Ask HN: How do I find collaborators?

[realsimplesynd]

I’m semi decent at programming, and I want to get better at working on bigger projects with people. How do I find people or get my friends interested in a new project?

Is this even the right question to be asking?

[ecesena]

I moved from Italy to the US 8y ago and my way to stay in touch with my friends has been to do side projects left and right. My suggestion is to brainstorm projects with your friends:

1. You want to find a project that you like, of course, but the other person should also be pretty sold/invested in the idea.

2. Brainstorm 1 to 1, you can always involve other people later.

3. When you find 1 person/1 project, jump right into it or enthusiasm will fade quickly.

4. When you start something, tell everybody and try to attract other people.

It's generally hard, the main issue is timing. You now are free/motivated but many or your friends are prob not. But if you persist, sooner or later you'll find the perfect match.

Like I said I did many side projects in the past years, some for a weekend or two, some for a few months, some with 1 person and one even with a "team of 5". Finally, the stars aligned and with one of my friends decided to go full time. Good luck!

[op03]

Submit a bug fix/feature improvement to a github/gitlab repo with 2-3 contributors. The larger the group the less chance/more time it takes to form solid relations.

When there are 2 or 3 contributors there is a bit of jockeying between them to connect with the newbie esp if you contribute something useful. Make sure the repo has some constant activity.

You might have luck on 1 person repos if the personality type is disciplined/helpful i.e. they always respond to issues, happy to explain things etc

[username90]

The standard way to practice large projects is to get a job. That wastes a lot of time, but the silver lining is that you also get paid.

[edimaudo]

- Try open source projects

- join a programming meetup group in your area