14 C++ Open-Source Projects Welcoming Contributions in 2024

Despite the fact that you aren’t getting paid for your work, contributing to open-source projects as a developer is certainly a worthwhile endeavor for many reasons. 

First of all, working on open source is a great way to improve your skills as a programmer.

Contributing to open-source projects allows developers to enhance their skills by working on real-world projects, learning from experienced developers, and gaining exposure to different technologies, tools, and coding practices.

Open source contributions also provide developers with opportunities to showcase their expertise, build a strong online presence, and establish themselves as reputable professionals in the community. It also lets you network with other developers, potential employers, and industry experts.

Most importantly, open-source work is all about contributing to the common good. If you are passionate about giving back to the community and contributing to projects that benefit everyone, contributing to open-source projects is worthwhile because it can help improve software accessibility and reliability and support innovation.

If your preferred programming language is C++, there are plenty of great open-source projects that are welcoming contributions. C++ is a versatile and powerful general-purpose programming language. It is highly flexible and used to create some of the fastest high-performance software, from operating systems to games and everything in between. It is the predominant programming in game development.

Each of these C++ projects offers unique opportunities for contributors to contribute to cutting-edge technologies and software development. Before getting involved, it's essential to familiarize yourself with the project's goals, contribution guidelines, and community norms to ensure a smooth and collaborative experience.

GoogleTest

GoogleTest, or gtest, is an open-source testing framework developed by Google for C++ projects. If you write C++ code, GoogleTest can help you since it supports any test, not just unit tests.

It provides a comprehensive tool suite for writing and running unit tests, enabling developers to ensure the correctness and reliability of their codebase. 

GoogleTest offers features such as test discovery, test fixtures, parameterized tests, death tests, fatal and non-fatal failures, value- and type-parametrized tests, XML test report generation, and rich assertion macros, making it a popular choice for C++ developers looking to adopt a robust testing methodology.

ClickHouse

ClickHouse is an open-source analytics database management system for big data. It allows for the generation of data reports in real-time. It’s also incredibly fast, processing tens of gigabytes of data per server per second. 

It’s designed to handle large volumes of data with high performance and scalability. It excels at executing analytical queries on vast datasets while maintaining low latency, making it well-suited for use cases such as data warehousing, real-time analytics, and log processing. 

ClickHouse supports SQL queries, data compression, replication, and distributed processing, offering a powerful solution for organizations dealing with big data challenges.

SFML

SFML (Simple and Fast Multimedia Library)  is a cross-platform multimedia library written in C++ that provides a simple interface for developing multimedia applications and games. As the name suggests, this open-source project is a simple, fast, cross-platform, and object-oriented multimedia API. 

It offers functionality for graphics rendering, audio playback, window management, input handling, and networking, making it suitable for a wide range of multimedia projects. SFML prioritizes ease of use and performance, allowing developers to create interactive apps efficiently across various platforms.

Kodi

If you like movies and TV shows, you’ve probably already heard about Kodi, formerly known as XBMC (Xbox Media Center). This open-source project gained popularity due to its beautifully designed interface and powerful skinning engine. It works as an entertainment center and home theater and is available for multiple operating systems.

It provides a platform-independent environment for organizing and playing media content, including movies, TV shows, music, photos, and more. Kodi supports numerous audio and video formats and can be extended through a robust ecosystem of plugins and add-ons for customizing the media center experience. 

With features such as library management, customizable skins, and remote control support, Kodi has become a popular choice for home theater enthusiasts and media consumption enthusiasts alike.

JSON for modern C++

JSON for modern C++ is an open-source project with an intuitive syntax and trivial integration that allows you to read JSON from a file quickly, create JSON objects from JSON literals, and treat JSON as a first-class data type.

This C++ library offers a simple interface for parsing, generating, and manipulating JSON documents within C++ codebases, making it convenient for developers to handle JSON data seamlessly in modern C++ projects.

IncludeOS

IncludeOS is an open-source operating system designed specifically for cloud services and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Written in C++, IncludeOS enables developers to create lightweight, single-purpose virtual machines that contain only the necessary components for their applications, resulting in highly efficient and scalable deployments. 

It is a minimal unikernel operating system for building cloud-native applications that allows developers to focus solely on their application logic without the overhead of traditional operating systems.

IncludeOS adds the operating system’s functionality to your application, allowing you to create resource-efficient virtual machines. This means that you can use it to run apps in the cloud without an OS. 

