Setting Up Your GitHub Profile

ℹ️

First Impressions Matter

When you submit a PR, maintainers will look at your profile. A professional profile builds trust. A blank profile raises red flags.

What Maintainers See

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    MAINTAINER'S FIRST LOOK                                  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                             │
│                ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐                     │
│                │         YOUR GITHUB PROFILE         │                     │
│                │                                     │                     │
│                │  ┌─────┐  @username                 │                     │
│                │  │ 📷  │  Full Name                 │                     │
│                │  └─────┘  Bio: "What I do"          │                     │
│                │           📍 Location               │                     │
│                │           🔗 Website                │                     │
│                │           🏢 Company                │                     │
│                │                                     │                     │
│                │  ═══════════════════════════════    │                     │
│                │  🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩          │                     │
│                │  Contribution Activity              │                     │
│                │                                     │                     │
│                │  📌 Pinned Repositories             │                     │
│                │  [Project 1] [Project 2] [Project 3]│                     │
│                │                                     │                     │
│                └─────────────────────────────────────┘                     │
│                                                                             │
│  In seconds, they evaluate:                                                 │
│  ✓ Is this a real person?                                                   │
│  ✓ Do they have relevant experience?                                        │
│  ✓ Have they contributed before?                                            │
│  ✓ Are they likely to finish what they start?                               │
│                                                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The Good vs Bad Profile

🚫 Red Flag Profile

No profile picture
No bio
No pinned repositories
No contribution activity
Generic username like "user12345"
Account created yesterday

✅ Trust-Building Profile

Professional photo or avatar
Clear bio with skills
Pinned personal projects
Regular contribution activity
Professional username
Account with history

Step-by-Step Profile Setup

1. Profile Picture

Choose a photo

Options in order of preference:

Professional headshot
High-quality casual photo
Illustrated avatar (like Notion style)
GitHub-generated identicon (acceptable)

Never: No photo, memes, anime characters (for professional contributions)

Upload

Go to github.com/settings/profile (opens in a new tab) and click "Upload new picture"

2. Name and Username

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    NAME GUIDELINES                              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                 │
│  USERNAME (handle)                                              │
│  ════════════════                                               │
│  ✓ johndeveloper, jsmith-dev, jane-code                        │
│  ✗ user123456, xXx_hacker_xXx, temporary_account               │
│                                                                 │
│  DISPLAY NAME (full name)                                       │
│  ════════════════════════                                       │
│  ✓ John Smith, Jane Developer                                  │
│  ✗ (blank), "The Hacker", emojis                               │
│                                                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

3. Bio

Your bio appears in many places. Make it count:

Template:

[Role/Title] | [Primary skill] | [Secondary skill] | [Optional: Interests]

Examples:

Full-stack developer | TypeScript & React | Open source contributor
CS Student @ Stanford | Python & ML | Building tools for developers  
Software Engineer | Rust enthusiast | Contributing to database projects

4. Details to Add

Field	What to Put
Company	Your employer or "Independent"
Location	City, Country (or just Country)
Website	Personal site, blog, or LinkedIn
Social accounts	Twitter/X if relevant

Create a Profile README

A profile README appears at the top of your profile:

Create repository

Create a new repository with the same name as your username. Example: If you're @johndoe, create repo johndoe.

Add README.md

# Hi, I'm John 👋
 
I'm a software developer interested in open source and web technologies.
 
## 🔧 Technologies I work with
- JavaScript / TypeScript
- React, Next.js
- Node.js, Python
 
## 🌱 Currently learning
- Rust
- System design
 
## 💬 Open source interests
- Developer tools
- Documentation
- Accessibility
 
## 📫 How to reach me
- Twitter: @johndoe
- Email: john@example.com

⚠️

Keep It Simple

Don't add excessive badges, stats widgets, or animations. Many maintainers find them distracting. Simple and professional wins.

Pin Your Best Repositories

Choose 4-6 projects to pin

Priority:

Open source contributions (forks you've PR'd to)
Personal projects with clean code
Tutorial projects (lower priority)

Pin them

Go to your profile → Click "Customize your pins" → Select repos

Add descriptions

Each pinned repo should have:

Clear description
Relevant topics/tags
README with instructions

Contribution Graph

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  CONTRIBUTION GRAPH                             │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                 │
│  Less                               More                        │
│   ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░          │
│   ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░          │
│   ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░▓▓░░░░▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░          │
│   ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░▓▓░░░░▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░          │
│   ░░░░░░░░░░░░░▓▓▓░░░▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░          │
│   ░░░░░░░░░░░░▓▓▓▓░░░▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░          │
│   ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░          │
│                                                                 │
│  What maintainers look for:                                     │
│  ✓ Consistency over time (not just Hacktoberfest)              │
│  ✓ Activity on weekdays (shows regular work)                    │
│  ✗ Obvious contribution farming                                 │
│                                                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

💡

Don't Game the Graph

Don't make fake commits to fill your graph. Quality matters more than green squares. Maintainers can tell.

Final Checklist

Two-Factor Authentication

⚠️

Enable 2FA Now

Many open source projects require 2FA. GitHub itself is moving toward requiring it. Set it up before you need it.

Go to github.com/settings/security (opens in a new tab):

Click "Enable two-factor authentication"
Use an authenticator app (recommended) or SMS
Save backup codes somewhere safe

Dev Environment Finding Projects