v0.21.0

What's new for you

• orient tells you which branch the work happens on. When most recent merged pull requests went to a branch other than the default, it says so and tells you to ask the maintainers before you start. For example: "21 of the last 24 merged pull requests went to cmp, not main."
• AI assistants check the organization's AI policy before helping you write a message. If the organization discourages AI in communications, the assistant tells you first and lets you write it yourself. It also tells you what earlier commenters on an issue already found, so your comment builds on it.
• Fewer false alarms in issue. A pull request in another project that only mentions the issue is no longer treated as a possible fix. More of the ways newcomers ask to take an issue are recognized.
• Ideas pages on GitHub wikis and in tables are read, whatever the page is called.
• Clearer beginner counts. The count of beginner-labelled issues now says it covers the past year, open or since closed, and points to issues --org for the ones open now.

Coming next: a fix for ideas pages that mix heading levels (some MetaBrainz ideas are still missed), and the refreshed organization snapshot, which waits until the ranking checks pass with the new data.

To update, run the one-line install command again. If you installed with uv or pipx yourself, run uv tool upgrade git-into-gsoc or pipx upgrade git-into-gsoc, then git-into-gsoc setup to refresh the skill. Install guide

0.21.0 (2026-10-22)

Features

• orient: say when recent merged work goes to a branch other than the default (#287) (ef132ff)

Bug Fixes

• ideas: read GitHub wiki pages by any name, and tables of ideas (#281) (879f88f)
• issue: a pull request in an unrelated project is not a fix for the issue (#284) (f369ab2)
• issues: catch more ways newcomers claim an issue, measured on a fifth sample (#282) (68202ff)
• matching: say the beginner-label count is a past year's habit, not issues open now (#285) (5f29b2e)
• signals: a canary for searches with an OR group, and statements that stay until replaced (#280) (5def78f)
• skill: check the AI policy before helping with a message, and build on what earlier commenters found (#286) (9050ab1)

Reverts

• matching: take out the mostly-needs cost; both held-out sets disagree (#288) (1884b27)

v0.20.0

What's new for you

• A learning path you can follow as it is. The path from recommend now starts with where GSoC is in its year, and gives a pace step if you have 10 hours a week or less. It ends with the application: past accepted projects first, then a proposal draft. In a blind review of 46 paths, steps judged wrong fell from 10 to 3, and paths a mentor would hand over as they are rose from 0 to 35.
• One answer about hours. start and the learning path now share one rule. A project size fits when it leaves room to spare before the longest coding period (22 weeks). Anything past the standard 12 weeks is named as needing your mentor's agreement.
• Better matches for web and education. An organization whose ideas mostly need a language you did not list now ranks a little lower. repos explains its order, and a "websites" interest no longer widens to backend work.
• Clearer repository and issue checks. repo counts a README's "How to contribute" section as the contributing guide, shows merge figures plainly, and ends with the command to run next. issue gives the same caution as the list and says what "recent" means.
• Participation statements in issue bodies. When a project says in an issue that it will not take part this year, the tool now finds it and shows it as a dated report.
• Commands you can paste. Every hint in next and start is now a full command, and the repository step ends in --track, so next remembers your pick.

Not in this release: the monthly refresh of the organization snapshot. It is held until a check confirms that the refresh keeps every participation statement and beginner count. Until then, start may show an older ideas count for some organizations.

To update, run the one-line install command again. If you installed with uv or pipx yourself, run uv tool upgrade git-into-gsoc or pipx upgrade git-into-gsoc, then git-into-gsoc setup to refresh the skill. Install guide

0.20.0 (2026-10-22)

Features

• participation: find a "not this year" statement in an issue body, and show it as a dated report (#261) (2fe6041)
• path: the calendar, the pace, and the application, from a blind review of 46 paths (#277) (dbb7b80)

Bug Fixes

• command hints you can paste, and a start footer that fits an installer that already ran setup (#268) (79f40e3)
• drafts: a claim draft for a repository leads with that repository's own rule (#276) (05ac30b)
• drafts: an install step before the tests, and one Node install, not two (#275) (9445512)
• ideas: read omegaUp's labels and OpenStreetMap's idea templates (#274) (7817ab0)
• issue: give the same caution as the list, and say what "recent" means (#272) (4b1e915)
• matching: findings from a blind beginner test on web and education (#269) (3b99446)
• repo: count a README's contributing section, plain merge figures, and a next step (#271) (b243b95)

Documentation

• re-render the start demo for the shared hours rule (#279) (37b0154)

v0.19.1

What's new for you

• The issues table fits a standard terminal again. In 0.19.0, issues was cut off at the right edge in an 80-column window, the default size of the macOS Terminal. Titles now sit on their own line under each issue, so nothing is lost.
• diagnose explains failed checks. It names the style check that failed and quotes the line it failed on. It no longer mistakes a missing name inside an installed module for a missing module.
• orient never suggests sudo pip, and it reads multi-line CI commands whole.
• One rule for beginner labels everywhere, checked against labels that real projects use.
• Drafts catch padded claims. A long message that only asks to be assigned is still flagged as a bare claim.

