Outreachy 2026 – Revamp Fedora Badges project: Introduce yourself!

Project Discussion
23

Hi everyone! :woman_raising_hand:

My name is Payal, and I’m an AI Developer.

I’m new to contributing to Open Source, but I’ve worked on several personal projects and have experience in data analytics, Python, and AI/LLM development, along with 2+ years of freelance work. I’ve built real world solutions involving automation, data pipelines, and AI based systems, so I’m comfortable learning quickly and working independently. Now, I’m looking to apply these skills to make meaningful contributions in Open Source.

Why Fedora? Because the strong community and collaborative nature of Fedora really stood out to me. I was drawn to the Fedora Badges Revamp project because of the fusion of design, user experience and community building. Badges aren’t just images, but they represent motivation, recognition, and indicate how much has been contributed by the Badge holder… that is so awesome!

During the next few weeks, I want to contribute to the project in a way that I provide value to the project; I’d also like to learn how large-scale open source collaboration functions in the real world; and I’d like to grow in my ability to communicate and collaborate within the global community.

If I could instantly become an expert in a non-technical skill, I’d choose illustration. I already draw quite a bit mostly rough sketches and UI ideas that are easier to show than explain but I’d love to take it to a truly world class level. There’s a big difference between “good enough to convey an idea” and “good enough to make someone stop scrolling and just stare at it.” I want to get to where I can do both.

I’m excited for the opportunity to learn, contribute, and grow with all of you! :dizzy:

24

Meeting Retrospective – Fedora Badges | April 3, 2026

Here’s a quick summary of what was covered in yesterday’s meeting for anyone who wants to revisit the key points.

Technical Guidelines
Every commit must be signed off using the -s flag (git commit -s). More importantly, commit messages should explain why you made a particular decision, not just what was changed. This reflects your own thinking and understanding of the code.

On the topic of AI tools using them to write or generate code is strictly not allowed. The mentor gave a really nice analogy here: AI is like a dictionary, you can use it to understand things, but the actual work, the “book” you write, has to come from you. So using AI to understand a concept is fine, but copy pasting a solution is not.

But as per the Fedora AI contribution policy, if any AI tool was used during the process, it must be mentioned in the commit message using the Assisted-by: trailer. This applies even if AI was only used for understanding, not for writing code.

Workflow Clarifications
A few contributors were pushing changes to the wrong branch so just a reminder that all work must go into swatantrya only, not develop or anything Jinja related.

To self assign an issue, simply drop a comment under it. No need to wait for approval. But mentors also encouraged contributors to collaborate on issues together rather than self assigning and going silent. There have been cases in past Outreachy rounds where someone claimed an issue and never contributed, blocking others in the process. So the ask is to find others who are working on something similar and team up, it’s more productive for everyone and reflects better on your application too.

Internship & Mentorship
The mentors mentioned that roughly 90% of the project has already been built through years of dedicated work. What remains is that last 10%, and that is exactly what the selected intern will own and complete. The internship timeline mentioned on Outreachy is also flexible, so that’s good to know.

One thing that really stood out was the emphasis on communicating openly in the group rather than silently asking AI for answers. If you’re stuck, bring it to the channel. The mentors are fully available and want us to engage with the community.

Common Blockers
Environment setup has been tricky for many contributors. The mentors have acknowledged this and the advice is to not let it block you anymore and take time to understand the codebase first before jumping into issues, get a feel for how things are structured and then contribute meaningfully.

Overall it was a really productive session. The message was simple pick an issue, sign your commits, write your own code, and stay communicative.

Happy contributing everyone! :dizzy: ~Payal

25

Retrospective of Fedora Badges Chat.

A sync-up meeting which took place on April 3, 2026.

The meeting took place on Google Meet at 07:30UTC, and going into the meeting I had some questions based on what I experienced in my contributions during the week. My questions were around the AI contribution policy, and most of my questions were resolved 30-45mins into the meeting.

Issues addressed by the mentors

Few issues with critical importance were addressed during the meeting. I’ll list them below in order starting from the most important.

