October is here, and with it, Hacktoberfest 2025. For office-stamper, this isn’t about chasing a high volume of Pull Requests. Instead, it’s an invitation to join a project that is explicitly designed for the sporadic contributor.

In a specialized library like this, we don’t expect a mob of regulars. We value the “passing through” developer—the person who encounters a specific production pain point, reports it with high signal, and helps us tighten the library’s invariants before moving on.

The “Sporadic” Philosophy

If you’re an enterprise developer working in short, timeboxed bursts, you are our target contributor. We’ve optimized our workflow to respect your time and the constraints of your environment:

  • Problem-First Focus: We value a clear problem statement or a “tiny reproduction” (a minimal .docx or a failing test case) as much as a code fix. If you provide the repro, you’ve done 80% of the work.
  • Asynchronous Collaboration: Our issues and PRs are the single source of truth. We use “Docs-as-Code” principles to ensure that every decision is documented where it’s needed most.
  • Docs-as-Contribution: We require documentation updates (Javadoc or site) to travel with every user-visible change. This helps “Future You” as much as it helps the project.

How to Participate

1. Find a Trailhead

Look for issues labeled good first issue or help wanted in the office-stamper repository. These are scoped to be impactful without requiring a deep dive into the entire WordprocessingML abyss.

2. Provide a Repro

If you’re reporting a bug or an edge case, include a minimal artifact. Whether it’s a code snippet using our WmlFactory or a small template file, a reproduction is the mandatory ticket for entry.

3. Keep it Focused

Small, atomic PRs are easier to review and merge asynchronously. If you have a large refactor in mind, let’s discuss it in an issue first to frame the design intent.

4. Rely on the Guards

Our CI pipeline is your safety net. We use PITest for mutation testing and JUnit for regression. Don’t worry about breaking things—our goal is to make the “pit of success” as shallow as possible.

Workflow Checklist

Before you hit “Submit” on that PR, ensure:

  • Issue First: You’ve opened an issue to frame the problem and design intent.
  • Minimal Repro: You’ve provided a minimal artifact (fixture or snippet).
  • Atomic Change: The PR focuses on a single intent.
  • Docs Included: Javadoc is updated in the same PR.
  • Green Build: All CI checks pass locally.

October 1st 2025 — Maintainer Note:

We are currently migrating our dependency management from Renovate to Mend. You might see PRs from either bot during this transition; both are trusted parts of our automated governance.