Hacktoberfest is an annual event that encourages people to contribute to open-source projects on platforms like GitHub. It usually takes place throughout the month of October. Participants are required to make a certain number of pull requests (code contributions) to open-source repositories to earn a limited-edition Hacktoberfest t-shirt or other rewards. It's a fun way for people to get involved in the open-source community, learn and improve their coding skills, and give back to the software development community.

Why Is Hacktoberfest So Popular?

Hacktoberfest is super popular because it makes open-source coding easy and fun. People of all coding levels can join in, from beginners to pros. You help out on cool projects, and in return, you get rewards like a special t-shirt. It's a big yearly event that connects coders from all around the world. You can learn and make friends, and it's really simple to get started - just have an internet connection, a GitHub account, and a desire to learn and help. This mix of inclusivity, learning, and free stuff makes Hacktoberfest a favourite among coders.

Hacktoberfest 2023: A Digital Swag Revolution

Hacktoberfest swags, or goodies, are a key attraction for many participants in the annual event. These swags are incentives offered to individuals who complete the Hacktoberfest challenge, which typically involves making a specific number of contributions to open-source repositories on platforms like GitHub during the month of October. The swag items vary from year to year but often include a limited-edition Hacktoberfest t-shirt, stickers, and sometimes other exclusive merchandise like hoodies, laptop decals, or even small gadgets. These items are not only cool to have but also serve as badges of honour and reminders of one's contributions to the open-source community. They help create a sense of belonging and reward contributors for their efforts, further motivating people to participate in Hacktoberfest and support open source.

In its tenth year, Hacktoberfest is changing things up for the future. Instead of giving out t-shirts, they're now offering digital rewards. T-shirt production and shipping had gotten really hard, and it was costly. People in some countries even had to pay a lot for customs taxes. But Hacktoberfest is still all about supporting open-source projects. Now, they're working with Holopin to offer a digital reward kit. It has cool customizable badges that show your journey in open source. You can also win special badges and gifts. And if you succeed, you can share your badge on the Holopin Hacktoberfest Badge Board of Fame. Plus, they're planting a tree for the first 50,000 people who complete their first pull/merge request this year, instead of giving out t-shirts.

Exciting Rewards for Hacktoberfest 2023

Hacktoberfest 2023 Reward Kit offers various rewards to participants who complete the event.

Rewards include:

• Amplication: Free Amplication Pro Plan for two months and other gifts.
• Appwrite: $50 in Appwrite Cloud Credits, valid for 90 days.
• DagsHub: A 1-month free trial of the Team tier, including up to 1TB of storage, data and notebook versioning CI/CD/CT integration, and up to 5 Annotation projects.
• DEV: Earn dev.to badges for contributions, gain community recognition, and receive discounts for the Form Shop.
• DigitalOcean: $200 in Credits, valid for 60 days.
• GitHub: GitHub's Student Developer Pack offers verified students thousands of dollars worth of tools for free.
• Hacktoberfest: Participants can get featured in the 2023 Hall of Fame.
• Holopin: One month free of the Holopin Starter Plan to create and issue 1 badge for up to 100 recipients.
• Hugging Face: An exclusive Hugging Face badge and access to an organization that provides early access to new features.
• ILLA: Redeem two months of free access to ILLA Cloud Premium, or 80% off for 6 months.
• MLH: Claim a special Holopin digital badge to celebrate Open Source and MLH Global Hack Week, with some additional special perks.
• OpenSauced: 12 months of free access to all OpenSauced's paid features, and the chance to connect with other contributors and maintainers.

From my experience at Hacktoberfest.Hacktoberfest is a fantastic event with benefits. It lets you learn and grow your coding skills by contributing to open-source projects. You can make new friends and professional connections in the tech world. Plus, you're giving back to the community by improving open-source software. And don't forget the cool swag you can earn! So, it's a win-win for everyone involved.

Official Hacktoberfest Website
GitHub's Blog
DigitalOcean's Blog

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