Beginner Cohorts
First Merge Cohort
A paced cohort for developers who have never shipped a public pull request.
Description
You pick a curated repository, open a scoped issue, and ship a merge-ready change with mentor review at each step. The cohort focuses on communication norms, branch hygiene, and reviewer empathy so the process feels repeatable after week six.
Included focus
- Weekly live review blocks with an open source mentor
- Issue templates and checklists matched to beginner-friendly repos
- Pairing slots for debugging CI failures and merge conflicts
- Async written feedback on drafts before you request review
- Maintainer office hours with rotating guest projects
- Portfolio framing workshop tied to your merged work
- Access to the internal triage sandbox for practice labels
Outcomes
- One merged pull request linked to a public issue thread
- A short contributor log you can attach to applications
- A personal checklist for picking the next repository safely
Reviews
The triage sandbox made labels click for me. I finally understood why maintainers ask for a minimal repro.
FAQ
Do I need prior professional experience?
No. You should be comfortable reading small TypeScript or Python files and using git basics. If you are still installing git, we point you to a short primer first.
What is not included?
We do not negotiate paid contracts on your behalf or promise maintainer roles. We also do not host proprietary client code inside the cohort workspace.
How much time per week?
Most participants budget eight to ten hours including reviews, async rewrites, and the live session.