To update, run the one-line install command again. If you installed with uv or pipx yourself, run uv tool upgrade git-into-gsoc or pipx upgrade git-into-gsoc, then git-into-gsoc setup to refresh the skill. Install guide

0.19.1 (2026-10-22)

Bug Fixes

• diagnose: a name missing from an installed module is not a missing module (#267) (84bac22)
• diagnose: name failed style checks and quote the line that failed (#262) (3d050b1)
• drafts: a padded request to be assigned is still a bare claim (#265) (48402ff)
• issues: fit the table in an 80-column terminal again (#270) (e3f18be)
• labels: one beginner-label rule, checked on a census of real labels (#263) (83f4f61)
• orient: never suggest sudo pip, and read CI commands whole (#264) (999ca4c)

v0.19.0

What's new for you

• No more dead ends after your first pick. When an organization's repositories show no outside work being merged, repos says so and points you to its ideas page and mentors. recommend no longer sends you to an empty issue search.
• Ideas pages with many projects are read in full. Pages that list projects on their own subpages, such as ML4SCI's, now show all of their ideas instead of a handful.
• issues says why an issue may not suit a first contribution, such as an announcement or a tracker rather than a task, and lists those after the clean ones. Issue references no longer break across lines.
• Beginner activity per organization. Organization results now show how many beginner-labelled issues each one opened in the past year. It is shown for context and does not change the ranking.
• More ways to install. One-click buttons for Visual Studio and Claude Desktop, a website and icons in the MCP Registry entry, and a manifest for GitHub Copilot CLI.

To update, run the one-line install command again. If you installed with uv or pipx yourself, run uv tool upgrade git-into-gsoc or pipx upgrade git-into-gsoc, then git-into-gsoc setup to refresh the skill. Install guide

0.19.0 (2026-10-22)

Features

• distribution: a Copilot manifest for awesome-copilot, and glama.json for the owner's claim (#258) (71098ad)
• distribution: icons and a site in the registry entry, two more install buttons, and directory checks (#249) (7698148)
• issues: say why an issue may not suit a first contribution (#254) (62c3ab8)
• matching: how many beginner-labelled issues each organization opened this past year (#255) (5cb5fe9)

Bug Fixes

• ideas: read nested ideas pages instead of the program's own pages (#251) (02bfc73)
• issues: keep each issue reference on one line in the table (#259) (4e533b6)
• projects: find a word in its singular and plural forms (#260) (b907e27)
• recommend: no path step that sends you to an empty issue search (#244) (b806a14)
• repos: say whether outsiders get work merged, and where to start when nobody does (#242) (e1335d0)

v0.18.2

What's new for you

This release fixes what two blind tests found: a newcomer trying the tool from the README, and a first-time contributor working from CONTRIBUTING.

• repo shows where a grade lost its points. A grade C next to a row of check marks was confusing. A new "Where it lost points" section names each signal that earned less than its most, and says when a rule held the grade down. Facts that earn nothing either way, such as missing data from another service, no longer get a check mark.
• Clearer issue statuses. issue and issues show statuses in plain words, warn less often about pull requests that cannot be the fix, recognize more of the beginner labels projects use, and confirm when --track saves something.
• orient is more careful. It no longer repeats files or guesses paths, and it shows a rule such as sign-off only when there is real evidence for it.
• A calmer first run without an AI assistant. setup and doctor now say plainly that the terminal is all you need, instead of showing tables and warnings that looked like errors.
• An easier first contribution. The CONTRIBUTING quick start now sets up everything the later steps need, and lists the same checks CI runs.

