If you have an open source codebase you use for other projects or for personal reasons, usually you'll notice some rough edges that you want to see fixed. I have found that diving into the code around those issues is a good way to get started.
Usually it's best to pick up one of the "good for new people" bugs and then work your way out from there, eventually reading (or at least skimming) most of the code and understanding the build tools.
I really want to get started contributing to Rust, and they have well documented good for newb bugs. Still very intimidated because I've never worked with a codebase I couldn't read all of in a sitting before. Any suggestions?
But seriously, the team is very happy to onboard new people, don't worry about it. I know it's not that easy to just stop worrying, but it's not a big deal at all. The compiler team is happy to help.
