This program is a free conduit lead initiative and is fully supported by the wider SDTH network in order to Connect, Inform, and Empower.

Program Overview

Every Saturday from 10 AM to 2 PM, community members from around San Diego get together to collaboratively contribute to open source projects. The group is open to people of all backgrounds, skill levels, and expertise. The program was started by Kevin Brewer, our main facilitator, and Dan Hendricks, the program host. It is generously hosted by Dan at OSML — Open Source Maker Labs — in Vista. Open source is about more than software, thus OSML provides the tools necessary to contribute to hardware and IoT projects as well. OSML features a full workshop with 3D printing, electronics, robotics, and CNC machines.

At Open Source Saturday, you will find a fun, motivating, inclusive environment to foster consistent open source contributions. This provides an avenue for mentorship so newer devs can learn how to contribute to open source. From git workflows to branching strategies to commit messages, participants will learn the conventions of working with git on a collaborative team. Gain real world coding experience, and build your mentoring skills. Give back. Level up.

One of our goals is to establish San Diego as a hotbed of open source contribution. If you are an open source maintainer, or if you are familiar with a particular project, Open Source Saturday is a great opportunity to onboard new contributors. If you are a new developer who would like to learn how to contribute to open source, you will find experienced contributors who can provide guidance. If you are an experienced developer yourself, you will find a motivating, collaborative atmosphere to have fun making new contributions. And if you are not a programmer, the group could use your insights into visual design, user experience, accessibility, and more.