What Are Good First Issues? How to Find and Complete Them
Learn what good first issues mean on GitHub, how to evaluate them, avoid common traps, and complete your first open source contribution successfully.
What is a good first issue?
A good first issue is a task maintainers mark as suitable for newcomers. You’ll often see labels like:
good first issuegood-first-issuebeginnerfirst-timers-onlydocumentation
The label is a signal, not a guarantee. You still need to read the issue carefully.
What makes an issue actually beginner-friendly?
Look for:
- Clear expected outcome — what “done” looks like
- Limited scope — hours, not weeks
- Enough context — steps to reproduce or files to touch
- Active maintainers — recent replies on similar issues
- Linked docs — setup instructions exist
Red flags:
- “Rewrite the architecture”
- No reproduction steps for a bug
- Open for years with zero discussion
- Requires access you don’t have (private APIs, paid services)
How to find good first issues
On GitHub
Use issue search with labels and language filters, for example projects that match your stack and label:"good first issue".
On ossium
Use Find Issues to discover contribution opportunities with less tab-hopping, then track claimed work on GitHub (notifications, Projects, or your PR list).
Also check:
- Trending repos — active projects often have fresher issues
- GSoC orgs — mentoring culture often means clearer starter tasks
How to claim and complete one
- Read everything — issue body, comments, linked PRs
- Ask if unclear — one precise question beats silent wrong work
- Comment that you’re working on it (if the project asks you to)
- Set up the project before writing a big patch
- Open a focused PR with test notes
- Respond to review promptly
Are good first issues “too easy”?
No. They’re training wheels for the process: setup, communication, PR etiquette, and CI. After a few merges, move to medium issues.
FAQ
Do I need permission before coding?
Many projects say “comment first.” Others accept unsolicited PRs for trivial docs. When unsure, leave a short comment.
What if someone else opens a PR first?
It happens. Help review, pick another issue, or improve docs. Open source is not zero-sum.
Can docs issues count?
Absolutely. Clear documentation unblocks every future contributor—including you.
Keep going
Finding issues is only half the journey. Pair this with How to contribute on GitHub and track your work on ossium.