To update, run the one-line install command again. If you installed with uv or pipx yourself, run uv tool upgrade git-into-gsoc or pipx upgrade git-into-gsoc, then git-into-gsoc setup to refresh the skill. Install guide

0.18.2 (2026-10-22)

Bug Fixes

• issues: clearer statuses and fewer false alarms from a blind beginner test (#245) (c064345)
• orient: no repeated or guessed paths, rules with real evidence, plain channel names (#246) (86b7fde)
• plain setup and doctor output without an assistant, and a complete contributor quick start (#239) (66c7c85)
• repo: show where a grade lost its points (#247) (cbaf715)

Documentation

• guide: true claim windows, six home steps, and SymPy as an example only (#248) (a576594)
• releasing: say the release token is set, so checks start by themselves (#241) (74d698f)

v0.18.1

What's new for you

• repos puts an organization's main code first. The repositories where the real work happens now come before website, governance, CI, and GSoC admin repositories. Each one says why it is where it is. Projects that track bugs outside GitHub, such as ScummVM, are no longer left out; the tool tells you to look in their README or website for the bug tracker.
• Fairer repository health grades. The health points now add up to exactly 100, so a weakness always costs something.
• Help test the tool with a friend. A new 30-minute guide shows how to watch someone new try it and send us what you saw. It needs no code.

To update, run the one-line install command again. If you installed with uv or pipx yourself, run uv tool upgrade git-into-gsoc or pipx upgrade git-into-gsoc, then git-into-gsoc setup to refresh the skill. Install guide

0.18.1 (2026-10-22)

Bug Fixes

• repo: make health points add up to 100 so no weakness is free (#235) (1279713)
• repos: main code first, and repositories around a project after it (#236) (fa46516)

Documentation

• a 30-minute guide to watching someone new try the tool (#237) (9bd6ea5)

v0.18.0

What's new for you

• A word after your first merged pull request. When next finds your first merged pull request in someone else's project, it says so once. It then suggests telling a friend who is starting out, or telling us what worked with git-into-gsoc feedback. Nothing is sent automatically.
• issue says when it could not check for look-alike pull requests. If GitHub's search limit blocked that check, it now tells you and says when to try again, instead of staying quiet.
• Gemini users: Gemini CLI no longer works with a free Google account. The assistant guide now points free accounts to Antigravity and shows the exact error in troubleshooting.

To update, run the one-line install command again. If you installed with uv or pipx yourself, run uv tool upgrade git-into-gsoc or pipx upgrade git-into-gsoc, then git-into-gsoc setup to refresh the skill. Install guide

0.18.0 (2026-10-22)

Features

• next: after a first merged pull request, point to feedback and a friend (#233) (dfe60a9)

Bug Fixes

• issue: say when the search limit skipped the look-alike check (#231) (61948e4)

Documentation

• send free Google accounts to Antigravity, not Gemini CLI (#232) (0482980)

v0.17.0

What's new for you

• issue warns about look-alike pull requests. Before you start on an issue, it now names open pull requests that seem to do the same work but never link the issue. On 113 real issues, all 12 it flagged were correct.
• It catches more "I'm taking this" comments. More phrasings that newcomers use to claim an issue now count, so you are less likely to pick one someone already started.
• Better organization matches. If you only know R, the R project now comes first. A "supply chain" interest finds supply chain security groups. Broad words like "science" in an organization's name no longer count as a reason on their own.
• The README and website demo shows the current output.

To update, run the one-line install command again. If you installed with uv or pipx yourself, run uv tool upgrade git-into-gsoc or pipx upgrade git-into-gsoc, then git-into-gsoc setup to refresh the skill. Install guide

0.17.0 (2026-10-22)

Features

• issue: name pull requests that look like the same work but never link the issue (#225) (3c1edfc)
• matching: a second blind development set, and the fixes it pointed to (#229) (4462e3e)

Bug Fixes

• issue: catch more ways newcomers say they are taking an issue (#227) (d9aafaf)

Documentation

• refresh the start demo after the ranking update (#228) (6cff740)

v0.16.3

0.16.3 (2026-10-22)

Bug Fixes

• recommend: starter issues a beginner can really start on (#223) (0527c89)

v0.16.2

0.16.2 (2026-10-22)

Bug Fixes

• install: build the source at the release's tag, not the newest commit (#213) (70a7885)
• issue: catch more ways a project says an issue is not open (#217) (d155b34)
• issue: count pull requests that name an imported issue's Jira key (#222) (da93aa6)
• issue: give a true hint for an issue link on another site (#220) (dffd595)
• issues: say when the request limit left issues unchecked (#218) (bf4ad49)
• issue: warn when the repository will not review the work (#219) (67bc082)
• repo: stop grading a quiet repository on its old pull requests (#221) (c9afbc6)

Documentation

• never name another project's issue in a commit or pull request (#214) (be93e98)