  • Excessive and undocumented use of AI: The mentor expressed his concern about the excessive use of AI by contributors and their inability to explain how their contributions work in the codebase, led to a lot of rejected PRs. However, there were contributors who used AI, understood what their code was doing, documented and indicated their use of AI with successful PRs.
    He made us understand how the former weren’t gaining or contributing to anything, and they simply just act as channel for AI prompts that could done by anyone, while the latter tried understanding their tasks and leveraged AI as a guide to better understand what the tasks require, gain and learn more about the project they are working on. Their acts of documentation also aligns with the Fedora AI contribution policy.
    The use of AI tools for writing code has been prohibited, but they can be used to understand given tasks.
  • Unsigned commits: He communicated the importance of signing our commits when we are making contributions to prove ownership of our code. He showed us how to sign our commits by simply using the s flag in our commit code e.g git commit -sm "commit message". It is made mandatory, else future PRs would be rejected.
  • Lack of psychological safety or Imposter syndrome: He also mentioned that contributors shouldn’t be afraid to speak up in the matrix chat whenever they hit a roadblock. There isn’t any stupid questions all kinds of questions can be asked, he also encourages asking questions that the contributor might feel would help others in the public matrix chat rather than in the mentors DM. This would improve their connection with other contributors and reduce their dependence on AI tools.

The mentors also touched over the importance of collaborative efforts in resolving an issue, their past experience with assigning issues to contributors and the badges way to get assigned an issue to resolve.

Expectations

We are expected to be more diligent and committed when we are handling our tasks, reach out more, connect more, and ensure we improve on our skills regardless whether we get picked as an intern or not. We should be able to show that we gained something at the end of our contribution phase.

It was also revealed that the revamp process is close to completion and as contributors we are tasked to find what’s needed to complete the revamp process and contribute towards that direction, even though that is what the selected intern would handle.

Summary

It was an informative session which cleared most of our concerns and rectified our mistakes. I look forward to more amazing sessions like this.
I also want to say thank you to @t0xic0der and @sdglitched for taking out time for us on their holiday.

27

This is a retrospective for the meeting of April 3,2026

The main thing I took from the meeting was the aspect of making it easy for our mentors by having quality prs. Most of the prs we produced for the week 1 were quite AI generated and also generic in some sense which in return made it hard for our mentors

The other takeaway was on the issue of signing our commits. I actually was new to this concept but thanks to our mentor @t0xic0der and @sdglitched we were able how we can sign our commits

I was also happy to see the faces of my fellow mentees which was actually great!I really enjoyed the we even got to go for almost 2hrs past our 1hr timeline meaning it was great.

From that meeting I am looking forward for us as mentees to producing better prs since and also another thing was AI disclosure which was another big thing so whenever we use AI we should state in our commit messages

28

Retrospective of the meeting held on:
3rd April, 2026
Time: 7:30 - 8:30 UTC via google meet

On Issue Assignment

One pattern the mentors flagged early: contributors comment on an issue, get it assigned, and then go quiet. The issue sits there, assigned but untouched, blocking anyone else from picking it up. The fix is simple, if you’ve been assigned something and your situation changes, say so. And if an issue looks abandoned, don’t be afraid to comment, express interest and self assign.

On the Quality of Contributions So Far

This one was direct. The mentors made it clear that contributions weren’t really encouraging. The advice was straightforward: step up, make contributions that are meaningful and make them count.

On AI Tools

I think this was the most important part of the meeting and I think it deserves more than a bullet point.

The mentors aren’t opposed to AI tools, the project even has a documented AI usage policy. What they pushed back on is a specific pattern they’ve been seeing: contributors using AI to generate solutions they don’t actually understand, then submitting that output as their own work. The result is that the mentor ends up effectively reviewing AI output with a contributor acting as a middleman in between.

Our mentor Akashdeep used a dictionary analogy: a dictionary is for reference, a book is what you write. AI can be a reference. The thinking, the understanding, the reasoning, that has to come from you.
If you don’t understand the issue you’re solving, you’re not solving it.

On Signing Commits

A practical one. All commits to the project should be signed using the -s flag: git commit -s -m “your commit message”

If you’ve already pushed a commit without signing it, you can amend it: git commit -s --amend -m “your commit message”

The AI disclosure also belongs inside the commit message itself, not in the pr description or comments but as part of the commit. The mentors were clear that signed commits with proper disclosure are a requirement, not a suggestion.

On the Matrix Chat

Use it. That was the message. The Matrix chat exists for exactly the kinds of questions contributors hesitate to ask and Shounak was explicit: there are no stupid questions. If you’re stuck, confused, or unsure whether something is worth raising, raise it anyway. The worst outcome is a quick answer that unblocks you.

What’s Actually Expected

Underneath all of it, the expectations are consistent with what the project has always asked for: understand the codebase, understand the problem you’re solving, and work with each other rather than in isolation. The mentors keep returning to collaboration not because it sounds nice but because they genuinely weight it. Helping a fellow contributor unstick themselves is a contribution. It counts.

30

Hello everyone, today I’ll be talking about the meeting held on April 3rd, 2026, which lasted for over an hour.

In this meeting, our mentors spoke on different topics, but the focus was on the excessive use of AI tooling and how to sign off commits properly.

