# Create an Instant Answer

Creating an Instant Answer is the most exciting way to contribute to the community.

Whether you want to improve your personal search results, bring exposure to a source of great data, or simply enjoy collaborating with smart people around the world, your live code will help millions of searchers every day.

Learn the [big picture of creating Instant Answers](https://duck.co/duckduckhack/ddh-intro).

> It was my first time contributing to an open source project and I haven't been able to stop since. Keep being awesome, and thanks for inspiring me :)
> 
> prezjordan on Hacker News

## Make Your First Commit

What makes the DuckDuckGo community so great is how quickly new contributors can start committing code. To see just how quickly we mean, try our [Quick Start Goodie](https://duck.co/duckduckhack/goodie_quickstart) Tutorial. It will help you set up your environment, fork the repository, and walk you through creating the simplest possible Instant Answer.

From there, you could learn more about the [various Instant Answer types](https://duck.co/duckduckhack/determine_your_instant_answer_type), or get hacking on a real Instant Answer, below.

If you have any questions at any point, feel free to ask on one of our community channels:

*   [DuckDuckHack mailing list](https://duck.co/redir/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.listbox.com%2Fsubscribe%2F%3Flist_id%3D197814)
*   [Gitter chat](https://duck.co/redir/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fgitter.im%2Fduckduckgo%2FIdeas)

Do not hesitate to email us directly at [open@duckduckgo.com](mailto:open@duckduckgo.com).

## Improve a Live Instant Answer

We recommend that your first live contribution to Instant Answers is to improve one that's already live. Many contributors report completing their first fix within two hours of forking the repository.

The best place to get started is by looking at "low-hanging fruit" fixes, which we've made sure to identify throughout our repositories for new contributors.

*   [Goodie Low Hanging Fruit](https://github.com/duckduckgo/zeroclickinfo-goodies/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3A%22Low-Hanging+Fruit%22) ([Goodie docs](https://duck.co/duckduckhack/goodie_overview))
*   [Spice Low Hanging Fruit](https://github.com/duckduckgo/zeroclickinfo-spice/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3A%22Low-Hanging+Fruit%22) ([Spice docs](https://duck.co/duckduckhack/spice_overview))

Fixing a small bug is a great hands-on way to learn how each Instant Answer functions. Feel free to [ask us anything](mailto:open@duckduckgo.com), and don't forget to check out the [Instant Answer documentation](https://duck.co/duckduckhack/ddh-intro).

## Create a New Instant Answer

By this point, you're more comfortable with contributing, and have a better idea of the Instant Answer framework. Now it's time to think about creating an Instant Answer of your own!

Bring your own idea, or check out the ideas forum - especially [top voted answer ideas](https://duck.co/ideas/status/3?table_lnKRpLENwO2NUmZUyukQpw_sort=votes).

The first step is to research and plan your Instant Answer. Consider [the best way to implement](https://duck.co/duckduckhack/determine_your_instant_answer_type) your idea, and [involve us in your thinking](mailto:open@duckduckgo.com).

**The first step to implementing an Instant Answer is to let us know you're working on one:** Email us at [open@duckduckgo.com](mailto:open@duckduckgo.com) and let us know what idea you're working on, as well as your initial thoughts on implementation.

We'll help you plan, using our experience from current Instant Answers. We'll also be ready to answer your questions along the way. We'll create a [central Instant Answer page](http://www.duck.co/ia) on the community platform so others can know you're working on it and how they can help you.

[Talk to us!](mailto:open@duckduckgo.com)