Friendly faces hacking and collaborating at this year's Codegarden
Instead of running an Umbraco-specific Hacktoberfest event like we used to do, we’re embracing a broader vision: rather than tying contributions to one month, we want to highlight that there are opportunities to contribute all year long. Many of you ask us what to work on; we’ve turned that question into a mission, should you choose to accept it.
We're building a new community website, and we want to launch it with a dedicated "Developer" section. This section will make it easy for visitors to find code samples among other things.
Your mission: Help us fill the upcoming samples section with high-quality, practical examples. When the new site launches, we want it to be packed with valuable content for everyone.
We’re well aware that it’s not autumn in the southern hemisphere of the world, so for those of you residing there, please consider this your spring challenge 😅
🍂🌱 To keep things super clear for everyone, the challenge will run from September 1st to November 30th. This way, you can join in whether you're enjoying either autumn or spring!
Woman working at a laptop at an Umbraco event
Many developers say it's tough to find real-world code samples. Official docs have snippets, but practical examples are scattered across blogs, forums, and repositories. By contributing, you'll help centralize great examples, making it easier for everyone to learn and share. Your knowledge matters.
One important thing to remember: you do you. We don’t expect perfectly executed best-practice code samples. Some can be rough around the edges or even hacky.
You can also expect to get some feedback on some of your code; that’s great, we can all learn from each other. This challenge promotes curiosity and open mindedness, which leads to fresh perspective. Your contribution could be the missing piece someone else needs.
Here’s what you get out of it:
👀 Visibility: Your work will be showcased on the new community site, in newsletters, and possibly across Umbraco’s social channels.
🤝 Connection: You’ll meet other collaborators through events and shared projects.
🚀 Impact: Your contribution could help someone build faster, learn easier, or feel more confident diving into Umbraco.
🌱 Momentum: This challenge is a launchpad; not just for your ideas, but for a more inclusive, creative contribution culture.
You don’t need to be an expert. If it helps someone else, it counts.
To celebrate your contributions, we’ll see the launch of the new community site during the challenge period, which will include the new samples catalog that you’ve helped build.
Additionally, as we love to do, your contributions will lead to the planting of more trees in Umbraco’s Ecologi plot 🌳
We have set up a GitHub repository with a README that explains how to add your code samples to the overview for the upcoming community site. If you already have ideas, you can dive straight in.
You will also find plenty of opportunities to connect with others, share ideas, and collaborate on samples.
You could join one of these upcoming events:
Online: Umbraco Community Hour (every other week)
Codecabin, if you’re lucky enough to be attending (Sep 16–17)
Umbraco US Festival Hackathon (Oct 2)
Online: Candid Contributions Umbrackathon (October, date to be decided)
Umbraco Denmark Meetup (October, date to be decided)
Meetup groups are also encouraged to host their own hackathons as part of this challenge.
A person coding at their laptop
To kick things off, our friend and Umbraco MVP Jeroen Breuer has already made the first contribution. His work on the OpenID Connect samples is exactly the kind of thing we’d love to see.
Here are a few ways you can contribute:
Code samples: A small, working example in a GitHub repository (or any other platform) is perfect.
Quick snippets: Even a Gist (or similar) with a useful solution counts.
Blog posts: If you’ve written about something and included solid, working code examples, that’s a valuable contribution too.
And remember: you don’t need to share code to take part. Telling us what you wish existed—the examples, samples, or guides you’ve always wanted helps spark ideas for others and is just as important a contribution.
Let us know in the issue tracker what you think would make for a great sample.
We’ve set up a dedicated #contributing channel for the Autumn Contribution Challenge inside the Umbraco Community Discord. In this channel, you can:
Share ideas and get feedback
Find collaborators
Ask questions and get support
Celebrate wins and see what others are building
Join the server, head to #contributing, and say hello. We are excited to meet you!
Coding and collaborating with fellow Umbracians
The Autumn Contribution Challenge is more than a seasonal event. It is a chance to shape the future of our community by sharing knowledge, building together, and making Umbraco more accessible and useful for everyone. Every contribution matters, and yours could spark ideas, solve problems, or inspire the next big thing.
We’ll be showcasing contributions on the new community website, launching in beta during the Challenge—your work could be front and center.
💡 Join the movement
Got an idea, a question, or something you are proud of? Share it. Use #Umbraco to show your work, spread the word, and encourage others to jump in. The more people contribute, the more we learn from each other.
This is your chance to make a difference. Let’s build something great together!
📌 Useful links
Follow the progress of this challenge on GitHub: Umbraco.Community.Site.Resources
Knowing when to stop a test is just as important as knowing when to start one. We’ve made that mistake in two ways: stopping tests too early, and refusing to stop them at all. This post is about timing. How long should you run your test? When can you trust the result? And how do you stop yourself from acting too soon, or waiting too long?