Where to Look
| Project | Good First Issues |
|---|---|
| Kubernetes | good-first-issue label in k8s.io repos |
| Terraform | good first issue label on provider repos |
| Prometheus | difficulty/easy label |
| containerd | good first issue label |
| CoreDNS | good first issue label |
Start with provider repos (terraform-provider-aws, etc.) and tools rather than core infrastructure. Provider repos are smaller, better documented, and more welcoming.
What Makes a Good First Contribution
In order of difficulty:
- Documentation fixes — typos, clarifications, examples
- Test additions — add tests for untested paths
- Small bug fixes — well-scoped issues with clear reproduction
- Minor features — adding a field to an existing resource
- Refactoring — only if explicitly requested in an issue
Before You Touch Code
- Read
CONTRIBUTING.md— every project has one - Read the Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO) — many CNCF projects require sign-off
- Check if someone else is already working on the issue
- Comment on the issue: "I'd like to work on this. Here's my approach..."