You've made your first contribution. Now pick something worth sticking with.
Part of the awesome-debian factory line. Previous: debian-first-contribution (Station 5).
Input: someone who's already filed a bug, or landed a first tiny package/patch upstream. Output: an ongoing area of Debian — a Pure Blend or a packaging team — matched to what you actually care about, that you keep contributing to.
There is no "Next" station. This is where the guided line ends. Past this point you're a self-directed Debian contributor, not someone following a checklist — the rest of this repo is a map of where to go, not another set of steps to complete in order.
A Pure Blend is not a fork or a derivative distro — it's a curated set of metapackages and configuration that turns stock Debian into something tailored for one field, while staying 100% Debian underneath. Installing a Blend's metapackage just pulls in the right existing Debian packages for that domain; there's no separate installer or release cycle to learn.
The well-known ones (verify current activity at blends.debian.org — Blend status changes over time, and this list may not reflect the latest state):
- Debian Med — healthcare and bioinformatics software.
- Debian Science — research computing across scientific disciplines.
- Debian Astro — astronomy software and tools.
- Debian GIS — geospatial/mapping software.
- Debian Games — packaging and curating games for Debian.
- Debian Edu / Skolelinux — a complete school-network solution built on Debian.
- Debian Junior — software suitable for children.
- Debian Accessibility — accessibility tools and assistive technology.
- Debian Multimedia — audio/video production and playback tools.
- Debian Hamradio — amateur radio software.
Not every specialization is field-based. Most language ecosystems have their own Debian packaging team on Salsa (Debian's GitLab), maintaining that language's packages across the whole archive — e.g. the Debian Python Team, Debian Go Team, Debian JavaScript Team, and Debian Perl Team. This path fits someone whose interest is "I want to help package software in language X," rather than "I want to help field Y."
There's no single universal process — conventions genuinely vary team to team. In general:
- Find the team's group on Salsa or its page on blends.debian.org.
- Read whatever contribution docs that specific team publishes — most have their own README, wiki page, or policy doc; don't assume another team's process transfers.
- Introduce yourself on the team's mailing list or IRC/Matrix channel before diving into a large change — teams are usually small, and a heads-up saves everyone time.
Match the blend or team to something you already have, rather than picking arbitrarily:
- Already work in health, medicine, or bioinformatics? Debian Med.
- Already package or maintain software in a specific language at work? That language's packaging team.
- Run amateur radio equipment as a hobby? Debian Hamradio.
- Teach, or work in a school? Debian Edu.
- None of the above fit cleanly? Browse blends.debian.org and Salsa's team list for what's active right now, and go where your actual curiosity is — sustained contribution comes from genuine interest, not from picking the "correct" answer here.
You're now a self-directed Debian contributor. The factory line that started at windows-to-debian ends here — what comes next is whatever you make of the team or Blend you've joined.
See CONTRIBUTING.md.
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