Hacktoberfest

Hacktoberfest, the annual month-long celebration of open-source contributions, officially starts on October 1st. Organisers and community hosts are marking the occasion with official launch events, including live streams featuring exclusive announcements. The event encourages developers worldwide to contribute to open-source projects throughout October, with themes of inclusivity, coding and community central to this year's edition.

Hacktoberfest 2026 is underway, and computer science students are announcing their participation by making their first open-source contributions. One student shared that they have been learning Git, GitHub, web development, Python and AI, and wanted to finally experience contributing to open-source projects. The annual October event, run by DigitalOcean, encourages developers worldwide to submit pull requests to open repositories and has become a popular entry point for beginners building portfolios.

Ankita, an open-source desktop AI assistant built with Node and Electron, is inviting developers to contribute during Hacktoberfest. The project's maintainers are offering real, meaningful issues, fast code reviews, and credit for every contributor as part of the annual open-source event. The appeal highlights Ankita's inclusive community approach and its aim to grow through collaborative development during October.