hey! I am a 2nd year Student ,currently doing B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering. I am relatively newer to open source but eager to contribute and get to GSOC 2026. I have gone through the resources as stated in the openMRS wiki for the newcomer developers . Can anyone please guide me how i should pick issues. I have had a look at the issue tracker but am unable to identify where to start with. I am familiar with java and MERN.
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Hey Atharva Ghogare,
Welcome to the OpenMRS community! 
I completely understand what you might be feeling right now. Before diving into the issue tracker, I’d suggest spending some time exploring and using the actual OpenMRS projects — just experiment and get familiar with how things work.
In OpenMRS, there are two main paths you can take:
- Frontend, which primarily uses React
- Backend, which primarily uses Java
Start by choosing the area that genuinely interests you and take time to explore it. Don’t rush to contribute right away — it can feel overwhelming at first if you’re new to the project. Focus on getting a solid understanding of how things fit together.
As you explore, you’ll naturally start noticing issues or areas that could be improved. That’s when you can begin looking into the issue tracker and contributing.
Remember, understanding issues is a gradual learning process — it’s completely normal to feel confused in the beginning. Try to break down each issue into simpler parts, understand what it’s really about, identify which project it belongs to, and then start contributing.
If you have any doubts, make sure to join the relevant OpenMRS community meetings held every week — they’re a great way to learn and connect with others.
Wishing you all the best on your journey! 
Thank you so much for such detailed reply!
That is fantastic advice. The part about “not rushing to contribute” and focusing on understanding one area first is a huge relief. It’s great to know it’s a gradual process and normal to be confused at the start.
Based on your message, I’ll take your advice and focus on understanding O3, since I have some MERN experience.
I really appreciate you sharing your insight. Thanks again!
@backloguy hey I did go through documentation and got overview which repo is doing what as you said ,and have got the idea how the application is working and thus being interested to work in O3 Frontend, and seeing so much repos is overwhelming so seeking some advice about which repo I should start with, like there are many micro Frontend apps having there own repo so getting in single repo is it correct path to move forward or is any other way.
When I went through that phase, I personally started with the Template App — I just wanted to understand how the OpenMRS frontends are structured. Along the way, I learned about the FHIR API, discovered that the community prefers Sass for styling, and picked up a lot of other insights.
But honestly, you might be interested in something entirely different — just start with whatever your heart truly wants to explore. 
By the way, did you know there’s a dedicated meeting for newcomers like us?
OpenMRS Events & Meetings Calendar
Take some time to go through the OpenMRS Wiki — it’s packed with useful resources and context that’ll help you get started smoothly.
The moments when you feel overwhelmed — whether it’s facing a challenge in life, reading something complex, or reviewing someone else’s code that initially confuses you — are actually the moments that help you grow.
In such times, I never rush in. Instead, I question gently, like a surgeon performing heart surgery — calm, precise, and deeply focused. Because what you’re really dealing with are abstraction layers, and these layers are unique for everyone.
Searching is like traveling from one unknown to another — it’s the art of figuring things out, a skill every engineer should cultivate, not just those in software.
One last tip I’ll leave you with:
That’s it from me — this is it, figure it out.
I genuinely enjoy sharing these little philosophies I’ve learned along the way 
yeah thanks for the motivation and guidance and yes I do know of the meetings of openMRS and recently got to know about the openMRS academy and they do have videos for the developers seeking to contribute to the organisation and how to setup (there too was template-app).I really appreciate the help. Fair warning, I’ll probably be back with more doubts soon. Thanks again.
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