He started off by asking the applicants present, the difference between a dictionary and a book(not in Python terms), and my response to it was “a dictionary could be defined as a book containing lists of words and their meaning“. You get? A dictionary, key: value pairs, haha, but remember, not in Python terms.

He related iit n a way to make us understand, yes, we cannot know the whole words in a dictionary(so we flip through pages), so not knowing the whole codebase of a project or knowing certain ways to implement a code is valid, but that doesn’t mean we should totally depend on AI tooling to write up a code. Instead, we use it as a guide to completing our task.

They admonished us to drastically reduce the usage of these AI tools, as it had become alarming among us applicants. They further went on to state that PRs containing an alarming usage of AI would not be given attention to as it would be rejected.

We were shown ways on how to use an AI tool properly eg, if an AI asks to implement the code we are making enquiry about, we respond NO! Also, if peradventure, a little bit of it was used, according to the Fedora AI policy, the tag “Assisted-by: [AI model]“

Going on, many pull requests didn’t include the signoff message in their commit to show they are the owners of their code, so our mentors taught us before committing a file, we should always run git commit -sm to include our signature and write our commit message, and not writing it in the comment section of our PR, as this is not the proper way to do so.

Lastly, as one united community, we are, at the end of the meeting, for those who were comfortable with turning on their camers as instructed by our mentor, we did so and took a Pic!

31

Retrospective – Meeting (April 3, 2026)

During the meeting that was held on Friday at 07:30 UTC, the mentors emphasized something very important about how we are currently using AI. He pointed out that many of us tend to rely absolutely on AI to generate code without taking the time to actually read and understand what it produces.We just take everything AI gives hook line and sinker. According to them, this approach limits our learning and prevents us from getting the full value from this project as we will not get the most out of this project.

He encouraged abd advised us to instead use AI as a support tool,to help us understand the codebase better, explore ideas, and clarify concepts, rather than depending on it to do everything for us without question. To make this clearer, he used an analogy comparing a dictionary and a book, which helped drive home the importance of truly engaging with what we are working on. It was a very interactive moment, and many of us contributed to that discussion.

The mentors also reassured us that we should feel comfortable expressing ourselves naturally. Since English is not the first language for many of us, they made it clear that we won’t be judged based on grammar, which was quite encouraging.

I also took the opportunity to ask a question regarding commit signing, since my PR has not yet been merged due to an unsigned commit. I asked whether I should still include “Assisted by AI” in my commit message if I used AI to understand the task but implemented the solution myself. The mentor clarified that I should still include it.

Towards the end, the mentor demonstrated how to properly sign commits and also showed us how to amend previous commits if we need to make changes or add missing details.

Finally, both mentors reminded us that no question is too small, silly or foolish. They encouraged us to always ask questions and support one another, as collaboration is a core part of open source. Going forward, we are expected to focus on making more thoughtful, high-quality PRs and to actively help each other as we learn. Then, we were told to open our cameras( for those who were able to do so) and screenshots were taken, and the meeting ended.

32

Hi Everyone, My name is Dinah.
Message is a bit late as I was trying to navigate my way around everything. But I understand things a lot better and my intent with this is mainly to learn more.

  • Your Open Source journey: What is your current level of experience with Open Source software?

I would say 50%
I have contributed to multiple small scale projects, worked with friends and colleagues on open software ideas. I know how to fix conflicts, sign and do all those things.
However, I have not done so on a big codebase. A very active repository. Hence why i say 50%.

  • Your “Why”: Why did you choose to participate in Fedora, and what drew you to the Fedora Badges project?

I like the fact that it is more about helping new contributors understand the fedora badges project better. Not trying to regurgitate here but I am new. I felt confused when I started and I figured it out from reading and observing what others did before me.
If there is any way I can help out, I would like to do so.
I also love the fact that questions are encouraged.

  • Your goals: What is the number one thing you hope to learn or take away from these next few weeks?

I want to build better. I already have skills but my issue is putting it into practical use cases with many people from all over can at times intimidate me. This is the perfect learning opportunity for me to do better.

  • Just for fun: If you could instantly become a world-class expert in any one non-technical skill or hobby, what would it be and why?
    Let me try a different angle. I would be a mechanic. It’s funny but I wonder how it would be to use my hands, fix up engines, adjust tires and so much more. It would take time but I would dedicate my time to being a world class expert, I would try this angle in life.
33

Okay, so Time to explain what I learnt as I was on the call last week. (April 3rd 2026)
First of all, I realized that the mentors approach is for us to learn how things work not just to do things fast, moving onto the next one and the next one.
Shounak Dey confirmed this as well, saying that relying on AI tools is not helping. It is only meant to help us understand the code base better not do everything to the point we cannot explain why.