SerenityOS

SerenityOS is an interesting open-source project if you’re a fan of Unix-like operating systems. It has an old-school user interface from the 1990s, so it’s great if you feel nostalgic. But don’t be deceived by its look because this operating system has contemporary power-user accessibility.

SerenityOS is a graphical operating system written entirely in C++ that aims to provide a modern, responsive user interface experience. It features a custom kernel, windowing system, and graphical user interface toolkit, offering a unique software development and exploration environment. 

SerenityOS emphasizes simplicity, performance, and hackability, making it an intriguing platform for hobbyists and developers interested in operating system design and development.

Boost C++

Boost is a widely used, open-source C++ library collection that provides a variety of functionalities to aid C++ developers in their projects. 

Boost is renowned for its high-quality and peer-reviewed libraries, which cover a broad spectrum of areas such as algorithms, data structures, concurrency, filesystem operations, networking, and more. These libraries aim to extend the capabilities of the C++ programming language, offering portable and efficient solutions to everyday programming tasks. 

Boost is a valuable resource for C++ developers seeking to enhance productivity, code reliability, and performance in their software projects. Boost has a well-established community and contribution guidelines, making it an excellent project for those looking to dive into advanced C++ programming.

OpenCV

OpenCV (Open Source Computer Vision Library) is a computer vision and machine learning software library. It provides a comprehensive set of tools for image processing, object detection, machine learning, and more. 

OpenCV is written in C++ and supports multiple programming languages, such as Python and Java, through bindings. It is widely used in various fields, including robotics, augmented reality, medical imaging, and surveillance.

Eigen

Eigen is a lightweight C++ template library for linear algebra. It provides efficient implementations of common matrix and vector operations, making it ideal for numerical computing tasks.

 It provides high-performance implementations of common linear algebra operations, leveraging expression templates and template metaprogramming techniques for efficient code generation and execution. Eigen is designed to be lightweight, easy to use, and highly optimized, making it suitable for a wide range of scientific computing and engineering applications.

CMake

CMake is an open-source build system generator and configuration tool widely used for building, testing, and packaging software projects. It provides a platform-independent way to describe a project's build process using a simple scripting language. 

CMake generates native build scripts for various build systems such as Makefiles, Ninja, Visual Studio, and Xcode projects, enabling developers to build their projects seamlessly across different platforms and development environments.

Cppcheck

Cppcheck is an open-source static code analysis tool for C and C++ codebases. It helps developers identify potential bugs, code style violations, and other issues in their code. 

Cppcheck can detect common programming errors, such as null pointer dereferences, memory leaks, buffer overflows, and unused variables. It provides developers with actionable feedback to help improve code quality, reliability, and maintainability.

Cppcheck is also one of the many static code analysis tools integrated into the Codacy platform. 

Microsoft Cognitive Toolkit (CNTK)

The Microsoft Cognitive Toolkit, also known as CNTK, is an open-source deep learning framework for training neural networks. It provides a highly efficient backend for training and evaluating deep neural networks across multiple GPUs and machines. 

It offers efficient implementations of various deep-learning algorithms. 

CNTK is optimized for performance and scalability, supporting distributed training across multiple GPUs and servers. It is commonly used in research and industrial applications for image recognition, natural language processing, and speech recognition tasks.

Monero

Monero is an open-source cryptocurrency focused on privacy, security, and decentralization. It is based on the CryptoNote protocol and utilizes ring signatures, stealth addresses, and confidential transactions to obfuscate transaction details and ensure user privacy on the blockchain. 

Monero aims to provide fungibility and anonymity in transactions, making the flow of funds on its blockchain difficult to trace. A community of developers and enthusiasts maintains it, contributing to its ongoing development and improvement.

The Importance of Supporting Open-Source Projects 

At Codacy, we deeply value the thriving open-source software (OSS) community and are committed to fostering its growth and development.

Since our company's inception, OSS has been integral to our mission and the way we deliver value to users. It serves as a catalyst for innovation, bridging gaps in knowledge and empowering individuals around the globe.

With this in mind, we created Codacy Pioneers, an initiative designed to champion and empower innovative OSS projects worldwide. Selected projects receive a year-long stipend, access to essential tools, extensive promotion, and guidance from esteemed members of the OSS community. To find out more about our program and our incredible Pioneers and mentors, check out the Pioneers Project page.