Top 10 Open Source Projects for Indian Developers to Contribute to in 2026
W
Writer
Published: 16 Jun 2026
12 min read
Ten high-impact open source projects with active Indian communities — Appsmith, Plane, Infisical, Hoppscotch, and more — with contribution entry points and career benefits for each.
India's open source ecosystem has matured dramatically. In 2026, Indian developers are not just contributing to foreign projects — they are founding them. The projects on this list are used by developers worldwide, maintained by Indian engineers, and actively looking for contributors. Each entry includes the tech stack, contribution difficulty, community links, and a specific tip for getting your first PR merged quickly.
How to use this list
Pick one project from your skill level. Read its CONTRIBUTING.md first. Find an open issue labelled 'good first issue' or 'help wanted'. Make one small contribution before trying to tackle larger features. Depth over breadth — one consistent contributor is worth more to a project than ten one-time contributors.
Appsmith is one of the most successful Indian-origin open source projects globally — a low-code platform for building internal tools and dashboards. Founded in Bengaluru, it has over 34,000 GitHub stars and is used by teams at NASA, Siemens, and thousands of startups. The codebase is large but well-documented, and the community is exceptionally welcoming to new contributors.
Factor
Details
GitHub stars
34,000+
Tech stack
React, TypeScript, Java (Spring Boot), MongoDB
Contribution difficulty
Beginner to Advanced
Community
Discord (10,000+ members), active GitHub Discussions
Best first contribution
Frontend UI bug fixes, documentation improvements, new widget properties
GitHub
github.com/appsmithorg/appsmith
Appsmith — project overview
2. Plane — Project Management Tool
Plane is an open source project management tool — a self-hostable alternative to Jira and Linear. Built by a team in India, it has grown to 28,000+ GitHub stars in under two years. The team actively mentors contributors and has a dedicated 'good first issue' pipeline with clear guidance on each issue.
UI components, Django API endpoints, documentation
GitHub
github.com/makeplane/plane
Plane — project overview
3. Infisical — Open Source Secret Management
Infisical is an open source secret management platform — a self-hostable alternative to HashiCorp Vault and Doppler. Co-founded by an Indian developer, it has become the go-to choice for startups wanting to manage API keys, database credentials, and environment variables securely. The project is fast-moving with frequent releases and actively recruits contributors into a paid OSS fellowship.
Factor
Details
GitHub stars
16,000+
Tech stack
Next.js, TypeScript, Node.js, MongoDB, Redis
Contribution difficulty
Intermediate
Community
Slack (5,000+ members), active issue tracker
Best first contribution
SDK improvements, documentation, CLI features
GitHub
github.com/Infisical/infisical
Infisical — project overview
4. Hoppscotch — Open Source API Testing Tool
Hoppscotch is a lightweight, browser-based API testing tool — a free, open source alternative to Postman. Built by a developer from Kerala, it has over 65,000 GitHub stars, making it one of the most starred Indian-origin open source projects ever. The codebase is Vue.js + TypeScript, the issues are well-labelled, and the community is one of the most active in India's open source ecosystem.
Factor
Details
GitHub stars
65,000+
Tech stack
Vue.js, TypeScript, Node.js, Prisma, PostgreSQL
Contribution difficulty
Beginner to Intermediate
Community
Discord (7,000+ members), active GitHub Discussions
Best first contribution
Translations (20+ languages needed), UI improvements, bug fixes
GitHub
github.com/hoppscotch/hoppscotch
Hoppscotch — project overview
65,000+GitHub stars on Hoppscotch — one of India's most starred reposHoppscotch is consistently in the top 200 most starred repositories on all of GitHub. It is used by over 1 million developers worldwide and runs entirely in the browser with no installation required.
5. Taipy — Python Data and AI App Builder
Taipy is a Python library for building data pipelines and interactive web applications for AI and analytics — without writing JavaScript. With the explosion of AI development in India, Taipy is gaining massive traction among data scientists who want to deploy interactive ML apps quickly. The community is growing fast and the team is actively looking for Python contributors.
Factor
Details
GitHub stars
14,000+
Tech stack
Python, TypeScript, React
Contribution difficulty
Beginner (Python) to Advanced (core engine)
Community
Discord (3,000+ members), weekly office hours
Best first contribution
Tutorial notebooks, documentation, new GUI components
Frappe is a full-stack Python web framework and ERPNext is the enterprise application built on top of it — a complete ERP system used by over 500,000 businesses worldwide, including thousands in India. Founded and maintained primarily by Indian developers, Frappe has one of the largest open source communities in India with active contributor programmes, paid internships, and a full-time team in Mumbai.
Factor
Details
GitHub stars
Frappe: 7,500+ / ERPNext: 22,000+
Tech stack
Python, JavaScript, MariaDB, Redis
Contribution difficulty
Intermediate to Advanced
Community
Discuss forum (100,000+ members), Telegram groups, annual conference
Best first contribution
Bug fixes, regional localisation (India GST compliance), test cases
GitHub
github.com/frappe/frappe
Frappe/ERPNext — project overview
7. OpenMetadata — Data Cataloguing and Governance
OpenMetadata is an open source metadata management platform — used by data teams at major companies to discover, understand, and govern their data assets. Co-founded by engineers from Uber and Atlan (an Indian data company), it is one of the hottest data infrastructure projects in 2026. Data engineers and analysts contribute significantly.
