Read this document carefully. It contains important information regarding your participation in Google Summer of Code.
What do I do first?
Community bonding
The first few weeks of GSoC is the Community Bonding period and it is an essential part of the program to get everyone off to a great start for the summer! You should already be interacting with your organization, but now is the time to go deeper. This phase is intended to help you get ready to contribute to your mentoring organization full time in late May. Talk to your Mentor now to understand what they expect from you over the next few weeks during Community Bonding, and throughout the program.
Community Bonding activities may involve:
- Becoming familiar with the community practices and processes. (This should involves a mix of observation and participation.)
- Participating on Mailing Lists, IRC, Slack, Discord, or other communication channels. (Not just lurking.)
- Setting up your development environment.
- Small (or large) patches or bug fixes. (These don't need to be directly related to your GSoC project.)
- Participating in code reviews for others. (Even someone who isn't familiar with the project can contribute by pointing out potential inefficiencies, bad error handling, etc.)
- Discuss with your Mentor and other org members refinement of your project plan. This might include finalizing deadlines and milestones, adding more detail, or figuring out potential issues.
- Work with your Mentor on how you will divide your time over the coding period, including any breaks, holidays, travel, vacations or other pre-existing obligations. Contributors and Mentors must agree on their plan, preferably in writing (i.e. email) before coding begins.
- If you are already familiar with the organization, you could be helping others get involved in the community.
- Reading (and updating!) documentation you need to understand to successfully complete your project.
- Reporting or replicating bugs.
Be sure to read the roles and responsibilities page so you know what is expected of you but also what to expect from your Mentor this summer.
Extending your Project Length
The standard project length for small (90 hour) projects is 8 weeks, while medium (175 hour) and large (350 hour) projects are 12 weeks by default. If you would like to adjust the project length to as low as 8 weeks or up to 22 weeks you should ask your mentor about it as soon as possible. Mentors and the Org Admins must approve the change to your project length and the Org Admin must make the edit on your actual project in the webapp for the project to be extended. Note: Small projects can only be extended to a maximum of 12 weeks.
If you think you may need a couple of extra weeks for your project, talk with your mentor as soon as possible. It is always best to be honest and upfront with your mentor so both of your expectations are clear.
Update your Project Summary and Title
If your project has evolved since initial proposal, you are encouraged to update your project summary and title. This is what the world will see on the GSoC site and archive, make it look good. The summary only needs to be a few sentences containing a brief overview of your project.
Update your Display Name
The display name you chose will become public when completed projects are published. If you want to reference your work later you may prefer to use your real name (not a nickname). You can update your display name on your profile.
If you can not change your name it is likely because someone else has already used that same display name. Consider adding a number or additional letter to the display name.
Stipend
You will receive an email within 24 hours of the accepted GSoC Contributor public announcement with information regarding your stipend amount. The stipend will be based on the country you are living in during GSoC.
As you agreed in the Program Rules, you must be eligible to work in the country in which you will reside during GSoC in order to receive any stipends.
For more information on your stipend, visit the Contributor Stipends page.
Payments
IMPORTANT Do not create a Payoneer account on your own. You MUST wait until you receive an email from Google with a specific link that is unique to you with instructions on how to register for your GSoC Payoneer account. You must use the link in that email to register for your GSoC account as it is associated with your GSoC enrollment. You will receive this email from GSoC Program Admins within 24 hours after the Accepted GSoC Contributors are announced publicly.
Stipend payments are processed through Payoneer. Do not go to the Payoneer site directly and register. If you don't use the provided link, you won't be paid.
For more details on Payoneer and the payment process read Payoneer / Contributor Payment Information.
Tax Forms
Read about required tax forms on the tax form page.
CPT Letters
Google can't provide you with any kind of CPT or OPT authorization.
GSoC Contributor Video
If you haven't seen these short videos, check them out for some helpful tips for the summer!
Important Dates
| When | What |
|---|---|
| May 1 - 26 | Community Bonding Period |
| May 27 | Coding period begins |
| July 1 | Deadline to register with Payoneer |
GSoC Contributor Mailing List
If you would like to be included on the GSoC Contributor Mailing List (an invitation only list of current and past GSoC students and contributors) be sure to update your GSoC profile to "Opt in" to the Contributor list. We encourage you to join this list as you can talk to other contributors across the program and can get guidance on any questions you may have during GSoC. You can remove yourself from the group at any time by following the unsubscribe link in the footer of every email. Never send personal information (phone number, address, government identification numbers, etc.) to a group mailing list.
Remember the list has thousands of contributors and students on it so do not send questions that should be sent to Google Program Administrators about things specific to your situation.