It’s awesome to see you taking the initiative to dive into open-source while in your 2nd year, Raghav! Since you've mentioned my repository, penuX, I can give you a more tailored breakdown of how you can use it as a stepping stone for your GSoC 2026 goals. penuX is focused on Penetration Testing automation and Linux utilities, which aligns perfectly with your interest in Python and Linux. 1. Beginner-Friendly Paths in penuX If you are looking at the netanelcyber/penuX repo, here is how you should start: * The "Script to Tool" Transition: Many scripts in the repo are Python-based automation for Linux tasks. A great first task for a student is refactoring. Look for scripts that lack proper error handling (try-except blocks) or need better command-line arguments (using argparse). * Documentation & Examples: Open-source projects live and die by their docs. Read through the README. If you find a command that doesn't work as described on your Linux distro, updating that documentation is a valid and highly valued "first contribution." * Linux Compatibility Testing: Since you are learning Linux, try running the tools on different distributions (Ubuntu vs. Arch vs. Fedora). Reporting compatibility issues is a great way to get involved without writing 100 lines of code immediately. 2. Strategic Advice for GSoC 2026 Since you are a 2nd-year student, you have the "luxury of time." Use it wisely: * Master the "Atomic" Commit: Don't send one giant Pull Request (PR) that fixes ten things. Send small, focused PRs. It makes it much easier for maintainers like me to review and merge your work. * Join the Discussion: If there’s an Issue you don’t understand, don't just say "I want to work on this." Instead, ask: "I'm interested in this issue; I noticed that line 45 might be causing the bug, should I try fixing it using the subprocess module?" This shows you’ve actually read the code. * Study the PSF (Python Software Foundation) History: Look at the organizations that were part of GSoC 2024 and 2025. Many of them (like Honeynet Project or Scapy) overlap with the security/Linux focus of penuX. Contributing here first will build the "Proof of Work" you need for your GSoC application. How to start right now? To get your hands dirty with Git and the repo, I recommend this first step: * Fork the repo to your own GitHub account. * Clone it to your local Linux machine. * Explore the scripts/ directory and see if you can add a simple Python utility that automates a task you find yourself doing often in the terminal. Would you like me to walk you through how to create your first Pull Request (PR) specifically for the penuX repository?
<https://netanel.ml> בתאריך יום ה׳, 8 בינו׳ 2026, 20:10, מאת Raghav Bhola via Python-list < [email protected]>: > Hello everyone, > > My name is Raghav, I am a B.Tech,2nd year student from India currently > learning Python, Linux, and Git. I have recently joined this mailing list > to get familiar with the Python community and open-source contribution > practices. > > I am preparing for Google Summer of Code 2026 and would like to start > contributing to Python-related projects. Could you please guide me on: > 1. Which beginner-friendly repositories or sub-projects I should explore > first? > 2. Any advice on how to interact effectively with mentors and the > community? > > I look forward to learning from all of you and contributing meaningfully. > > Best regards, > Raghav > > -- > https://mail.python.org/mailman3//lists/python-list.python.org > -- https://mail.python.org/mailman3//lists/python-list.python.org