New data source connectors (Python), documentation, UI fixes
GitHub
github.com/open-metadata/OpenMetadata
OpenMetadata — project overview
8. Signoz — Open Source Observability Platform
Signoz is an open source alternative to Datadog and New Relic — providing application performance monitoring, distributed tracing, and log management. Built by a startup based in San Francisco with roots in the Indian developer community, it is one of the fastest-growing DevOps open source projects and actively recruits contributors through paid OSS roles.
Factor
Details
GitHub stars
19,000+
Tech stack
React, TypeScript, Go, ClickHouse
Contribution difficulty
Intermediate to Advanced
Community
Slack (5,000+ members), GitHub Discussions
Best first contribution
Dashboard templates, documentation, new alert types
GitHub
github.com/SigNoz/signoz
Signoz — project overview
9. Documenso — Open Source DocuSign Alternative
Documenso is an open source document signing platform — a privacy-respecting alternative to DocuSign. With strong traction in India's legal and HR tech space, this Next.js + Prisma project is one of the most beginner-accessible on this list. The maintainer team is exceptionally responsive and the codebase is clean and well-documented.
Factor
Details
GitHub stars
9,000+
Tech stack
Next.js, TypeScript, Prisma, PostgreSQL
Contribution difficulty
Beginner to Intermediate
Community
Discord (2,000+ members), transparent roadmap
Best first contribution
Email templates, UI components, API endpoints
GitHub
github.com/documenso/documenso
Documenso — project overview
10. Formbricks — Open Source Survey and Feedback Tool
Formbricks is an open source experience management platform — think Typeform and HotJar combined, fully self-hostable. Built with Next.js and Prisma, it is extremely beginner-friendly and has a dedicated contributor onboarding program. Indian developers contribute significantly to its growing library of survey templates and integrations.
Factor
Details
GitHub stars
8,000+
Tech stack
Next.js, TypeScript, Prisma, PostgreSQL
Contribution difficulty
Beginner
Community
Discord (3,500+ members), contributor handbook
Best first contribution
New survey question types, integrations, documentation
Signoz, Infisical, self-hosting documentation for any project
Full-stack (Next.js)
Plane, Documenso, Formbricks, Infisical
Project recommendations by developer profile
How to Get Noticed as a Contributor — Beyond Merging PRs
The developers who advance fastest in open source communities do more than submit code. Here is what separates casual contributors from core team members:
Help triage issues — Reproducing bugs reported by others and confirming they are real is invaluable work. Comment on issues with reproduction steps, environment details, and suggested labels.
Answer questions in Discord/Slack — Being the person who reliably answers questions in the community channel is one of the fastest paths to becoming a trusted community member, regardless of your code contribution volume.
Write about the project — A detailed blog post or LinkedIn article about how you used the project, with screenshots and your experience contributing, is gold for the project's marketing. Maintainers notice and share these.
Attend contributor calls — Many projects have weekly or monthly video calls for contributors. Showing your face once is worth more than ten GitHub comments for relationship-building.
Propose improvements thoughtfully — Open a GitHub Discussion (not an issue) proposing a new feature with clear rationale. Frame it as a question seeking input, not a demand. Thoughtful proposals get you invited into architecture conversations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there paid open source opportunities for Indian developers?
Yes, several. Google Summer of Code (₹3–6L for a summer project), Linux Foundation Mentorship (similar pay), Outreachy (specifically for underrepresented groups, ~$7,000 stipend), and some companies like Frappe, Appsmith, and Signoz hire full-time open source engineers. Many of these roles start with a strong contributor history.
Can I put these contributions on my resume even if I am not a core maintainer?
Absolutely. List specific, merged PRs with measurable impact: 'Contributed 12 merged PRs to Hoppscotch (65K+ stars) — implemented OAuth2 flow for new API providers and improved test coverage by 8%.' Specificity is what makes it credible. Vague statements like 'contributed to open source' add little value.
What if the project I want to contribute to has no good first issues?
Read the documentation yourself as a new user and note anything that confused you — unclear instructions, missing examples, outdated screenshots. These are legitimate documentation improvements that do not need to be labelled as issues. Open a PR with the improvement and explain in the description what you found confusing. Most maintainers love this.
How do I deal with impostor syndrome when contributing to projects used by thousands of people?
Every contributor, including core maintainers, felt this at their first contribution. The trick: focus on tiny, specific improvements rather than big features. Fix one typo. Improve one sentence. The merge of your first tiny PR does more to overcome impostor syndrome than any amount of mental preparation.
The open source community does not care where you studied or what company you work at. It cares whether your code works, your communication is clear, and you show up consistently.
— Core contributor, Hoppscotch
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
India's open source ecosystem is world-class in 2026 — projects like Hoppscotch (65K stars) and Appsmith (34K stars) are globally used
Hoppscotch and Formbricks are the most beginner-friendly — ideal for your first 1–3 contributions
Paid opportunities exist through GSoC, LFX, Outreachy, and direct employment at companies like Frappe and Appsmith
Helping triage issues and answering community questions builds reputation as fast as code contributions
Specific, merged PR details on your resume are far more valuable than generic 'contributed to open source' statements
Most powerful IDE suite
JetBrains IDEs — Free for Open Source Contributors
JetBrains offers free licenses for all their IDEs (IntelliJ IDEA, WebStorm, PyCharm, GoLand) to active open source contributors. Apply with your GitHub profile showing contributions. Used by engineers at all the projects listed above.
