under a single umbrella, and it also allows you to grant access to other contributors. You can create an organization on GitHub, or GitLab by following the instructions on their respective websites.

Creating a Repository

Within an organization or your profile profile, you can now create your project. GitHub names them repositories or repos, while GitLab names them projects; but they’re essentially the same thing. You can create a repository on GitHub, or a project on GitLab by following the instructions on their respective websites.