Season of KDE
An outreach programme run by the KDE community since 2013, where newcomers work on a mentored project for a KDE application or website over about two months. It is open to everyone, not only students, and covers code, documentation, translation and design. There is no stipend; participants who finish receive a certificate and KDE merchandise.
2013
mentorship.kde.org · Oct 2026
23 Jan to 20 Mar
mentorship.kde.org · Oct 2026
Programme
Career Growth
KDE
About 8 weeks
Beginner
Free
Open source
- When
- Usually opens in January and DecemberApplications usually open in mid December and close in mid January, with work from late January to March. Check the official timeline.
- Who can apply
- Open to everyone, students or not. Mentors choose among applicants and usually favour people who contacted them and started engaging with the project before applying. KDE notes the rules can change each season.
- Where
- Online, global
Dates move from year to year. Check the official page before you plan around them.
What it is
Season of KDE (SoK) is KDE's own mentorship programme. KDE builds the Plasma desktop and many applications such as Kdenlive, Krita and Okular. Mentors post project ideas, newcomers apply, and selected participants work on their project with a mentor for about two months. Projects can be code, documentation, translation, promotion or design.
Who can apply
KDE says the programme offers everyone an opportunity to take part. There is no student requirement. Mentors select candidates, mostly favouring those who contacted them and started contributing to the project before the deadline. KDE also notes that the rules are not fixed and may vary each season.
Timeline
For the 2026 season, KDE opened the season on 15 December 2025, closed contributor applications on 14 January 2026, announced projects on 21 January and ran the work period from 23 January to 20 March. Expect a similar winter schedule each year and check the official page.
How to get in
- Pick a KDE project you actually use, so you understand it as a user.
- Build it from source and follow its contributor guide.
- Talk to the mentor early on KDE's chat or mailing list about the idea.
- Make a small merge request before you apply; it shows you can work with KDE's GitLab.
- Write a short, concrete plan with weekly goals that fit about two months.
What you get
Mentorship from KDE contributors, public work in a large, long-lived project, a certificate (in 2026 issued in May) and KDE merchandise sent after the season. There is no stipend, which also means less competition than paid programmes, so it is a good first step before Google Summer of Code.
Pair it with on Sefism
- Learn Git, issues and merge requests with the Open source roadmap.
- Many KDE projects use C++ and Qt; brush up with the Programming roadmap.
- Try a first contribution with First Contributions.
Best for: beginners who want a friendly, mentored first open source project during the winter break.
Ready to start?
Opens on KDE in a new tab.
Stuck on something specific?
Writing only gets you so far. If you want an answer to your situation rather than the general case, book a session and we will work through it together. Sessions are free for approved Sefism members, and a few slots open each week.
Follow along
New writing, resources and project ideas land here first.