I had dual booting for a while now (windows and another OS) and inquired if i could run fedora on a Virtual environment when working on the fedora badges project. I was told no and I panicked a bit.
But then I asked if i can use an external drive and i was told if i can get it to work that would be better.

I finally got it and I really like the Fedora OS environment.

In the call, we were encouraged to ask questions, learn slowly as we complete our tasks. But also to keep in mind that the internship opportunity is about us getting better not simply using a tool.

That made me slow down a bit and try to figure out the angle I want to take with this.
Also Akashdeep was kind enough to show us how to sign our commits properly. As well as how to amend it.

I already work heavily with git but never felt the need to sign my commits.

It was a really nice tip to have and has been helping me more.

Lastly we took photos, turning on our cameras and that was the end of the call.

34

Retrospective of the Meeting (April 3, 2026)

I recently attended my first international open-source meeting :star_struck: , and it turned out to be a really valuable experience. Initially, I approached it with the mindset of completing tasks quickly, but I soon realized that the focus was more on understanding the codebase and learning how things actually work rather than rushing through contributions. That shift in perspective made me slow down and think more about what I was doing.

During the session, there was also a strong emphasis on not over-relying on AI tools. The idea was that while they can be helpful, it is important to truly understand the code and be able to explain it. That really stayed with me and changed how I want to approach my work going forward.

I also faced a small challenge when I found out that using a virtual machine for Fedora was not recommended. It was a bit stressful at first, but I managed to set it up using an external drive, and I ended up enjoying the Fedora environment much more than I expected.

Another useful takeaway was learning how to properly sign and amend commits. Although I have worked with Git before, this was something new for me and it already feels like an important addition to my workflow.

Overall, the meeting helped me feel more comfortable with the idea of learning in a collaborative environment. It was encouraging to see that asking questions is welcomed, and that everyone is there to improve. As my first experience interacting with an international developer community, it was both insightful and motivating.

35

Hi everyone!

My name is Ibraheem, and I’m excited to be here and to get started with you all.

My Open Source journey:
I would say I’m a newbie as I’m still learning how large open source communities operate and how to contribute effectively at scale.

My “Why”:
I chose to participate in Fedora because of its strong reputation in the open source ecosystem and its emphasis on community and innovation. The Fedora Badges project caught my attention because it combines creativity, community recognition, and technical contribution.I feel on top of the world contributing to what millions of people use on a daily basis.

My goals:
The number one thing I hope to gain from this experience is a deeper understanding of real-world open source collaboration,especially working with large codebases, resolving issues, and contributing meaningful improvements.

Just for fun:
If I could instantly become a world-class expert in any non-technical skill, it would be public speaking. I enjoy sharing knowledge, and being able to communicate ideas clearly and confidently to any audience would be incredibly valuable.

Looking forward to learning, contributing, and collaborating with everyone here.

36

Retrospective – Meeting (April 3, 2026)

During the meeting that was held on Friday at 07:30 UTC, the mentors emphasized something very important about how we are currently using AI. He pointed out that many of us tend to rely absolutely on AI to generate code without taking the time to actually read and understand what it produces.We just take everything AI gives hook line and sinker. According to them, this approach limits our learning and prevents us from getting the full value from this project as we will not get the most out of this project.

He encouraged abd advised us to instead use AI as a support tool,to help us understand the codebase better, explore ideas, and clarify concepts, rather than depending on it to do everything for us without question. To make this clearer, he used an analogy comparing a dictionary and a book, which helped drive home the importance of truly engaging with what we are working on. It was a very interactive moment, and many of us contributed to that discussion.

The mentors also reassured us that we should feel comfortable expressing ourselves naturally. Since English is not the first language for many of us, they made it clear that we won’t be judged based on grammar, which was quite encouraging.

I also took the opportunity to ask a question regarding commit signing, since my PR has not yet been merged due to an unsigned commit. I asked whether I should still include “Assisted by AI” in my commit message if I used AI to understand the task but implemented the solution myself. The mentor clarified that I should still include it.

Towards the end, the mentor demonstrated how to properly sign commits and also showed us how to amend previous commits if we need to make changes or add missing details.

Finally, both mentors reminded us that no question is too small, silly or foolish. They encouraged us to always ask questions and support one another, as collaboration is a core part of open source. Going forward, we are expected to focus on making more thoughtful, high-quality PRs and to actively help each other as we learn. Then, we were told to open our cameras( for those who were able to do so) and screenshots were taken, and the meeting ended.

