𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗜 𝗚𝗼𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔 𝗣𝗥
I tried to contribute to Awesome Second Brain. Awesome Second Brain is an open-source resource for AI memory and knowledge systems. It has over 200 stars and very strict rules. I submitted a complex stack: Hermes Agent, Obsidian, and Honcho.
I failed twice. It took three rounds of fixes to get my pull request merged. Here is what I did wrong and what I learned.
𝟭. 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 I wrote a setup guide using commands I thought existed. I assumed a config file lived in a certain folder. I assumed a CLI script was available. I was wrong. Both were non-existent.
The lesson: Never write a command from memory. Open the official docs. Find the exact page. Copy the exact command. If you cannot find it, do not include it.
𝟮. 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 I mixed up company names. I thought Plastic Labs made Obsidian. They do not. I claimed the whole stack was open source. It is not. Obsidian and AgentMail are proprietary.
The lesson: Verify every detail. Check the maintainer, the license, and the repo status. Do not guess.
𝟯. 𝗜 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 I claimed the stack was "all local." This was false because AgentMail is a hosted service. I claimed it was "free." This was false because hosted services have costs.
The lesson: Qualify your statements. If a claim is not true for every part of the stack, say so. Use phrases like "varies by component." Honesty is better than being broad.
𝟰. 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 I read the contribution rules after my first rejection. I should have read them before I started.
The lesson: Read the rules twice. They exist to save your time and the maintainer's time.
𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 Rejections sting. But the feedback was fair and actionable. The final version is better because it is accurate and tight. Focus on small, correct contributions before trying to do too much.
Optional learning community: https://t.me/GyaanSetuAi