shitty first commits

📰 Dev.to · Sandesh Bhandari

Learn to overcome the fear of making a 'shitty first commit' and start building with a focus on improvement, not perfection

beginner Published 10 May 2026

Action Steps

Start a new project on GitHub to practice making initial commits
Make a 'shitty first commit' intentionally, focusing on getting something to work rather than perfection
Review and refactor your initial commit to improve it
Share your project with others and ask for feedback on your commits
Use the feedback to iteratively improve your project and commits

Who Needs to Know This

Junior developers and new contributors to open-source projects can benefit from understanding that initial commits don't have to be perfect, and the team can work together to improve them

Key Insight

💡 The first commit doesn't have to be perfect; it's about starting and improving