37

Retrospective – Meeting (April 3, 2026)

During the meeting that was held on Friday at 07:30 UTC, the mentors emphasized something very important about how we are currently using AI. He pointed out that many of us tend to rely absolutely on AI to generate code without taking the time to actually read and understand what it produces.We just take everything AI gives hook line and sinker. According to them, this approach limits our learning and prevents us from getting the full value from this project as we will not get the most out of this project.

He encouraged abd advised us to instead use AI as a support tool,to help us understand the codebase better, explore ideas, and clarify concepts, rather than depending on it to do everything for us without question. To make this clearer, he used an analogy comparing a dictionary and a book, which helped drive home the importance of truly engaging with what we are working on. It was a very interactive moment, and many of us contributed to that discussion.

The mentors also reassured us that we should feel comfortable expressing ourselves naturally. Since English is not the first language for many of us, they made it clear that we won’t be judged based on grammar, which was quite encouraging.

I also took the opportunity to ask a question regarding commit signing, since my PR has not yet been merged due to an unsigned commit. I asked whether I should still include “Assisted by AI” in my commit message if I used AI to understand the task but implemented the solution myself. The mentor clarified that I should still include it.

Towards the end, the mentor demonstrated how to properly sign commits and also showed us how to amend previous commits if we need to make changes or add missing details.

Finally, both mentors reminded us that no question is too small, silly or foolish. They encouraged us to always ask questions and support one another, as collaboration is a core part of open source. Going forward, we are expected to focus on making more thoughtful, high-quality PRs and to actively help each other as we learn. Then, we were told to open our cameras( for those who were able to do so) and screenshots were taken, and the meeting ended.

38

Retrospective on sync-up meeting held on the 3rd of April, 2026 at 7:30UTC

The meeting clarified AI contribution policies mandating that AI are suppose to be tools used for understanding given tasks rather than code generation. Emphasis was also made mandating interns to use signed commits and signed-off tags for contributions in Pull Requests (PR). Mentors did encouraged interns to encourage a collaborative environment and also participate in it. They also ensured that mentor when available, will to help, answer and guide interns upon request. Lastly, they reemphasized that interns should reduce reliance on AI by promoting public communication rather than private communication to overcome roadblocks, improve on quality independent code contributions and more active contribution to the completion of the remaining parts of Badge revamp project.

39

Hello everyone

I’m Supreet Kaur, and I’m really excited to be here as an Outreachy contributor for the Fedora Badges Revamp project.

  1. My Open Source journey:
    I’m relatively new to open source contributions, but I’ve spent the past year working as a Software Development Engineer, along with building projects in web development and machine learning. Through this experience, I’ve developed strong fundamentals in coding, collaboration, and problem-solving, but I’m now looking to actively contribute in an open source environment and learn how large, community-driven systems evolve.

  2. My “Why”:
    What drew me to Fedora is its strong emphasis on community, openness, and impact. I really appreciate how Fedora is not just about building software, but about building an inclusive ecosystem around it. The Fedora Badges project especially stood out to me because it sits at the intersection of engineering and community engagement, recognizing contributions in a meaningful and motivating way. I find that really powerful.

  3. My goals:
    The number one thing I hope to learn is how to effectively contribute to a large-scale open source project, from understanding workflows and codebases to communicating clearly with a global community. I also want to improve how I approach real-world issues collaboratively, beyond just writing code.

Just for fun:
I could instantly become world-class at one non-technical skill, it would be playing chess. I love how it combines strategy, patience, and pattern recognition, and I think getting better at it would sharpen the way I think and make decisions.
Looking forward to learning, contributing, and collaborating with everyone here.

40

Meeting Retrospective - 3 April 2026

Platform: Google Meet
Here is a quick retrospective of the meeting:

  • The meeting felt like a reset on expectations, the mentors made it clear that contributors need to actively communicate, especially when taking ownership of issues, to avoid blocking others.
  • Current contributions haven’t been very encouraging; the focus is on quality over quantity. Mentors made it clear to focus on meaningful, well-thought-out contributions that genuinely move the project forward.
  • AI tools should be used only as a reference, not as a substitute for understanding; if you don’t understand the solution, you’re not truly contributing.
  • Following contribution practices is mandatory, this includes signing commits (-s) and adding proper AI disclosure within the commit message itself.
  • Collaboration is key: use Matrix chat to ask questions early, unblock yourself, and actively help others—contributing here goes beyond just writing code.

Summary:
The meeting reinforced focusing on quality contributions, clear communication, and collaboration. AI should support, not replace understanding, and proper practices like signed commits and disclosures are mandatory.