How to get more swag as a developer

Many developers are often seeking new ways to collect more and more swag and it can be a fun way to remember all the different projects you've been involved in and all the competitions you've attended and won prizes at!

There are hundreds of tech companies providing swag to developers who can win categories in hackathons or contribute to their open-source projects; some of the designs are fun too, and who doesn't love a package arriving at the door with their name on it?

I have collated a few of the best ways to get more swag here, from events to competitions to contributions, here's how to get more swag as a developer!

Events

Hacktoberfest

Hacktoberfest is an event for open-source lovers, taking place every October, hosted by DigitalOcean it's become a fan favourite amongst developers, creating, sharing, and contributing to open-source, making the space accessible to beginners and pros alike.

Requirements:

• A GitHub or GitLab account

• Connect your GitHub or GitLab account to Hacktoberfest

• 4 hacktoberfest-accepted open-source pull requests throughout October.

• The first 40,000 participants to complete

Swag:

• Hacktoberfest T-Shirt supplied by Kotis Design or Tree in The Digital Ocean Forest

• Sponsor sticker pack (if T-Shirt is selected as the prize)

Hacktoberfest 2022 Dark Mode T-shirt

Global Hack Week

Led by Major League Hacking Global Hack Week is a popular event with MLH's regular hackathon attendees as well as developers from around the world looking to immerse themselves into the community and learn new things.

Requirements:

• Attend 5+ events in the week

Swag:

• Global Hack Week sticker pack

• Bonus stickers

• Sponsor stickers

• Swag Drop (specifically selected winners - contents randomised)

Competitions

HackSquad

HackSquad ran alongside Hacktoberfest for the first time in October 2022, providing developers with an opportunity to team up and make open-source contributions together. HackSquad runs through October and consists of teams of 5 grouping together to earn points by contributing to open-source software and completing tasks set by the hosts at Novu.

Requirements:

• Team of up to 5 hackers

• A GitHub account

• An account on HackSquad linked with your GitHub account

Swag:

• HackSquad T-Shirt

• HackSquad Hoodie

• HackSquad Mug

HackSquad 2022 T-Shirt

MLH Hackathon Season

The MLH hackathon season consists of 100s of hackathons every single year, both in person and online. Their hackathons are open to different groups and consist of different themes and prizes at every event, along with a selection of sponsor prizes.

Requirements:

• Subject to each hackathon's rules and guidelines

Swag:

• Subject to the prizes available at each hackathon

• Hackathon sticker pack

Contributions

Kong

Kong is a cloud native API gateway. They offer swag to their contributors on GitHub.

Requirements:

• Make a contribution to Kong/kong on GitHub via an accepted pull request

Swag:

• A Kong T-Shirt

Erxes

Erxes is an open-source alternative to HubSpot, allowing users to manage their customers better and provide customer support.

Requirements:

• Post 3 issues on their GitHub repo

• Have an approved PR on their GitHub repo

Swag:

• Erxes T-Shirt

• Erxes Sticker Pack

Bonus

RedwoodJS

RedwoodJS offer a weekly giveaway of 100 sticker packs to 100 random entries on their stickers form, an easy way to get some free stickers for your laptop!

Requirements:

• Fill out the stickers form

Swag:

• RedwoodJS Stickers

That's it for now - what's your favourite developer swag you have received in the time you have been coding?

Good luck and enjoy collecting your swag and prizes!